November 2, 2020

AvalonBay pays $51M for Seattle Times' Bothell plant, with 912 units planned

About 7 acres remains for sale, all of it vacant, south of AvalonBay’s site.

As planned, AvalonBay Communities has purchased about 23.7 acres at The Seattle Times' shuttered North Creek printing plant at 19200 120th Ave. N.E. in Bothell. King County recorded the $51 million sale on Friday.

Michael Finch, Steven Wood and Katherine Laird of CenturyPacific represented the Times. The deal was worth about $43 per square foot for the land. The Times paid about $8.2 million for the land in 1989, then developed the plant. The newspaper industry has since undergone a massive contraction owing to the internet and social media. The Times now prints in Kent.

(Editor's note: This article has been changed to correct the names of the brokers.)

The almost 30-year-old old plant will be razed to make way for Avalon Bothell Commons, which has been in planning for most of this year. The phased proposal is for 802 rental units in multiple buildings and 110 townhouses — presumably for sale. There would also be about 6,000 square feet of commercial/retail space, plus 15,000 square feet of amenities.

Earlier this month, the city of Bothell issued a SEPA determination of non-significance for the project. No start date has been announced, and permits are pending. No architect is yet listed for the project, which AvalonBay will presumably built itself.

Separately, Polygon WLH is planning 94 units on a vacant 5-acre corner to the north of AvalonBay's site. That site traded in September for a little under $11.7 million; interim owner Brookfield had purchased it from the Times last year for almost $15.8 million.