Apr 17, 2025

Pacific Place owner is honored

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BH Properties acquired downtown's Pacific Place mall and its parking almost a year ago, then paying over $88 million to Madison Marquette (which took a big loss). The mall was then about half empty, owing to the pandemic and continued reluctance of shoppers and workers to return downtown. BH and related firm Hankey Capital, also based in Los Angeles, now describe that as an all-cash deal. Thus, says BH, it was recently bestowed with a CoStar Impact Award. Says the owner of the 335,000-square-foot property, “This award highlights our continued conviction in identifying value-add opportunities in major western states both in urban and suburban markets. Pacific Place represents an opportunity to re-image and restore a well-located retail center along Pine Street, once considered the heart of Seattle's retail community.” Avison Young is the manager and broker seeking to fill the 27-year-old shopping center.

Count your steps in the U District!

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Lace up your comfy sneakers and set your Fitbit; it's time to walk all around the changing University District. ULI Northwest is hosting a trek among notable new buildings on Thurs., April 24. The tour is open to ULI members and non-members alike. It begins at LPC West's new Gateway Building (pictured) atop U District Station. Highlights will also include the high-rise M apartments, now a half dozen years old. The walk concludes with beers and a panel discussion including Don Blakeney of the U District Partnership, Jeremy Eknoian from the UW, Kristin Hoffman from Sound Transit and Jesse London from city of Seattle. The schlep begins at 3 p.m. Details and registration: northwest.uli.org.

M&M lands over $21M for SLU units

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Marcus & Millichap Capital announced that it recently arranged an over $21.7 million loan to Wilshire Capital, which developed and owns the 98-unit Tellus on Dexter, in South Lake Union. The borrower and lender, Fortress Credit Realty Income Trust, are based in Los Angeles, where M&M's Bradley Buzi made the deal. He said of the two-year loan, “With a maturing loan coming due, the borrower was seeking a cash-neutral refinance that offered flexibility during the initial term. This transaction was a significant achievement for the borrower and all parties involved.” The eight-story Tellus was completed in 2019, with Synergy as the builder and the architect being VIA Architecture (now Perkins Eastman).

Gantry finds $18M in Spokane, $21M in Kent

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Gantry announced its recent arrangement of an $18 million Fannie Mae loan to the owner of Windsor Crossing, in Spokane. The 77-acre complex, with its 224 units, was originally built in 1959 as housing for the Fairchild Air Force Base. Tim Brown and Demetri Koston led the refinancing effort; the latter said in a statement, “We were able to secure a ten-year Fannie Mae loan at a rate 50 basis points below other options to successfully position this asset for a long-term legacy hold.” The 10-year loan carries a 30-year amortization period. Then, over in Kent, the DJC reported last month the nearly $37 million sale of the James Center shopping center to Rosen Harbottle. The deal included an over $21 million loan from United of Omaha. Gantry recently announced that Brown and Alan Hergert arranged that 10-year loan.

Toll debuts first homes at Cross Kirkland Towns

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Three years ago, as the DJC then reported, Toll Brothers paid $40 million for the 12-acre former Systima Technologies office campus. That's now dubbed Cross Kirkland Towns, where 121 townhouses are planned for the sales market. Two model homes are now open to tour says Toll; those go by the monikers Maryhill and Kinney. Toll's Kelley Moldstad said in a press release, “We are thrilled to present these beautiful homes that feature innovative architecture and high-end interior design in coveted Kirkland with direct access to Cross Kirkland Corridor trail.” Prices are said to start at around $1.1 million. All the homes will apparently have four bedrooms. Some should be ready for occupancy this summer, says Toll. The sales center is at 10829 120th Lane N.E.

Apr 10, 2025

Selig buildings into Kidder Mathews' hands

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As the Martin Selig Real Estate delinquent loan saga slowly and painfully unfolds, Kidder Mathews recently announced that it's managing a seven-building portfolio on behalf of a receiver. The properties are clustered in Belltown and Lower Queen Anne, and span about 1 million square feet. They range from Class A to Class B; some are recent construction, while others date to the 1970s. Kidder didn't disclose their vacancy rates. Its Erin French said of the group, “We see tremendous potential in this portfolio and a clear path to enhancing its long-term success. Our focus is to optimize operations, enrich the tenant experience, and foster vibrant environments at each property.” Among the portfolio is the so-called Darth Vader Building, aka Fourth & Blanchard. Separately, Cushman & Wakefield is seeking to sell several Selig parking lots and older office buildings in the Uptown area. Jordan Selig also recently announced her departure from the family business; there, The Seattle Times reported last month, 86 staff members were laid off. As of last year, Selig had about three dozen properties (offices and parking lots), with three separate loan packages totaling over $750 million.

Gantry

Thatcher

Doug Thatcher is now a senior director at Gantry, that firm announced this week. The industry veteran makes the move from Northwest Commercial Mortgage. Of his new colleague, Mike Wood said in a press release, “Doug is a respected peer and top professional in the Seattle Region's commercial real estate community, and we are extremely pleased he has chosen to join us.” Thatcher added, “The firm's independent culture is a familiar structure, and Gantry's extensive roster of life company correspondents, banks, credit unions, CMBS lenders, debt funds and private capital sources will dramatically expand my access to an array of vetted commercial real estate debt and equity sources when serving my clients.”

CBRE lands first tenant at 330 Yale

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Once dubbed Cascadian, the 330 Yale life-science building opened its doors in South Lake Union back in the summer of 2021. No tenants had pre-signed any lease deals for the speculative project, with its 211,555 square feet. That didn't deter LPC West and Invesco from then paying over $164 million for the new and empty building. Three years later, still empty, it was surrendered to the lender, KKR. But now there's a ray of sunshine to the gloomy story. CBRE has signed the UW Medicine's Institute for Protein Design (IPD) to take 31,837 square feet, with its Paul Carr, Marcus Yamamoto and Katie Smith representing KKR. The latter's Sam Gillespie said in a statement, “In this competitive Seattle life science market, we couldn't be more pleased that a leader such as the IPD has chosen to expand into 330 Yale.” The IPD program is led by the UW's David Baker, who recently received a Nobel Prize. He added, “With support from the UW Regents, we're excited to build a new center of excellence for translational science at 330 Yale.” IPD will take the third floor, and has eyes on the second floor for future expansion; KKR is currently preparing other turnkey lab suites to be ready this fall. LPC West continues to manage the building.

Kidder Mathews

Castro

Edward Castro is now general counsel at Kidder Mathews, that firm recently announced. He makes the move from Cushman & Wakefield, and brings three decades of experience to his new role. He said in a statement, “One of the things that drew me to Kidder Mathews is its ability to scale while preserving the agile, entrepreneurial spirit that sets it apart. It's rare to find a firm of this size that still empowers professionals to move quickly and serve clients without the red tape that can slow down larger organizations.”