By Jack Stubbs
Bothell, a city located on the border of King and Snohomish Counties roughly twenty miles northeast of downtown Seattle, is increasingly being viewed as an attractive alternative to exploding cities like Seattle and Bellevue further south, as the Puget Sound region continues to expand.
In particular, Bothell’s commercial real estate market is increasingly regarded by some as a hub for its growing life-sciences sector, and a recent transaction indicates that appeal for properties within this asset-class—from local- and out-of-town investors alike—continues. On May 31st, three research and development buildings totaling 148,630 square feet sold for $22.5 million, according to Snohomish County records.
The buyer of the properties was Bothell-based AGC Biologics Inc., a global, full-service company that operates within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The seller of the property was Bellevue-based Taylor Development Inc., a commercial and residential real estate company that operates throughout the Puget Sound region.
Neither the buyer nor the seller responded to calls for comment about the recent transaction in time for the publishing of this story.
Taylor Development acquired the three properties for $21.5 million from Seattle-based Immunex Corporation in mid-March 2018, according The Registry’s reporting.
The more recent transaction included three adjacent research and development buildings, located at 21501 23rd Drive SE and that 148,630 square feet, according to public documents. The buildings are located adjacent to AGC Biologics’ Bothell headquarters building, which is located at 21511 23rd Drive SE, according to the company’s web site.
It is not entirely clear what plans AGC has for the three recently-acquired buildings, which sit on a 7-acre parcel of land.
The first structure is a one-story research and development building constructed in 1992 that totals 83,241 square feet, while the second building—also built in 1992—totals 21,110 square feet, according to public documents. The third property included in the transaction is a three-story development/manufacturing building constructed in 2000 that totals 44,279 square feet.
The properties are approximately three miles north of downtown Bothell and ten miles northeast of Shoreline. The buildings are also roughly six miles east of the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, which offers easy access to Interstate-5 and Interstate-405.
Founded in 2001, AGC Biologics has successfully manufactured more than 200 biological products for pre-clinal studies through commercial approvals, according to the company’s web site. AGC has facilities across the U.S., Europe and Asia, and looks to design innovative, state-of-the-art facilities that allow for technological flexibility along with compliance with strict biopharmaceutical regulations.
Taylor Development has successfully developed over $750 million in commercial and residential real estate in the Greater Puget Sound region since the company’s founding in 1993, according to its web site. Some of Taylor Development’s current residential projects include the single-family Pioneer Heights project in Bothell; Grand Ridge in Issaquah; and Weston Heights in Renton. Some of the past commercial properties in the company’s Puget Sound region portfolio include the 70,000 square foot Lake Washington Park building in Kirkland and the two-building, 166,751 square foot Bear Creek Corporate Center in Redmond.
Along with AGC’s recent acquisition of the three buildings located along 23rd Drive SE, there have been several other commercial sales in Bothell over the last several weeks. In early May, Mercer Island-based Hill Investment Company spent $17.382 million or about 284 per square foot, to acquire the 61,175 square foot North Creek Tech Center IV, which is near Beardslee Crossings.
In mid-April, the Northshore School District’s Capital Projects team acquired the Canyon Park Commons IV Building—home to AT&T and part of the ten-building Canyon Park portfolio—for for $18.265 million from Chicago-based EQ Office.
Interest in office space in Bothell has grown, and ended the first quarter of 2019 with a vacancy rate of 6.2 percent, states Kidder Mathews’ Seattle Office Market Report. The Bothell and Kenmore submarkets saw a healthy 145,289 square feet of absorption, while the Northend office market in general saw 50 new lease deals over the course of the first few months of the year.
