By Meghan Hall
Another downtown Bellevue development has sold, this time to Beacon Capital Partners. The complex, known as One Twelfth at Twelfth, traded for $230.4 million, or about $480 per square foot, according to public property documents. The transaction closed and was recorded just before Christmas, and the property was sold by Gemini Rosemont.
“We successfully implemented our strategy of completing several key capital improvement projects that helped us recast One Twelfth’s rent roll,” said Ian Brownlow, chief executive officer of Gemini Rosemont in a statement. “We attracted several top tier and credit tenants, including one of the world’s largest technology firms which will ultimately occupy approximately one-third of the campus. From the onset, we had planned on bringing in a capital partner when appropriate, and now was the right time to do so. The significant liquidity provided to Gemini Rosemont through this transaction will be used to acquire additional Class A assets in coastal and tech-centric markets in keeping with our acquisition mandate.”
Gemini Rosemont originally acquired the property in December of 2016 and purchased the complex for $202.67 million, or about $423 per square foot. The company acquired the property after forming a strategic partnership with Gemini Investments, a Hong Kong-based publicly traded entity associated with Sino-Ocean Group, in 2015.
Completed in 2000, the three, six-story office buildings total 480,267 square feet according to a brochure on Gemini Rosemont’s website. Floor plates range in size from 23,700 square feet up to about 31,000 square feet. The property also includes two plazas, covered pedestrian arcades, patio seating and athletic facilities. The brochure also states that Gemini Rosemont worked to complete renovations to the tenant lounge, updating conference facilities, adding a new game area with pub seating and including a full-size kitchen and coffee bar.
In August of 2018, The Registry reported that Google was taking 80,000 square feet at the complex, with plans to further expand in the future.
Also in the past week in Bellevue, the Bravern Office Commons traded to Invesco for $585 million, or about $727 per square foot. The Summit was purchased by KKR along with Seattle’s F5 Tower for a massive $1.2 billion, while the Apple Tree Plaza, just outside downtown, sold for a more modest $16.3 million.
Beacon Capital Partners is not a stranger to the Puget Sound; in August of 2018, the firm spent $434.8 million, or $613 per square foot to acquire the Metropolitan Park Towers in downtown Seattle. Beacon purchased the buildings from the CBRE Global Investors office in Los Angeles, Calif. through an entity known as BCal. In January of this year, The Registry reported that Beacon had concluded a $1.5 billion capital raise for its most recent commingled fund known as Beacon Capital Strategic Partners 8. It was noted at the time that Seattle was one of the markets in which the fund would be active moving forward.
