Valley Village Medical Center LLC, associated with West Coast apartment investor Paul Lin of Fremont, CA acquired the Centerview Apartments from Center View in Belltown LLC associated with Meranda Chang and Whiting Chiu for $7.55 million or $198,684 per unit. Seattle-based brokerage group Paragon Real Estate Advisors exclusively offered the sale.
Situated at 3016 First Ave., the 107-year-old, 21,095 square foot building sits between Lower Queen Anne and Belltown. The building is next to the Space Needle, Key Arena, Pacific Science Center and Myrtle Edwards Park. The apartments also received a 95/100 walk score for its proximity to nearby stores.
The four-story building offers 33 studio units ranging from 250 to 500 square feet, four one-bedroom units ranging from 432 to 545 square feet and one two-bedroom unit with 600 square feet for a total of 38 units with some offering exposed brick walls.
According to Paragon’s website, the property has been under constant renovation for the past two years including a seismic retrofit that was completed in 2015. Reconfigurations were designed to show the charisma of the 1910 era building. The renovations include new paint throughout, new light fixtures, new carpet and interior and exterior doors have been replaced. The laundry room has also been updated with new equipment. In addition to renovations to the common areas, 13 of the units have also been upgraded to include new floor covers, cabinets, appliances, fixtures and paint.
Additionally, average rents for this property are below market average at $974 per month or $2.67 per square foot, indicating a buyers market. Paragon lists the current market rent around $1,130 per month or $3.10 per square foot.
A 2017 apartment report from Colliers’ Seattle Multifamily Team averages Belltown’s current average rent per square foot at $2.91. While not quite as high as Paragon’s average, it’s still higher than what the Centerview Apartments are listed at. The report also states the neighborhood has a vacancy rate of 4.4 percent.
“With a newly emerging waterfront to Belltown’s west, Amazon HQ to its east and a thriving Downtown market to its south, Belltown is poised to rise again as one of Seattle’s most attractive urban neighborhoods,” according to the report. “Developers continue to find desirable sites in Belltown, with most of the development earmarked for Type 1 construction. A pipeline of potential condominium units is also forming in Belltown.”
