By Meghan Hall
It is no secret that Seattle’s commercial real estate market has exploded over the past five years as big tech and major developers have moved into the area. Property values continue to rise quickly as evidenced in the recent sale of a downtown retail asset. Public records show that 1953 Westlake Ave. has sold for $14.4 million–more than three times what it was originally purchased for back in 2016.
Records show that the sellers of the property were a pair of limited liability companies–PBJP Enterprises and SPK Properties–associated with Seattle-based Meriwether Advisors. The LLCs had originally purchased the property for about $4 million. The buyer of the property was another LLC, this time associated with Fidelity Investments.
The McDonald’s at the property had been in operation since 1979, and it has been replaced by a new property with Chase Bank as the tenant. The property, which totals 5,740 square feet, is the only building on the small, triangular block, according to county records.
The property is located near the core of downtown, next to The Westin Seattle and Amazon’s Doppler and Port 99 buildings. Westlake Center, a shopping mall, and Pike Place Market, are also not far away.
As of the third quarter, the retail sector was still facing challenges, including supply chain disruptions and staffing challenges, due to the pandemic In urban core areas where 1953 Westlake is located, urban daytime populations remain limited as companies continue to postpone their return to work. However, vacancy at the end of the third quarter still sat at 2.72 percent, while rent grew 3.7 percent year-over-year according to Kidder Mathews, signaling that strong economic fundamentals do remain, helping to bolster the sector.
