CWS Capital Partners is the reported buyer of the empty Lenora apartment building in downtown Seattle, according to Puget Sound Business Journal. The six-story 15-year-old building houses 107 apartments at 211 Lenora St. The sale price at around $40.4 million (roughly $377,000 per unit) is almost 2/3 higher than the previous transaction cost only five years ago.
The empty apartment building used to be utilized for student housing until recently, but is currently completely vacant. However, the demand for rentals seems healthy regardless of the numerous developments in downtown Seattle. The average rents in the Belltown area have soared about 25 percent in the last five years, and the vacancy rate is believed to be only around 4 percent.
CWS Capital has announced plans to renovate the property and are unlikely to struggle to find tenants given the current demand in the area. The Lenora is their first purchase in Washington state; however, the Newport Beach, California-based company owns and operates over 25,000 units across the United States.
Photo courtesy of Laird Norton Properties
