By Meghan Hall
As sales activity begins to resume throughout the Puget Sound, a Class B office building at the heart of downtown has sold. According to public documents, the Harold Poll Building was purchased by Martin Smith Incorporated for $33.5 million, or about $578 per square foot. The seller was Harold Poll Building LLC, affiliated with Rosalind Poll of Seattle.
The asset is located at 110 Union Street. The building totals 58,000 square feet and was originally constructed in 1910, states King County parcel data. Historically known as the Hancock Building, the property was constructed during a period of rapid downtown commercial expansion that occurred following the Klondike Gold Rush.
The property sits just blocks from Pike Place Market and the Seattle waterfront. Numerous shops and eateries, from Noi Thai Cuisine and Zig Zag Café, to attractions such as the Seattle Aquarium and the Gum Wall and The Seattle Great Wheel, are within walking distance.
Martin Smith Incorporated, based in Seattle, own and manage a number of the city’s landmark buildings. The Terminal Sales Building, a 90,778 square foot asset built in 1923 and renovated in 2010, is also part of Martin Smith’s portfolio. The property is located just blocks from the Harold Poll Building. The Union Trust Building, situated in Pioneer Square, is also owned by Martin Smith. The 27,070 square foot building was constructed in 1893 and today operates as a mid-rise historic office building with street-level retail.
Class B asking rents decreased 5.5 percent during the third quarter, and Class A rents declined 4.1 percent, according to a recent report released by Colliers International. Investment volume year to date is at just 23.7 percent of where it stood during the same period of 2019. Sales activity, states Colliers, has rebounded slightly, and while pricing is up year-over-year, the data has been largely influenced by the sale of The Net, an entitled tower proposed by Urban Visions which recently traded for just under $128 million. However, Colliers maintains that there is “no positive outlook for the region” until a vaccine is made available to the public, and occupiers and landlords alike are still trying to push major real estate decisions to a later date.
