By Jack Stubbs
There’s never a shortage of activity in Seattle’s bustling South Lake Union neighborhood, and two luxury apartment complexes have just become the latest example of that.
On Monday, December 18th, two apartment complexes sold for a combined $325 million, according to public records filed with King County. The 325-unit Westlake Steps and Marina SLU sold for $170 million ($523,077 per unit) and the 317-unit One Lakefront Apartments sold for $155 million ($488,959 per unit).
Holland Residential partnered with New York-based Blackstone Group on the two apartment deals. According to sources familiar with the transaction, Blackstone made the investments for its core-plus open-ended commingled fund, which goes by the name of Blackstone Property Partners. The fund had a value of $15.4 billion as of September 30th, 2017, as stated by Blackstone in its 2017 third quarter results report.
Blackstone declined to comment when contacted about the details of the transaction.
The nine-story Westlake Steps and Marina SLU, located at 1207 Westlake Ave. N., was built in 2017 and contains 325 units, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The property offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom units: the one-bedroom units range from 510 to 968 square feet and rent for between $1,850 and $2,415. The two-bedroom units range between 945 square feet and 1,162 square feet and rent for between $3,790 and $4,065. The complex also offers a number of furnished apartments, suitable for temporary or relocating employees.
According to the property listing on Holland Residential’s web site, some of the prominent apartment amenities include a fireside lounge, media lounge and club room. Additionally, the property uses special technology to provide residents with high-speed internet cell service through its state-of-the-art Distributed Antenna Systems technology. Community on-site amenities include a bowling alley, conference room and fitness center.
The web site highlights the property’s location—right on the southwestern edge of Lake Union—as one of its main assets, with various dining, recreation and shopping options nearby. Also, the building is just across the street from the Seattle offices of Facebook, overlooking Lake Union.
One Lakefront Apartments was built in 2017 and is comprised of six stories, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The property offers a mix of one- two- and three-bedroom units, with rents ranging from $2,120 to $2,220. The one-bedroom units range from 616 to 855 square feet while the two-bedroom units range from 791 to 1,003 square feet. Lastly, the largest units range from 1,405 to 1,486 square feet. According to the property listing on Holland Residential’s web site, one of the prominent apartment features are the rooftop terraces, which offer expansive views of the adjacent Lake Union. Other apartment amenities include a resident boardroom and lounge and exterior courtyard and pavilion. Additionally, the property includes a solarium, fitness center and yoga studio. This property is just north of the Westlake Steps complex, along Lake Union and in very close proximity to technology employers in the area.
Founded in 2000, Holland Residential creates and manages luxury apartment communities in key U.S. markets, according to the company’s web site. The property provides a wide array of management services to its residents including on-site personnel and human resources services. The company operates apartment communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Some of the company’s other Seattle assets include the 18-story 236-unit Coppins Well complex in First Hill and Dimension, a 26-story 298-unit luxury apartment complex built in 2014 and located in Belltown. The company also manages properties further afield in the Puget Sound region, with assets in Renton, Issaquah and Bothell.
