By Meghan Hall
Two institutional investors have struck a deal for a Seattle office asset. In a transaction that was finalized today, Invesco has sold its interest in 1101 Westlake Ave. North for $151.5 million, or nearly $984 per square foot, according to public records. The buyer is San Diego-based life science property owner and developer BioMed Realty, which just two weeks ago spent another $126.8 to acquire a parcel in Seattle where it plans to develop a 616,000-square-foot life science technology asset.
Known as “Eleven01 Westlake,” the property is fully leased to Meta (Facebook), which signed an agreement to take the building in at the end of 2016. Invesco originally purchased the property for $67.4 million in October of 2015. At the time, the six-story, 154,000 square foot office project was under construction and was acquired from Holland Partner Group. Holland Partner also worked to build 700 apartment units at the site.
The building features 30,000 square foot floor plates, an outdoor deck on the sixth floor, bike and kayak storage and a secure parking garage. The building is also equipped with CenturyLink fiber and is within walking distance of local restaurants and eateries.
“By offsetting the core, each floor plate provides a clean slate to create environments to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation,” architecture firm MG2 says about the project on its website. “The building lobby was designed as an open “living room” concept, creating an adaptable space for work and meetings that allows tenants to dedicate more space on each floor to other uses.”
The ultimate goal of the development was to create a live-work-recreate neighborhood, building on the momentum of companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Fred Hutchinson, and others.
“Seattle remains one of the nation’s foremost hubs for life science and technology, driven by a highly educated workforce, growing population and leading research institutions,” said Tim Schoen, CEO of BioMed Realty in a statement. “BioMed is proud to provide life science companies and technology leaders with high-quality infrastructure where they can continue to collaborate and innovate in a thriving ecosystem.”
The 1101 Westlake acquisition brings BioMed Realty’s portfolio of existing office and lab space in Seattle to 1.4 million square feet, which includes the flagship Dexter Yard project, located in close proximity to this new property, according to a statement from the firm. The company currently maintains a development pipeline of approximately 1.2 million square feet, which includes the recently-acquired Denny Park South location and the T6 Innovation Center at 200 Taylor Avenue North.
“This acquisition marks an important milestone for BioMed’s growing Seattle portfolio while simultaneously highlighting the continued return to office of the technology industry,” said Jon Bergschneider, President of West Coast markets at BioMed Realty, in a statement. “The acquisition of this prominent, 100% leased property will enable us to support the city’s innovation ecosystem and talent-rich community now and into the future.”
