By Jack Stubbs
A Class A office building in the North Kirkland/Eastside submarket last week changed hands between two Puget Sound-based entities.
On Tuesday, March 6th, the Kirkland 405 Corporate Center Building A sold for $14.8 million, or approximately $400 per square foot, according to public records filed with King County. The buyer of the property was Seattle-based KOF Enterprises LLC, an entity also known as King’s Oriental Foods, a company that operates in the food preparations industry. The name of John Cao, president of KOF Enterprises LLC, appears on public documents. The property was sold by Claddagh Ventures LLC, an entity that has the same address as Puyallup-based Joyce Development, a physical therapy clinic. The transaction was recorded on March 12th.
The seller is making a profit on the property, which it bought for $11.2 million in December 2015 from local real estate investor Gary Rubens, according to public documents.
Neither the buyer nor the seller responded to calls for comment about the details of the transaction in time for the publishing of this story.
The Kirkland 405 Corporate Center Building A was built in 1985 and totals 37,000 square feet, according to public documents. The two-story Class A office building sits on an approximately 2.7-acre parcel and also includes a roughly 20,7000 gross square foot parking lot.
According to the property listing on loopnet.com, the building has a walk score of 67 and a transit score of 47. The multi-tenant office building provides stabilized investment returns, and additional value-add income can be gained through increasing below-market rents, leasing storage rooms and charging for covered parking, according to the listing. Some of the on-site amenities include a fitness center, conference room and and storage rooms. The property also includes a new HVAC system.
According to Google Maps, the building is currently occupied by manufacturer Micron Technology Inc.; Sound Planning Group, a financial planner; TERRA Staffing Group; and Chicago Title Insurance.
Located at 11411 NE 124th St., the asset is is approximately four miles to the north of Kirkland and roughly five miles to the south of Woodinville. Additionally, the property sits about one mile from Juanita Beach Park on the edge of Lake Washington and is less than half a mile from access to Interstate-405.
KOF Enterprises LLC was founded in 1994, according to the company’s listing on buzzfile.com.
The company primarily operates in the food preparations/kindred products sector, which includes establishments that manufacture or process foods and beverages for human consumption. KOF Enterprises is estimated to generate $1.3 million in annual revenues and employs approximately ten people, according to the company’s web site.
The sales price of $14.8 million for the office building is similar to that of other office properties in Kirkland that have changed hands over the last year. In February 2017, JASE LLC acquired the two-story Arris Building—that includes 48,000 square feet of rentable square—from California-based Menlo Equities for $12.45 million, or approximately $259 per square foot. More recently, in July 2017, Wesmar Investments sold the 39,000 square foot Slater Avenue office building to an entity affiliated with Schuler Residential Inc. for $13.6 million. In August 2017, a roughly 52,000 square foot Kirkland office building—which is located adjacent to the Kirkland 405 Corporate Center Building—was acquired by an LLC associated with Los Angeles-based Albert and Jacques Massachi for $14.65 million.
Another significant development in the works in the area is Kirkland Urban, an 11.5-acre mixed-use multi-phase development located downtown. The project, which broke ground in fall 2016 and is slated to open in 2019, is being jointly developed by PGIM Real Estate, Talon Private Capital and Ryan Companies and designed by CollinsWoerman architects. According to the project’s webs site, the development will include 650,000 square feet of class A office space (future tenants include Tableau and Wave, and the office towers could be home to as many as 5,000 employees), 225,000 square feet of commercial space, 300,000 square feet of residential space (room for 380 units) and 1,700 parking spaces.
