By Meghan Hall
Nearly seven months after it was placed on the market, Atlanta-based Cox Media Group has sold its Third and Broad offices near downtown Seattle. In a deal that was finalized just today, September 10th, Cox sold 2801 3rd Ave. for $52.5 million, or about $709 per square foot. Public documents indicate that the buyer of the property is San Mateo, Calif.-based Essex Property Trust.
Originally, the property was placed up for sale in February of this year, with guidance pricing of about $60 million, according to previous reporting by The Registry. The property totals 74,003 square feet and has a site area of about 1.23 acres. The property was originally developed in 1968.
The listing agent on the sale was the CBRE office in Seattle that included both the CBRE Capital Markets team and its Multifamily Investment Group.
At the time the asset hit the market, the property was fully leased to Camelot Media Holdings LLC, whose lease runs through 2029. The LLC operates the KIRO 7 television studio, a CBS affiliate based in Seattle. The tenant is on an absolute triple net lease and is responsible for directly paying operating expenses.
The property was last sold just about two years ago, when an entity called WPXI LLC purchased the asset and then traded it to another limited liability company, for $36.4 million. The deal indicated a recapitalization of the asset, as both limited liability companies involved in the deal share their address with Cox Media.
Essex’s plans for the property are unclear. However, the asset occupies a full city block at the heart of downtown, and near the confluence of the Uptown and Belltown neighborhoods. Attractions such as the Olympic Sculpture Park, Space Needle and Seattle Center are all located nearby. Eateries in the area include Some Random Bar, Shiro’s Sushi and The 5 Point Cafe. Nearly 12 million square feet of global headquarters are in the area, including those of Amazon, Google, Facebook, UW Medicine and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
