By Meghan Hall
The city of Bothell is seeing investor and developer interest pick-up, as the town, located at the north of Lake Washington, is just 25 minutes from downtown Seattle and is seeing its own life sciences and tech cluster emerge. Job creation in the region is spurring the need for housing, and the Mercantile Apartments, which only just recently opened, traded for a healthy price tag of $38.4 million, or $314,754 per unit, according to King County Property records dating July 12th. The seller was Goodman Real Estate, a local Seattle-based developer, and the buyers were Highland Washington and Merc EC LLC, two entities associated with Christie Johnson of Campbell, Calif.
Located at 18120 102nd Ave. NE., the 122-unit Mercantile Apartments—branded as “The Merc”—for short, is comprised of studio, open 1×1, one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 464 square feet to 1,145 square feet. The six-story building was completed in 2018 and includes numerous community and apartment amenities such as a parcel locker system, bike storage, resident rooftop lounge with a kitchen and big screen, and private balconies. A lounge room with games, as well as parking for an added fee, are also part of the development.
Individual units can come equipped with hard surface, vinyl floors, stainless steel appliances and breakfast nooks. The building is modern, but incorporates design cues inspired by the original Bothell Cooperative Mercantile Building to add a local and industrial flair to the building.
The complex is located right at the heart of downtown Bothell, making it easily accessible via public transit, car or walking. Numerous local shops and eateries such as Ranch Drive-In, Julio’s and Hillcrest Bakery are all nearby, while the University of Washington Bothell campus is also just minutes away. Beyond the edges of downtown are numerous other multifamily complexes, such as the Edition and Hillside Apartments.
Bothell has become an increasingly viable investment market for multifamily developers and operators as the town has benefitted from rapidly growing companies looking to move outside the confines of Seattle. In May of this year, the 280-unit Stonemeadow Farms Apartments was sold by Hartford, Conn.-based Barings Real Estate Advisers to LIPT 27th Ave. SE LLC for $81.8 million, or about 292,142 per unit. The complex was constructed in 1998. In a smaller transaction in June, Toll Bros. Inc., a national residential developer, purchased seven acres of vacant land located at the corner of 220 St. SE and 23rd Dr. SE for $14 million from Bellevue-based MJS Investors. The parcels, located just adjacent to the Canyon Park Business Center, could be developed into a 118-unit for-sale townhome project, according to City documents.
Goodman Real Estate, founded in 1980, maintains a portfolio of commercial and multifamily properties throughout both the United States and Canada. According to the company’s website, the firm’s managed assets are valued at more than 2.5 million. In December, Goodman Real Estate acquired the 256-unit Deer Creek Apartment complex in Puyallup, Wash., for $48.5 million. Some of the company’s other properties the 240-unit Addison apartment complex and the 142-unit Cadence Apartments.
