By Jack Stubbs
Another commercial property in Seattle’s downtown urban core recently changed hands.
On December 21st, a building located in downtown Seattle sold for $12.4 million, according to public records filed with King County. The buyer listed on public documents shares the same address as New York-based developer Masterworks Development Corp., and the seller was New York-based financial investment firm JP Morgan Chase and Co. The transaction was recorded on January 12th.
Paul Sleeth, executive managing director of Newmark Knight Frank’s Seattle office, marketed the property on behalf of JP Morgan Chase.
The two-story building, located at 1405 5th Ave., totals 24,480 square feet and was built in 1941, according to public documents. The property was home to a Chase Bank branch until last year, and a Sassoon Salon currently operates there, according to Google maps. The site, which measures only .2 acres, might be part of a redevelopment project in the works.
According to a statement by the Puget Sound Business Journal, a 10-story hotel development could be planned for the site, although no building plans have officially been submitted to the city. The existing building on the site—which formerly housed the Chase Bank—would be demolished as part of the redevelopment.
Paul Sleeth was unable to provide any additional information about the hotel development when contacted for this story.
JP Morgan Chase and Co., founded in 1799, is one of the world’s largest financial institutions. In recent years, the firm has also had a hand in another prominent development in Seattle: the Yesler Terrace Project, Washington state’s first public housing project.
Beginning in 2012, resources started to come together for the $290 million redevelopment of Yesler Terrace. As part of the redevelopment project, the Seattle Housing Authority teamed up with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, which provided grants to support a variety of community-focused initiatives, according to the company’s web site.
Founded in 1992, Masterworks Development Corp. develops, owns and operates hotels, according to Bloomberg. Masterworks could not be reached for comment in time for the publishing of this story.
