By Jack Stubbs
Early last week on Wednesday, February 5th, a penthouse in the Bellevue Towers complex sold for $11.95 million, King County records show. The buyer of the property was Steel Gear Bundongchan LLC, an entity based in Bellevue. The property was sold by two individual investors based in Woodinville, Gary and Jennifer Rubens.
The Rubens made a profit with the recent sale of the penthouse, which they originally bought in 2013 for $3.8 million, according to public documents.
Public documents do not list any company contacts for Steel Gear LLC, but they do list Kyle Branum, a partner at Summit Law Group, affiliated with Steel Gear. Branum declined to comment about the transaction when contacted for this story.
Jason Foss of Northwest Real Estate Group is the listing broker for the property, according to the property’s web site.
Built in 2008, the 42-story Bellevue Towers complex contains 539 units. The Bellevue Tower homes exemplify a Northwest contemporary design featuring high-end appliances, designer fixtures and high-quality finishes, according to the property’s web site.
The Penthouse unit that was sold was built in 2009 and fully renovated in 2015, according to the web site. The penthouse totals 6,400 square feet and contains three bedrooms and 18-foot ceilings, a master suite, walk-in closet and a billiard room, among other features.
Additionally, the property includes a 3,000 square foot outside terrace, natural gas fire tables and a hot tub. Some of the Bellevue Towers amenities available to residents include a 24-hour concierge service, fitness room, community room and rooftop garden.
The luxury condo property, located at 500 106th Ave. NE, is just half a mile from downtown Bellevue and roughly four miles to the south of Kirkland. Additionally, the asset is aproximately one mile miles from access to the intersection of Washington State Route 520 and Interstate 405.
Data from a first quarter 2018 report by Polaris Pacific sheds further light on current demand for condos versus apartment units in the Seattle market. There are 1,099 new condominiums currently under construction in Seattle and an additional 308 condominiums that are entitled and could begin construction in the near future. In contrast, here are 4,865 apartment units under construction and 10,346 apartment units approved throughout Seattle.
Some of the other condo developments in Bellevue—which are currently sold out—include the 377-unit Washington Square; the 128-unit Belle Arts; and the 57-unit One Main Street complex, according to the report. Regarding the sales activity for the Bellevue Towers over the past 12 months, the one-bedroom units, which average 1,310 square feet, sold for an average of $174,389, while the 1,920 square foot two-bedroom units sold for an average of $1,428,722.
