By Jack Stubbs
As Seattle and the Puget Sound region continue to expand, investment opportunities in the mixed-use and multifamily real estate markets are increasingly being eyed by out-of-state investors, and a recent sale indicates that this trend is set to continue.
On Tuesday, April 23rd, Boston-based real estate investment management firm TA Realty spent $128.5 million to acquire a seven-parcel mixed-use property, which includes the Pike Motorworks Apartments complex, King County records show. The seller was Seattle Core Development Site I LLC, an entity which shares the same address as Scottsdale, AZ-based The Wolff Company, a real estate private equity firm that focuses on the multifamily sector.
The recent transaction included seven different parcels located at various addresses including 715 E. Pine St., according to public documents. One of these properties is the Pike Motorworks Apartments, a 7-story, 243-unit complex that was built in 2016, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The property offers a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units that range from 383 to 1,736 square feet.
According to the web site for the Pike Motorworks Apartments, some of the prominent interior amenities available to residents include spacious floor plans with vaulted ceilings, insulated windows, wood-style flooring and stainless steel appliances. The property also features repurposed original materials to celebrate the site’s unique history and a retail courtyard featuring an urban art sculpture.
The web site also highlights the ideal location of the Pike Motorworks Apartments in the center of the vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. “Known for its effortless individuality, Capitol Hill is Seattle’s social hub filled with eclectic eateries, shops and more. And when you live at Pike Motorworks, some of Seattle’s best are literally downstairs.”
Pike Motorworks occupies a central location at the corner of E. Pine St. and Boylston Ave., just three blocks from Cal Anderson Park and two blocks from Seattle Central College. The property is also roughly 1.5 miles to the east of prominent attractions in the city’s downtown core such as Pike Place Market, the Washington State Convention Center and the Seattle Art Museum.
Additionally, the property sits right between Pike and Pine Streets in the middle of the Pike/Pine Corridor, which is set for changes in the coming months. In a project named the Pike Pine Renaissance: Act One, the city of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront has teamed up with the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) to redesign and improve the pedestrian experience along Pike and Pine streets, as well as connect the corridor to the waterfront and the nearby Pike Place Market to Capitol Hill. The project, which began in 2013 as part of DSA’s Pike Pine Renaissance Streetscape Design Vision, is part of the city’s larger $688 million redevelopment of the waterfront.
Since the company’s inception in 1982, TA Realty has acquired, invested and/or managed $28.2 billion of real estate and acquired over 985 commercial and multifamily properties on behalf of U.S. and non-U.S. investors, according to the company’s web site.
According to The Registry’s reporting, TA Realty was last active in the Puget Sound region’s industrial real estate market in early April 2019 when, on April 10th, the company purchased two industrial properties in Puyallup for a combined $38.5 million from Evergreen International Holdings.
