(EDITOR’S NOTE: According to public documents reviewed by The Registry, the building sale closed on June 21st for $67 million, or $736 per square foot. An additional $4 million was paid for the adjacent marina, for a total of $71 million. Cairn West, an entity affiliated with Seattle-based Henbart, the company that was the original developer on the property, was the seller.)
June 22, 2022 — The Swig Company has completed the purchase of the Lake Union Building, an approximately 91,000 s.f. Class A office building at 1700 Westlake Avenue North in Seattle. This building is the San Francisco-based company’s first acquisition in the Seattle market.
“We view the Lake Union Building as an exceptional opportunity to acquire a generational waterfront property in a market we’ve been looking at building a presence in for some time,” said Stephanie Ting, Executive Vice President of The Swig Company.
The LEED Gold-certified Lake Union Building was built in 1972 and has since been renovated to provide high-quality spaces for tenants. The building offers unparalleled lake views from most of the tenant spaces, and has a bike storage and a marina lounge. The seven-story waterfront property is also the only commercial office building in Seattle currently with View dynamic glass windows. The windows can be automatically adjusted to regulate sunlight into workspaces during the day.
“The dynamic glass is highly energy efficient and not only allows the building temperature to be closely controlled in summer and winter, but also provides obstruction-free lake views,” said Dennis Rosario, Vice President of The Swig Company.
The building is surrounded by restaurant and lifestyle amenities and is less than five minutes from Google, Amazon and Meta’s South Lake Union campuses and the 12-acre Lake Union Park. The Lake Union Building offers a two-story parking garage and is close to public transportation links including two RapidRide E line stops. The building also includes a marina with 61 boat slips.
About The Swig Company:
The Swig Company, LLC is a privately-owned, San Francisco-based real estate operator with an 85-year history of investment, development, partnership and management of commercial real estate properties in major US markets. Founded by Benjamin H. Swig in 1936, The Swig Company is guided by a long-term investment perspective that has proven adept at stewarding investors safely through multiple market cycles. The company’s vertically-integrated operational platform, which includes investment, asset and property management, and leasing expertise, uses flexibility, generational thinking and sensitivity to sustainable practices to stay at the forefront of emerging trends in the commercial real estate industry.
