By Meghan Hall
Private investors and small transactions around the $10 million dollar mark continue to make up the majority of transactions heading into the third quarter—especially when they are entitled for new development. Following along this trend, family-owned R.D. Miller Company, a local real estate firm, has sold off several parcels of land in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. The assets, on a main commercial corridor, traded for $10.5 million. The buyer is CRP/AR Stoneway Owner, LLC, an entity affiliated with Alliance Realty.
The transaction included three parcels located at 4106, 4108 and 4122 Stone Way North. Together, the properties total more than 35,000 square feet and span nearly an entire city block along Stone Way North. The sites share the block with a one-story emergency pet clinic, while commercial buildings clad in wood, concrete and brick sit across 45th St. and N. 42nd St.
The 4106 Stone Way North asset includes a 1921 building that totals 1,550 square feet. The single-story structure is currently being used as an office building. The building located at 4108 Stone Way North on the property was originally constructed in 1922 and totals 3,180 square feet. According to public parcel data, the building’s use is a mix of apartment and local retail. The largest parcel, at 4122 Stone Way North, is currently developed with an 8,660 square foot masonry warehouse. It was originally constructed in 1958.
The properties are near a number of eateries and local businesses, including Russell’s Tavern, Paws4training and Pagliacci Pizza. Several blocks north is the Wallingford Center, anchored by a QFC and CVS.
Alliance Realty plans to raze the properties on the sites, and construct a new multifamily project in their place. The project will include 134,651 square foot building with 113 apartment units, 6,300 square feet of retail and 87 parking spaces. A roof deck with seating and an artificial lawn is also included in the plans.
Alliance Realty and local firm Urbal Architecture appeared before the design review board in the summer of 2018 and beginning of 2019 to review the design of the project. In February of 2019—more than a year ago—the project team received design approval the green light to move forward with the remainder of the entitlements process.
The exterior of the building will incorporate a storefront window system at ground level, a steel canopy and soffit, black fiber cement panels and dark gray lap siding. A masonry unit façade and columns at the ground level will create entry bays and break up the massing, differentiating the retail from residential units on the upper floors.
While the timing for the project’s delivery is unclear, multifamily has proven to be a fairly stable asset class in recent months, even as development and transaction volume has slowed. Demand for rental units continues as major employers have touted work from home policies, and the region’s supply and demand imbalance proved positive for property owners in the area, who are keeping a close eye on their fundamentals moving forward.
