By Meghan Hall
Redmond has had an active two quarters when it comes to investment, with multiple office and retail properties selling over the past several months. On Friday, another transaction built upon that momentum, as Bellevue, Wash.-based Wakefield Properties purchased Building Two of the Redmond West of Willows Complex for $19.4 million, or about $269 per square foot. According to King County public documents detailing the transaction, the seller was Vancouver-based Nicola Wealth Management.
Located at 9521 Willows Road NE, the 72,000 square foot office and flex space building is currently home to Puget Sound Energy and Alden Research Laboratory .
The building is located well within the Willows Road business corridor, which has been active in recent months; in June, a five-parcel property just off of Willows Road, sold for a combined $40 million to ISP West Coast Holdings Inc. The seller was BCA Properties LLC, associated with the Bellevue Children’s Academy. Also in June, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler secured joint venture equity and construction financing totaling $1454.7 million to proceed with the next phase of its three million square foot Esterra Park live-work-play community in Redmond. In May, KBS Commercial Real Estate Advisors acquired The Offices at Riverpark for $48.1 million, or $453 per square foot. Just days later, Unico also continued its investment into Redmond, purchasing the 79,197 square foot Marymoor Technology Center for $23.5 million.
As Redmond continues to grow, likely will investor interest. According to the City of Redmond’s Department of Economic Development, Redmond is the seventh most populous city in King County, and one of the fastest growing. Redmond’s population forecast for 2030 is 78,000, and its employment forecast for the same year is anticipated to be even higher, at 119,000, thanks to a number of high-tech, gaming, aerospace and biomedical companies that call Redmond home. The city’s largest employers include Microsoft, Terex Washington & USA, Nintendo and AT&T.
Founded in 1996, Wakefield Properties has worked to develop and maintain numerous commercial properties throughout the Puget Sound, including a 170,000 square foot retail center in Covington and the 335,000 square foot Snohomish Station shopping center. Wakefield also put together the 198-unit Trillium Heights at Issaquah Ridge, as well as The Timbers, a 337-unit rental project which it sold to Simpson Housing.
