Clarion Partners has acquired 1600 Seventh Avenue, a 32-story, 598,000-sq.-ft. office property in downtown Seattle, Wash. for $137 million. The purchase was made on behalf of a separate account client of the firm in an off-market transaction.
Clarion acquired the building from CenturyLink, formerly known as Qwest Communications. CenturyLink and its predecessor companies have continuously occupied the property since it opened in 1976 and will remain as a tenant in approximately 260,000 sq. ft. A Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross team, led by Victor Frandsen, Tim Harrington and Alan Polacsek, represented CenturyLink in the sale, in conjunction with Eastdil Secured. The NFK team also represented CenturyLink in the new lease negotiated with Clarion Partners.
Simultaneous with the purchase, Clarion announced that Nordstrom, Inc. has committed to a long-term lease for over 300,000 sq. ft., bringing the occupancy of the property to 88 percent. The company expects to start moving into its new location starting next fall. Urban Renaissance Group LLC represented Clarion in the transaction and will serve as the local operator of the asset going forward.
Following the acquisition, Clarion and Urban Renaissance Group plan a significant renovation of the property, updating the common areas, including the main lobby, and adding ground level retail and underground parking.
“We are thrilled to have been able to secure such high-quality companies as Nordstrom and CenturyLink as tenants,” Stephen P. Latimer, Managing Director at Clarion Partners, said in a statement. “We look forward to rejuvenating the building with the renovation and bringing in additional retail uses in this key location in the city.”
Located in the heart of the central business district, 1600 Seventh Avenue is easily accessible by public transportation, sits two blocks from the downtown Seattle Nordstrom store and Nordstrom Rack store and is within walking distance of many of the city’s leading retailers, restaurants, and hotels, as well as the Washington Convention Center.
This marks the second acquisition by Clarion in the Seattle area this year, following on its $31 million purchase in January of Covington Esplanade, a Home Depot-anchored shopping center. Clarion now manages over $1 billion of real estate in the Seattle area.