Top 10 Seattle Office Completions in 2017

By Razvan Cimpean

In recent years, the Seattle metro has witnessed an important increase in office construction activity. Since 2015, developers have added more than 10 million square feet of office space in the area, 58.9 percent of which was concentrated in the Denny Triangle and South Lake Union. Bellevue is catching up, with a little more than 1.5 million square feet added in 2016 and 2017, combined.

Amazon leased about 35 percent of the total 3.9 million square feet delivered last year in Seattle. However, after going on a hiring spree over the past two years, the tech giant recently cooled off on adding jobs in Seattle.

10. Fremont Office Building

Stephen C. Grey & Associates completed the 123,000-square-foot office building at 744 N. 34th St. last December. The property, subject to a $35 million construction loan from Umpqua Bank, includes 15,000 square feet of retail space. Fremont Office Building offers easy access to multiple bus stations, restaurants and hotels, such as Jai Thai Restaurant and Staybridge Suites. Tenants include Tableau Software, Milstead & Co. and Evergreens Salad. The owner also has plans for a 60,000-square-foot office mid-rise nearby, at 900 N. 34th St.

9. 450 Alaskan

Hudson Pacific Properties has had a busy 2017. The Los Angeles-based company delivered a 168,000-square-foot office mid-rise in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. The eight-story building is situated at 450 Alaskan Way S., about one mile from interstates 5 and 90. The firm owns seven office properties in Seattle totaling a little more than 1.5 million square feet. Last year, Hudson Pacific also completed Icon at Sunset Bronson Studios, one of the largest office deliveries in California.

8. The Alexandria Center

The 287,000-square-foot property at 400 Dexter Ave. N. is Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ largest office building to date. The owner, a Pasadena-based company focused on life science and technology campuses, selected Newmark Knight Frank to handle leasing duties. Tenants at The Alexandria Center include Juno Therapeutics and The Collective. The 12-story development is situated less than a mile from Interstate 5 and next to multiple public transportation, dining and shopping options. The firm also awaits city approvals for a 295,000-square-foot building at 1150 Eastlake Ave. E.

7. Tilt 49 – Office Building

Takenaka Corp. acquired the 292,000-square-foot high-rise last December for $268.5 million from Urban Renaissance Group, which was retained as property manager. The office building was completed in August 2017 with the help of a $86.4 million construction loan provided by Bank of the Ozarks. Located at 1812 Boren Ave., the 11-story property was designed to meet LEED Silver standards, includes 1,600 square feet of retail space and is fully leased by Amazon.

6. Centre 425

TriStar Capital purchased the 354,000-square-foot property, located at 425 106th Ave. N.E. in Bellevue, last October. The New York-based company appointed Schnitzer West, the developer of the project, to be in charge of management responsibilities. Amazon signed a lease to occupy the 16-story property in its entirety. Centre 425 is situated next to Bellevue Arts Museum and Bellevue Square and less than a mile from Interstate 405. The office building offers convenient access to multiple bus stations, as well as more than 850 parking spaces.

5. Midtown 21

Trammell Crow completed the 371,000-square-foot office project in mid-year 2017 and immediately sold it to Union Investment for a little more than $330 million. Located at 1007 Steward St., Midtown 21 is designed to meet LEED Gold standards. CBRE was selected to handle both leasing and property management duties at the new office completion. The single-tenant high-rise is occupied by Amazon. The 21-story building is situated in downtown Seattle, within walking distance of various public transportation, entertainment, shopping and dining options, while Interstate 5 is roughly a mile away.

4. Amazon Houdini North

Amazon was on a roll in 2017. The tech giant leased nearly 1.4 million square feet of office space within properties present on this list alone, including this 2017-delivered asset. Urban Renaissance Group owns and manages the 382,000-square-foot high-rise at 399 Fairview Ave. N., subject to a $198.9 million construction loan from Regions Bank. The 13-story building is located in the Lake Union submarket and offers easy access to multiple bus stations, restaurants and hotels, including Cuoco, Veggie Grill and Moxy Seattle Downtown.

3. F5 Tower

Coming in third was the 695,500-square-foot F5 Tower, located at 801 Fifth Ave. in downtown Seattle. Developer Daniels Real Estate completed the property last September and selected JLL to lease it. The building includes 516,000 square feet of office, 175,000 square feet of hotel and 4,519 square feet of retail. The 48-story property features a conference center, locker rooms, showers, electric car charging station and bike lockers. F5 Tower is situated in the vicinity of various restaurants and hotels, including Maxwell’s Restaurant, Outlier and Renaissance Seattle Hotel.

2. Lincoln Square South

Kemper Development’s 900,000-square-foot building consists of nearly 720,000 square feet of office space and 180,000 square feet of retail. Tenants at Lincoln Square South, located at 10400 N.E. Fourth St. in Bellevue, include Valve, WeWork and The Pokémon Co. The property is situated next to Bellevue Downtown Park and various dining, shopping and entertainment options, such as VIVO 53, La Bu La and Bellevue Connection. The owner selected Broderick Group to handle leasing duries for the 31-story property, which was developed to meet LEED Gold standards.

1. Madison Centre

Completed by Schnitzer West last September, with the help of a $225 million construction loan provided by the Blackstone Group, the 754,000-square-foot property is located in Seattle’s CBD, at 505 Madison St. The high-rise includes almost 8,000 square feet of retail space and is occupied by EY, Davis Wright Tremaine and Textio. Madison Centre is Schnitzer West’s largest building in the Seattle, where it owns about 1.5 million square feet of office space. The property is situated next to Interstate 5 and about one mile and a half away from Interstate 90.

This article uses Yardi Matrix data that includes office assets with usable areas of at least 50,000 square feet.

Images courtesy of Yardi Matrix and via Google Street View