Russell Investments Center Sold for $480M

Northwestern Mutual announced Friday that it has sold the Russell Investments Center at 1301 Second Ave. in Seattle to CommonWealth Partners, a privately held real estate investment, development and management firm based in Los Angeles, for $480 million. According to the Northwestern Mutual press release, it is believed to be the largest single asset office sale in the Western United States since 2006. CBRE served as broker for the transaction through a team led by Vice Chairman Kevin Shannon.

"This transaction is an example of how we actively manage our $5.8 billion real estate equity portfolio to generate strong returns on behalf of our policyowners," said Paul Hanson, managing director - real estate, Northwestern Mutual. "The company's real estate strategy typically focuses on long-term holds; however, the Seattle market rebounded quickly, creating an excellent opportunity for the company to realize a gain for our policyowners."

"It speaks volumes about real-estate market cycles," said Ann Chamberlin, managing director with brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle, in a Seattle Times article. "That building was purchased [by Northwestern Mutual] at the absolute bottom of the market. Now we're bouncing back and they're getting a nice return."

Northwestern Mutual originally purchased the 42-story, 872,000 square foot office building in the fall of 2009. The sale is not expected to cause disruption for tenants with long-term leases, including Russell Investments, Boeing, Nordstrom, Dendreon, JP Morgan Chase and Zillow.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Qwest Plaza Building in Seattle Sold for $137M

Clarion Partners acquired the Qwest Plaza building at 1600 Seventh Avenue in downtown Seattle, Washington for $137 million from CenturyLink, formerly known as Qwest Communications. The purchase was made on behalf of a separate account client of the firm in an offmarket transaction. CenturyLink was represented by Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross in the transaction and a new lease negotiation which has the company still occupying 260,000 square feet of the tower.

Additionally, Nordstrom is leasing more than 300,000 square feet in the building for a term of 20 years, with an option to take more space, said Nordstrom spokesman Colin Johnson. Nordstrom has been on the hunt for more downtown Seattle office space, and the Qwest Plaza building is near the Seattle retailer's headquarters and flagship building, according to a Puget Sound Business Journal article. "This new location is to accommodate our continuing growth," Nordstrom spokesman Colin Johnson said. "It's a long-term solution." Nordstrom recently said it planned to hire 400 tech workers to round out the retail company's fast-growing ecommerce division.

"We are thrilled to have been able to secure such high quality companies as Nordstrom and CenturyLink as tenants," said Stephen P. Latimer, Managing Director at Clarion Partners. "We look forward to rejuvenating the building with New York, April 3, 2012 the renovation and bringing in additional retail uses in this key location in the city."

Designed by John Graham & Company and completed in 1976, the building was originally known as the Pacific Northwest Bell Building, and has also been called 1600 Bell Plaza, and US West Communications. The 598,000-square-foot tower was reportedly 88% leased at the time of sale.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.