The Interstate 90 office submarket is the second-largest in the Eastside behind downtown Bellevue.
The nondescript I-90 corridor lacks the glitz of downtown Bellevue, yet investors are swooping in with big money and big plans in one specific area — Eastgate.
I recently reported that Seattle-based Urban Renaissance Group is partnering with Denver-based Miller Global Properties on a major makeover of Lincoln Executive Center. Then Bill Pollard at Talon Private Capital told me his Seattle firm and Chicago-based Walton Street Capital plan to b uy and rehab four empty Boeing Buildings.
Now comes word that JPMorgan Chase & Co. wants to sell the 600,000-square-foot Advanta Office Commons. Eastdil Secured has the three-building listing. JPMorgan declined to comment.
URG and Talon often are at the forefront of development trends, so their investments are noteworthy. They are not the first local firms to take an interest in the area. Benaroya and Schnitzer West presciently invested in Eastgate years ago, with Schnitzer developing Advanta and selling it to JPMorgan for $240 million in 2010.
Eastgate is popular with investors due to its robust transportation and transit networks, a surprising number of tech companies and a recent upzone allowing office buildings up to 12 stories tall.
Plus it’s significantly less expensive. Average rents along the Interstate 90 corridor are $32.50 per square foot per year, or 30 percent lower than average rents in downtown Bellevue.
By Marc Stiles – Staff Writer, Puget Sound Business Journal
