Hines Global REIT, Inc. has acquired Fisher Plaza in Seattle, WA for $160 million in cash, or about $543 per square foot, in a leaseback deal with Fisher Communications, Inc.
The property totals 294,488 square feet on almost two acres in the Queen Anne / Magnolia submarket of King County, near the iconic Space Needle. 140 4th Ave. N., known as Fisher Plaza East, totals approximately 195,000 square feet and was constructed in 2000. Fisher Plaza West at 100 4th Ave. N. totals 99,488 square feet and was finished in 2002.
At closing, the seller signed a new, 12-year lease deal for its current 120,000 square feet in the five-story Fisher Plaza East for its corporate headquarters, remaining the largest tenant at the property.
Fisher, which looked into selling the building back in 2008 but held off until the market improved, released the building in part to maximize returns for its shareholders. A portion of the proceeds will be used to redeem the remaining $61.8 million in senior notes, currently at 8 5/8% according to the company. Fisher Communications (FSCI) is a local media company with 18 television stations including several network affiliations, three radio stations and a wide range of internet advertising and mobile operations.
Hines holds several assets in the Puget Sound region, including 720 Olive Way in Seattle which it acquired for $83.7 million in 2006, according to CoStar data, and the nine-building Daytona-Laguna complex in Redmond, home to Microsoft and Honeywell International, that it acquired in two parts for an aggregate sales price of $217 million at the end of 2006.
Moelis & Company, along with Michael Finch with CenturyPacific LLLP, served as Fisher's real estate advisors on the Fisher Plaza deal.
Please see CoStar COMPS #2225551 for additional information on this transaction.