Interbay Work Lofts, at 1631 15th Ave. W., has sold for almost $19.5 million, according to King County records. The seller was 1631 15th Ave W LLC, a venture of Goodman Real Estate and Fred Grimm (formerly of Triad), which acquired the land in 2000 for $760,000 and developed it a dozen years later.
There were two buyers: Nickel Interbay LLC, with just under a 40 percent interest; and GSR Hartland Interbay LLC, with just over 60 percent. Both are associated with Graham Street Realty of San Francisco.
Brokers were not announced. The deal was worth about $235 per square foot.
Developed in 2013, the three-story building has 82,679 rentable square feet, according to the county, and a central courtyard. The offices were originally configured in 63 units, with about 1,000 square feet each. They have a shared kitchen, lounges and amenities. Structured parking provides an unknown number of stalls. The land measures 35,600 square feet.
NKF leases the offices.
Studio Meng Strazzara designed the wood-frame building, and Venture General Contracting built it. The architect told the DJC in 2014 that the budget was around $11 million.
The project was novel, and somewhat ahead of its time in Interbay, which was upzoned in 2008. (Limited residential uses were also then allowed.) In some ways, Interbay Work Lofts also anticipated the current trend toward shared workspaces and flexible short-term leasing, the model for WeWork, Novel Coworking (formerly Level Office) and others.
Since Interbay Work Lofts opened, that area has seen a surge in self-storage, apartments and other new developments. A handful of sites on both sides of 15th are for sale, including the half-acre Seattle Pump & Equipment Co. property (by CBRE), and an entitled 39-unit apartment project called Loft Haus at 3430 15th Ave. W. (by Colliers).
Light rail will stop at West Dravus Street and Smith Cove when that line to Ballard is completed in 2035. Interbay is now served by RapidRide D Line. Next year’s anticipated arrival of Expedia at the former Amgen campus will also lift Interbay’s prospects.
Graham Street invests for private clients and its own account, with a half-dozen properties in California and Colorado that total 729,156 square feet. Interbay Work Lofts represents its first local investment.