“The unique aspect and the iconic aspect of the property are what are driving the interested parties,” she said. Holley said she has received “several serious inquiries,” including families with children. The new lease would be for three to five years or longer, said listing agent Moira Holley. Venture capitalist Petra Franklin famously remodeled the space into a penthouse with a 20-year lease that has now ended. Take the staircase to reach the glass globe at the very top of the tower. A catwalk surrounds the living room, and triangular windows offer views of the city and Elliott Bay. Listed for the first time since it was converted to a living space in the late ’90s, the 2,128-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment spans two levels. “Classic architecture evokes an opulent era, a backdrop of craftsmanship that lives on through carefully crafted cocktails from an unrivaled, breathtaking vantage high above Seattle.For the right long-term commitment, a Seattle renter could snag a unique apartment that has never been on the market before: the pyramid-shaped penthouse atop Seattle’s historical Smith Tower. “Rum runners, guns, typewriters, romantic superstitions and ties to Chinese royalty are all woven into the historical fabric of this icon, which presents a window into the Emerald City’s colorful past,” the Smith Tower’s website states. New York architectural firm Gaggin & Gaggin designed Smith Tower, which was both their first and last skyscraper project. With encouragement from his wife, he purchased the land at Second Avenue and Yesler that would eventually become Smith Tower. The tower was born out of the vision of Lyman Cornelius Smith, an industrialist from New York who made a fortune selling typewriters and firearms. At the time of its opening, the tower featured 540 offices, six retail stores, two telegraph offices and a public telephone station. The 37-story Smith Tower was originally built in 1912 and opened to the public in 1914, according to the property’s website. The tower traded again six years later in a foreclosure auction before its acquisition by Unico Properties. In a proposal that ultimately fell through, Walton, a Chicago firm, originally planned to upgrade the tower and add condominiums. Prior to its most recent sale, Walton Street Capital purchased both buildings in 2006 from Samis Foundation, a nonprofit organization, according to The Seattle Times report. That portfolio of properties, which was collectively referred to as the Unico Partners I portfolio, had been worth a combined $710 million. Unico retained a stake in the properties and continued to operate and manage the buildings on behalf of the new partnership.Īt the time of that sale, both the Florence Building and Smith Tower were part of a larger 27-building, 1.8 million square foot portfolio of assets located in Seattle and Denver. In 2019, an entity affiliated with Goldman Sachs purchased the two buildings from Unico Properties for a combined $138 million, or approximately $453 per square foot, according to previous reporting from The Registry. The current owner is a partnership between Goldman Sachs and Seattle-based Unico Properties. The properties are surrounded by restaurants, local businesses and public parks. Both buildings sit blocks away from Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound. The 4,400 square foot Florence Building is located at 512 Second Ave., and the approximately 300,000 square foot Smith Tower office property is located at 506 Second Ave. No asking price has been disclosed for the offering, which also includes the Smith Tower’s neighboring Florence Building, according to a recent report from The Seattle Times. Two assets in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, including the historic Smith Tower, have hit the market for sale.
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