Union Investment has bought a Seattle office building let to Amazon for $330m (€296m).
The German fund manager has acquired Midtown 21 for its open-ended fund UniImmo Europa, which has a focus on Europe but is permitted to invest outside the region.
The class-A, 21-storey property was built in 2016 with 35,000sqm of space by developer Trammell Crow Company and US insurer MetLife.
Amazon signed a lease in late-2016 and occupies 98.4%. The building was originally designed as a multi-tenant property.
Union said it was located in a growth area. Denny Triangle sits between the central business district and the South Lake Union submarket.
“Midtown 21 is one of the most prestigious newly constructed office buildings in the Denny Triangle submarket and makes an ideal addition to our US portfolio,” said Matthew Scholl, head of investment management Americas at Union Investment Real Estate.
“In Midtown 21’s lead tenant, we have a truly global company with very strong ties to the city of Seattle who has not only played a significant role in boosting the economic growth of the country, but of the entire region.”
UniImmo Europa already has exposure to Seattle, including the 37,000sqm Amazon Phase VI office building, which is also occupied by the internet giant.
In March, Union Investment announced the acquisition of the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, close to Midtown 21.
“Seattle’s Denny Triangle is already a first-class submarket,” said Willis Kim, head of US West Coast and Canada at Union Investment Real Estate.
“Going forward, the quality of the location will continue to improve – for example, through the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center and significant investment in local infrastructure with the extension of the urban rail system.”
The Washington State Convention Center will be expanded by 40,000sqm by 2020. Seattle’s urban rail network is expected to expand by 53 kilometres over the next six years and an additional 100km thereafter.
Another German investment manager, Commerz Real, recently acquired a Seattle building occupied by Facebook for $286m.
