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Project Outline
Waterfront Place is a 13-story, 177,915 SF Class A office building,
built in 1983. The building is well located at the intersection of
Spring Street and Western Avenue in close proximity to Seattle’s
waterfront, the Pike Place Market and the City’s financial district. The
first floor of the building is comprised of street front retail shops.
The building has six stories of professional office space, and three
stories of top floor condominiums. The top four floors of office space
have sweeping views of Elliot Bay. The office component consists of
162,305 SF of office space on six floors, along with 15,610 SF of
street-front retail. The condominium component is served with a
separate, secured owner’s entrance and full-time Owner’s Association.
The property is also served by a secured, four-level, 230 parking stall
garage, which is managed by a professional parking garage operator.
During GVA Kidder Mathews’ management, Waterfront Place was owned by two
separate, private investment funds. The first ownership was
headquartered in New York, and GVAKM provided full reporting, negotiated
lease renewals, and represented the owner as a member of the Condominium
Owner’s Association. The property was sold to an institutional investor
in July 2005. GVA Kidder Mathews was retained by the purchaser.
GVA Kidder Mathews managed a significant capital re-investment program
between July 2005 and March 2006, repositioning the asset’s value and
its perception in the marketplace. GVA Kidder Mathews competitively bid
and facilitated a capital expenditure program that included building
system upgrades and tenant improvement work for new tenants. The total
capital invested in this initiative exceeded $1,000,000. Capital work
included new mechanical equipment and controls and refurbishment of all
common areas and tenant improvements. New lighting and energy saving
measures were competitively bid and implemented within the building
utilizing Seattle City Light grant measures for contract savings. The
property recently sold at a considerably increased price following 13
months of ownership.
Services Provided by GVA Kidder Mathews
How GVA Kidder Mathews Added Value
GVA Kidder Mathews met with the new ownership to identify the goals and
objectives for the asset. At that time, repositioning the asset,
enhancing the leasing efforts, and providing a comprehensive review of
the existing building operations and systems was undertaken.
The GVA Kidder Mathews management team developed a detailed summary of
the existing equipment, and identified equipment that had reached the
end of its useful life, as well as control systems to improve operating
efficiencies. We contacted new service providers and Seattle City Light
to evaluate cost saving grant measures tied to new lighting and controls
within the building. The Team collaborated with the landlord’s architect
to re-design the common areas, re-carpet the common lobbies, re-paint
the hallways and restrooms, add improved lighting, and install new
artwork and furniture in the first floor lobby. We then competitively
bid existing service contracts seeking opportunities to further improve
financial performance.
The owner approved all expenditures after GVA Kidder Mathews provided
clear recommendations with supporting bids to complete the work. GVA
Kidder Mathews developed a detailed operating budget utilizing the
owner’s chart of accounts, including a five year capital plan for the
asset. The team met with the leasing agents and participated in monthly
leasing calls to ensure a clear line of communication between the
managing agent and leasing team. Walking through the vacant suites with
the leasing team and the owner, the firm was able to develop clear
guidelines for each vacancy to ensure a timely response and clear
leasing objectives for the leasing agents. The team developed floor
plans and marketing materials for the vacant suites and provided these
to the listing broker. GVA Kidder Mathews negotiated several successful
lease renewals, as the owner saw the value in GVA Kidder Mathews’
day-to-day relationship with tenants, which greatly enhanced and
supported the lease renewal efforts.
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Seattle, Washington
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