Columbia Center, the city's tallest skyscraper, was built 30 years ago. At 287.4264 m it is currently the second tallest structure on the West Coast. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners completed its purchase of the 76-story Columbia Center in Seattle for $711 million on Aug 7.
It ranks as one of the biggest real-estate transactions in the region's history and is the first time a large Asian investment firm has acquired a trophy tower in Seattle.
Asian institutional investors have been shopping for deals in the Seattle area over the past year. Gaw Capital bid successfully against domestic funds and long-established European investors.
The Wealth-X and Sotheby's International Realty Global Luxury Residential Real Estate Report 2015 suggested a wave of foreign-direct investment and immigration has arrived in the Pacific Northwest as an alternative to traditional West Coast gateway markets.
"We know that some secondary markets have become a primary focus for many savvy overseas investors - they target and help to create the next global cities," said Dean Jones, president and CEO of Seattle-based Realogics Sotheby's International Realty. "The Seattle-Bellevue metro area has gained favor as a destination, especially with those from China."
Asian funds have bought other commercial properties in the region.
Last year a Chinese group paid $30 million for the First Congregational Church's 1.5-acre property in downtown Bellevue.
In February, Plus Investment USA, backed by investors from mainland China, paid nearly $46 million for a large site in downtown Bellevue. The site is slated to be developed into a large mixed-use residential development.
Columbia Center becomes the largest office property in Gaw Capital's US portfolio, which includes buildings in San Francisco, New York and Chicago, according to the firm's website.
Investment by Chinese institutions, corporate funds and wealthy individuals in global commercial real estate reached an all-time peak of $10 billion last year, according to commercial real estate brokerage CBRE.
The US attracted one-fifth of that total, with a majority going into hotels, offices and development sites, CBRE said.
The Hurun Report said a majority of millionaires in China want to invest in and plan to eventually live in North America. The Seattle-Bellevue metro area has been a hot destination for Chinese seeking property.
"The reason that Seattle-Bellevue is coming into favor (especially for the rising middle class) is this goal is closer, less expensive and has a propensity for greater capital appreciation as our region plays catch-up to other West Coast markets," Jones said.
Gaw Capital also has a pending deal to buy the 27-story Seattle Tower, a historic office building also in the central business district at the corner of Third Avenue and University Street, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Marc Berger, account supervisor of the China practice at Nyhus Communications, said he is confident that the Greater Seattle Region will be a popular destination for the Chinese business investors in the near future, not only in the real estate market but also in the industries that Seattle has already shown leadership in, such as information technology, aerospace, biotechnology and life sciences.
