September 21, 2021 12:00 PM
Newmark announces that it has arranged the off-market, partial interest sale of 400 Dexter — a trophy life science asset located in Seattle’s South Lake Union for an implied gross valuation of $364 million or $1,255 per rentable square foot (RSF). The partial interest sale of 400 Dexter represents the second highest price per square foot paid for a life science asset in Seattle’s history[1].
Newmark Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Kevin Shannon, Executive Managing Directors Ken White and Rob Hannan, Vice Chairman Nick Kucha, Senior Managing Director Michael Moll and Director Rachel Jones, in conjunction with local leasing team, Executive Managing Directors Jesse Ottele and Senior Managing Director Cavan O’Keefe represented the seller, an affiliate of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., a preeminent national owner, operator and developer of life science real estate. The buyer, Clarion Partners, has acquired a 70 percent interest in the property.
“This transaction marks another strong data point reflective of the current demand for core life science product in Seattle,” said Shannon. “Life science fundamentals are faring better than the overall office fundamentals with rents that are now ranging from $65 to $80 NNN annually, which allowed us to achieve aggressive pricing for the Puget Sound marketplace.”
Ottele added, “The Puget Sound ranks third nationally for life science growth over the past five years with venture capital having increased 200 percent during that time frame. Seattle is the #1 city in the country for STEM jobs.”
400 Dexter encompasses 290,111 RSF of first-class office and laboratory space in Seattle’s South Lake Union. The Property, which is 100% leased, is anchored by Bristol Myers Squibb, and also home to Alexandria and The Collective, a hip urban social club concept that offers members exclusive access to fitness facilities, restaurant, event space and wellness programs.
One driving force behind Seattle’s recent success has been its emergence as a national life science hub, which can be attributed to the combination of research, NIH funding, strong employment growth, educational opportunities and depth of skilled labor pool. Life Science venture capital funding in the Puget Sound hit $1.1B in Q1 2021, up 300% year over year.
The life science market in Seattle, which is concentrated in the Lake Union submarket and measures roughly six million square feet of inventory, has exceeded the performance of the overall market by a wide margin. Overall vacancy among Seattle life science buildings was less than 4 percent in the second quarter, and new inventory is virtually impossible to find, putting strong upward pressure on asking rents, according to Newmark Research. Seattle has ranked among the strongest real estate markets in the country in recent years.
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Newmark Research
About Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries (“Newmark”), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle. Our comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, growing startups to leading companies. In 2020, Newmark generated revenues in excess of $1.9 billion. Newmark, together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently owned licensees, operates globally from approximately 490 offices with 19,300 professionals. To learn more, visit nmrk.com or follow @newmark.
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