Russell Center sold for $480M [The Seattle Times]

April 20--Insurance giant Northwestern Mutual says it has sold downtown Seattle'sRussell Investments Center for $480 million -- more than three times its total investment since buying the 42-story office tower just 2 1/2 years ago.

In a news release Friday, the company identified the buyer as CommonWealth Partners, a Los Angeles-based real-estate investment and management firm.

The deal "is believed to be the largest single-asset office sale in the Western United States since 2006," Northwestern Mutual said.

Built six years ago as Washington Mutual's headquarters, the 890,000-square-foot tower at Second Avenue and Union Street emptied after the thrift was seized by regulators in late 2008.

When Northwestern Mutual bought the building in September 2009, it was almost entirely vacant. The Milwaukee-based insurance company paid a bargain-basement price of $115 million, about one-third the tower's construction cost.

The purchase coincided with Northwestern Mutual subsidiary Russell Investments' decision to move its headquarters from Tacoma to Seattle and lease about one-quarter of the building.

Since then, according to Northwestern Mutual documents, the company has invested another $40 million in the tower. A conference center, fitness center and cafe were added, and the lobby was renovated.

The building now is 96 percent leased, according to brokerage Broderick Group and Officespace.com, with an all-star list of tenants that includes not only Russell, but also Nordstrom, Chase Bank, online real-estate marketplace Zillow, biotech Dendreon and Boeing.

The tower went on the market in December.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or [email protected]

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