An 4.42-acre Auto Row property, which had once been eyed as a possible location for a sports arena, was sold to a Seattle firm for $8.425 million, according to a press release from the realty firm that worked on the deal.
The new investor is eying future development as the downtown central business district expands, according to the company press release from Berger Commercial Realty, which represented the seller, BD & D Investment company.
The property, at 411 116th Avenue NE, is occupied by Ford Lincoln Mercury of Bellevue and is leased to AutoNation on a long-term basis, according to the press release.
"A local Seattle investor bought the property and plans to eventually develop it as the downtown central business district expands," Berger Commercial Realty Senior Vice President Steve Hyatt said in a prepared statement. "The long-term development potential of this property is exceptional due to its size, freeway exposure and its location in the Bellevue central business district, near the corporate headquarters of Microsoft, Google, T Mobile and Expedia."
Hyatt worked on the transaction for more than three years with several different groups interested in buying the property, including a group that proposed the development of a new Bellevue arena, to house both NBA and NHL teams, on the site. He closed the deal in partnership with Seattle brokerage firm AGM Inc.
Hyatt served as Vice President of Corporate Development at AutoNation from 1996 through 2008. BD & D Investment Company, LLC, a large dealership group, has hired him to handle the disposition of several automotive properties across the country, including the $6 million sale of a 7.2-acre automotive dealership site in the Denver, Colo. area to CarMax Auto Superstores in 2011.
-- Information from this report provided by Pierson Grant Public Relations
