REDCO Development Purchases Historic Pioneer Square Building
THE NORDIC BUILDING
547 Occidental Avenue S, Seattle, WA
Buyer Representation
Sale Price: $8.75 Million
This kind of stuff is rarely just an asking price and a purchase price. There needed to be a level of humanity and comfort between the two parties to do a deal like this, which was the most unique part of this deal.
John Vernon
NAI Puget Sound Properties
Challenge
In the 1950’s, Thomas McQuaid, Sr., bought 547 Occidental Avenue South in Seattle, WA. Roughly a decade later, Thomas McQuaid, Jr. began operating Nordic Cold Storage Co., Inc. and continued to do so for more than 50 years. Nordic Cold has been one of very few cold storage facilities located within downtown Seattle.
Getting on in years and with no successor in mind, McQuaid had been faced with the reality of winding down and selling the building. The thought of closing the business - and the family legacy associated with it - added an emotional layer to the process. A variety of interested parties had previously approached McQuaid with offers to buy the building, but the timing was never right.
John Vernon was introduced to McQuaid by a mutual acquaintance and long-time friend of McQuaid’s who was familiar with his situation. After learning the history of the business through a several meetings at the building with the McQuaid and his team, Vernon already had a buyer in mind.
REDCO Development is a small investment firm based out of San Francisco, CA. They were looking to buy industrial or office properties along the west coast and Vernon thought that the Nordic Building would be a great long-term asset for them to enhance their presence in Seattle.
Action
Over the course of several more meetings and some work with seller’s counsel, they were able to get purchase terms agreed to and the property went under contract at the beginning of 2019. The seller had a team of advisors to assist in the process and Vernon knew he had a motivated buyer for this unique piece of real estate. Both parties were flexible in how they structured the deal in order to give McQuaid the time he needed to unwind the business.
REDCO Development purchased the property for $8.75 million with a short-term leaseback.
“This kind of stuff is rarely just an asking price and a purchase price. There needed to be a level of humanity and comfort between the two parties to do a deal like this, which was the most unique part of this deal,” Vernon explained.
Results
REDCO’s plan is to initially offer the building to a tenant who has use for the current cold storage improvements or decommission the cold and lease it as industrial/storage space in the near term while working on future plans for redevelopment to office or perhaps residential. Because the property is located in the Pioneer Square Preservation District, any substantial alterations would have to be approved by the Preservation Board.
John Vernon represented the buyer in this transaction. For more information on leasing the building, please contact John Vernon and view the full lease listing here.
