Bank of America Building For Sale (20. August 2007, 19:48 by Derek Young) ~ ... just the facts
Are you looking for an office building to add to your portfolio? If so, we have some great news for you… the Bank of America building on A street is for sale. Purchased by Prium in June of 2006 for $9.5 million, the building offers 79,000 square feet of rentable space that is 95% rented. Great location with views of the water, fireman’s park, the port and access to several new food opportunities… a mere $14.2 million and it can be yours.
Link to the Sales Flyer (pdf)
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Prium owns that? 4.7 million in profit for simply owning that building for a year does Prium own this whole town!!?
2 | Posted by snoopy | Aug 20, 08:00 PM
Sooo
Winthrop : No news here
Chelsea Heights: Slow down on construction
Hanna Heights: 1 sold
Foss Project : Cost cutting
Spokane Project: Pretty much cancelled
Jay Heights: On hold
BofA Building: For Sale
Prium just needs to make it public what is already known to so many people.
4 | Posted by Jake | Aug 20, 08:20 PM
Jake, an infusion of 14.2 million might get the rest back on track pretty quickly.
5 | Posted by Erik Hanberg | Aug 20, 08:41 PM
Seriously, those other projects are great but I really hope they’re able to do some good stuff over at the Winthrop.
8 | Posted by KevinFreitas | Aug 20, 09:40 PM
I say: sell the Winthrop to Quigg and company and make everyone happy and optimistic again. A year ago we were praising Prium for their big investments. Today we are condemning them because they have failed to deliver on nearly all of their promises. They are quickly losing the support of the community. Selling the Winthrop could be the image booster Prium needs.
I say: sell the Winthrop to Quigg and company and make everyone happy and optimistic again.
That’s a good idea.
Unfortunately, “Quigg and company” was a loosely formed group which came together just for the restoration of the Winthrop Hotel and are not likely prepared to buy it now.
With the number of projects being pulled out of or sold, it does seem reasonable to see what the plans are for the Winthrop Hotel one way or another.
If we are going to get a good result for the Winthrop Hotel, we need to be pro-active on it rather than just reading that it got sold off.
As for Prium, at the very least they will have constructed a couple of projects in the downtown core which is more than most of us have accomplished.
Can the city take away Prium’s right to develope the Foss site??
11 | Posted by CA | Aug 20, 10:57 PM
If Prium fails to meet its deadlines for the Foss site, the Foss Waterway Development Authority (a public commission) can take action – though it is very unlikely they would want to start over from scratch with a new developer.
Interesting that the Bank of America Building’s views may also be impacted by these proposed buildings (see 5-7). That would seem to be a pretty big question mark on the price – how much view are you getting for the money?
12 | Posted by DavidS | Aug 21, 08:39 AM
Tacoma has developed a signficant track record over the past 15 years of granting key development rights to groups who fail to deliver. The Foss site and the Winthrop are just the two latest examples, but you can add to that the hotel site on the Foss, the grand plan in the 1990’s for the mixed use facility on Pacific between 13th and 15th.
Unfortunately, it seems like the agencies in the city who have the ability to grant the rights to these projects/sites are often all too quick to go with the local guy who tells them what they want to hear, rather than the guy from ‘Back East’ who actually has the money but is more blunt about the financial realities of development projects. Other developers with better track records than Prium proposed on the Foss Site, but they did not commit to the uses that FWDA wanted to see – and they did not get picked. Instead they went with a company that has a very limited track record in a very small geographic area. Commercial and residential development is not that complex, projects that pencil out get done – and when 3 out of 4 developers are telling you that your project does not pencil out as it is defined, that should be a signal that you should reconsider, not fall back to the ine guy from up the hill who says, “oh yeah no problem, I will get you everything you want and for less money”
13 | Posted by Dan | Aug 21, 09:10 AM
My work in Tacoma provides me with many relationships, with many developers and construction entities in Tacoma and beyond…Prium included. I’m not sure I understand the motivation behind the displeasure regarding the inability for Prium to get these numerous projects built in a timely manner (as far as everybody else is concerned).
I look at all of the developers currently making Tacoma a cleaner, healthier, and more attractive destination…all positive work for this community, but it takes time and money people.
How many companies are out there developing one or two significant projects at one time? How much do you think that costs? Now try 6 at one time…with 5 of the in downtown Tacoma alone. Was that too much too bite off? Sure looks like it to me. You can’t build that many projects at one time without a WalMart type bankroll. It takes too freaking much money.
So, Prium sells a part of their portfolio. This is news why? To have such a portfolio to sell to keep development moving forward is healthy business. No different than moving stocks to cover losses from other stocks.
I suggest we don’t focus too much energy trying to read between the lines. If everything I am hearing is true, this news is nothing more than a company staying healthy.
14 | Posted by fuzzybear | Aug 21, 09:20 AM
Word on the street was that Prium was still acquiring. And apparently selling. Yes, work on Chelsea is at a slow crawl. And an earlier comment about there being issues/snafus with the windows is true, and not being able to dry the building in is probably contributing to the slowdown. The experiment a while back to hire a different general contractor to run the job for them didn’t last long. And a revolving door of personnel. Things like these are never secret, so around the industry, Prium’s reputation isn’t getting any closer to that of long-established developers have and enjoy. Granted it’s a tough market to find or acquire quality personnel, and Prium seems to have no problem with funding. That must be a nice position to have. And fuzzybear has a good point. But as Jake says, the faith is running out. I wonder if that even matters, though.
15 | Posted by Anon. | Aug 21, 09:53 AM
Personally, I would rather see a local developer have some growing pains than an out of state developer come in and change our city. Non-local developers don’t have a vested interest in the community, and while they may be able to get something built the lasting success of the projects is not always their concern. A recent example of a non-local establishment that doesn’t meet the needs of locals: Winfields. Need I say more?
16 | Posted by urban explorer | Aug 21, 09:59 AM
Any word whether BoA is relocating to another building downtown? This was the only branch within walking distance of my house…
17 | Posted by kweeket | Aug 21, 10:40 AM
“Jake, an infusion of 14.2 million might get the rest back on track pretty quickly.”
$4.7 million isn’t going to sell any condos.
18 | Posted by Jake | Aug 21, 10:48 AM
RE:“Any word whether BoA is relocating to another building downtown? This was the only branch within walking distance of my house…”
Don’t count on BOA or any other tenants moving. What makes the building such an attractive purchase is that it is nearly 100% full. Rent keeps on coming in!
20 | Posted by fuzzybear | Aug 21, 11:09 AM
I’m still not entirely sure what the fuss is all about.
Prium overextended right before a slowing market leaving them a little cash strapped, which is not unreasonable considering that nationally the credit market has shrunk.
So they move to sell a building that will put some cash back in their wallets again. 4.7 million will go a long way to finishing off some of their projects and keeping them free and clear while condos start being picked off.
I don’t see why people are jumping on them. They’re doing pretty good work. Hannah Heights is really well done if you haven’t been inside. I hear from someone who toured Chelsea that is has a very cool layout.
I don’t want to hazard any predictions about their future either way, but I like what they’ve done so far and I hope they can keep it going.
21 | Posted by Erik Hanberg | Aug 21, 11:32 AM
It just seems to me that Prium is stretched thin, that they tried to get too big too fast. Hanna Heights needed some “refreshing” upon opening, the Foss site is being downscaled, Jay Heights sounds like its off the table, as well as Spokane projects, and I havent heard anything about the replacement housing for the tenants who now live in the Winthrop.
Prium got lots of great publicity 2 years ago, but now that it’s time to show something for it, we have a mostly done but empty condo building, and another thats creeping along.
Of course I hope that this local company does well, but it just doesnt look so promising right now. I hope Im wrong.
22 | Posted by CA | Aug 21, 11:33 AM
come on, this is the whole problem with Tacoma from the retail standpoint and to the developement stand point…everyone is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo afraid of the out of town developer….....remember alot of us were once from out of town too…but grew to love this town…....other people/developers can do the same…cut them a break…..you can’t always rely on the local guy to get the job done…he can do just as crappy of a job as you say a outside developer will…...hmmm. let me see prium…......I’m still waiting all ALL their projects…....I wonder how the quality of the finished projects will be…any cut corners to save money…???
23 | Posted by rich | Aug 21, 04:00 PM
One other little thought….....what does the builder have to do with the character of a place after the walls are put up??????? that comes down to us!!! So get over the outside developer thing and move on…..we need the outside help…trust me…...
24 | Posted by rich | Aug 21, 04:03 PM
“A recent example of a non-local establishment that doesn’t meet the needs of locals: Winfields. Need I say more?”
For at least 100 years in this City and every other City there have been bad restaurants that open up and promptly shut down. That will keep happening – no doubt in my mind. But I think that is more indicative of the nature of the restaurant business, not a reflection on out of town developers. The fact is there are not many local developers with a track record. While an out-of-town developer could not understand the local culture as well or may not be as sensitive to some of the community groups – there is one thing they probably know much better than most local developers, how to get projects done. They know how to get funding, position a project to be financially successful, and deliver. They are good at it which is why they typically start looking beyond their home city. I would love to see the City throbbing with wonderful mixed use, commercial and residential development all created by local developers to complement everything that is good about this City, and generating gobs of tax revenue that the City pours into it’s neighborhoods and quality of life improvement – but given the track record that could take a long, long time. I for one would take a chance and let a couple out-of-town interests take a crack at making something happen.
25 | Posted by Dan | Aug 21, 08:03 PM
Remember back in 2001, when Cosmos wanted to build a million square feet of Class A office space in the Dome District? Blaine Johnson (developer of the Passages Building and the Vintage Y) and Bill Baarsma worked hard to push them away. I bet no one would have trouble selling condos if that deal had gone through. Unfortunately, Bill and Blaine decided that a couple empty parking lots were much more attractive than 20-story buildings. The Dome District is still reeling from this poor decision. This distrust of out-of-towners has got to stop.
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