Unico News

Unico completes 11-asset, 27-building portfolio sale in Seattle and Denver

Portfolio sale successfully concludes Unico’s first institutional discretionary fund, Unico Partners I. The private equity real estate investment firm will retain stake in the portfolio in a new partnership with Goldman Sachs, and will continue to manage and operate the 10 creative office assets and a parking garage in Seattle and Denver.

Category: Dispositions | Press

Tags: Press Releases | Unico Partners I

The commercial real estate investment company will continue to operate and manage properties in the portfolio as it embarks on a new partnership

SEATTLE (January 17, 2019) — Real estate investment and operating firm Unico Investment Group LLC, announced that it has sold a 27-building portfolio of repositioned historic and newly constructed office assets totaling 1.8 million square feet to Broad Street Principal Investments LLC, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, for $710 million. The properties, collectively known as the Unico Partners I portfolio, are located in the nation’s highest growth-oriented technology and innovation hubs, Seattle and Denver. Unico will retain a stake in the portfolio and will continue to operate and manage the portfolio behalf of the new partnership. The transaction represents the successful conclusion of Unico’s first institutional discretionary fund Unico Partners I, which closed in 2014 after raising $265 million in equity from U.S. and Canadian institutional investors.

“Since 2014, Unico has repositioned these properties through targeted capital investment and major leasing. Several properties in the portfolio underwent significant transformation including several historic properties and the delivery of an award-winning new construction,” said Unico President Jonas Sylvester. “We’ve not only enhanced our properties and achieved strong returns for our investors but also improved our cities’ built environments and enhanced the quality of life for our tenants and communities.”

The portfolio consists of exceptional Class A assets in enviable central business district (CBD) locations in Seattle and Denver with the largest concentration of the properties located in the regions’ most desirable submarkets. The collection includes 10 creative office assets and one high-profile parking garage. The portfolio is 85% leased to a diversified 190+ tenant roll with long-term leases, and have undergone significant capital investments with $87 million invested across the portfolio (excluding development).

  • The majority of the properties in the portfolio are artfully restored, fully repositioned assets including the iconic Smith Tower in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square, 1505 Fifth Avenue in the Seattle CBD, Yale + Thomas building in Seattle’s South Lake Union (SLU) submarket, DC Building in the Denver CBD, 2nd + Josephine in the Cherry Creek submarket in the Denver area, and the Platte Street portfolio in the Denver CBD.
  • The portfolio also includes new construction such as the Circa Building in Platte Street—the Class A trophy asset is certified LEED Platinum® and in 2018, was awarded Mayor’s Design Award for Sustainability by the City of Denver.
  • Other assets in the sale include the historic Grand Central block and the Butler Garage, both in Pioneer Square in Seattle, and 555 Zang in Lakewood and the 11-building Pearl East in Boulder, both in Colorado.

We’ve not only enhanced our properties and achieved strong returns for our investors but also improved our cities’ built environments and enhanced the quality of life for our tenants and communities.

“We look forward to working with Goldman Sachs to fully complete the property repositions and new development opportunities still embedded within the portfolio,” said Sylvester. “We are excited to continue our commitment to our tenants and our communities for many years to come.”

Unico’s in-house teams spearheaded the relationship management with the buyer and oversaw the detailed sale of the 27-building portfolio. The disposition team is led by Unico Senior Vice President of Asset Management Scott Brucker, who joined Unico in 2010. Brucker oversees the private equity real estate investment firm’s asset management team and is responsible for the overall performance of Unico’s portfolio.

Jason Flynn and Paul Nelson from Eastdil Secured represented Unico in the sale.

About Unico Properties LLC

Unico Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Unico Investment Group LLC, is a commercial real estate investor, developer, and full-service operator focused on office and multifamily assets in emerging markets throughout the United States. Founded in 1953, Unico has been transforming the built environment by creating innovative, people-focused building experiences through a cadre of subsidiary companies that deliver boutique expertise and institutional execution for its own accounts and select third-party clients. The private equity real estate investment firm currently owns and operates 17 million square feet of commercial properties across the United States and continues to grow. For more information about Unico, please visit the firm’s website at https://unicoprop.com.

For members of the media

Download the electronic press kit containing a copy of the press release, a media fact sheet, bios and headshot, exterior photographs of the property, and company logos.

Further reading

  • Read about the intricate deal-sourcing story behind Unico’s acquisition of Pearl East in Boulder in this real estate investment case study.
  • The Smith Tower was a beloved landmark which suffered sustained low occupancy and below-market rates. Read how Unico transformed the property into a destination for visitors and office tenants alike in this property repositioning case study.
  • The DC Building has become one of Denver’s premier downtown assets after an exhaustive and thoughtful repositioning. Read how Unico did it in our real estate investment case study.

Press clips