The Portal Sells for Third-Highest Price/SF for its Size

The Portal, a 56-unit mixed-use apartment building located at 743 N. 35th St. in the Fremont neighborhood, recently sold for $21.35 million, which equates to $690 per net rentable square foot. It represents the third highest price per square foot for a Seattle building with fewer than 100 units. And, The Portal was sold pre-stabilization, closing just 90 days after certificate of occupancy.

The Colliers team of Tim McKay, Dan Chhan, Sam Wayne and Matt Kemper executed a customized marketing campaign on behalf of the mezzanine lender in late spring 2020. The Portal was still under construction at the time, and there was much uncertainty with a global pandemic raging, statewide stay-at-home orders in effect and travel restricted.

The team leveraged Matterport and Zoom to tour out-of-market buyers, and held hard-hat tours with masking, contact tracing and temperature checks for in-person meetings. As a result of this approach, the team was able to create intense competition – conducting 35 in-person tours, collecting nearly 20 offers and ultimately achieving a new record-breaking sales price.

The buyer was a local family office in a 1031 exchange represented by Pacific Crest. McKay, Chhan, Wayne and Kemper represented the buyer for that exchange’s down leg in 2020.