Bravern office towers sold for $410M

A pair of office towers filled with Microsoft workers at The Bravern in Bellevue has been sold for $410 million — a sign that despite a sluggish economy, commercial properties still fetch top dollar when they come with blue-chip tenants.

Bravern developer Schnitzer West said Thursday it sold the 750,000-square-foot office portion of its new mixed-use project off Interstate 405, plus an underground parking garage, to Principal Real Estate Investors of Des Moines, Iowa. The price amounts to nearly $547 a square foot.

Both towers, fully leased to Microsoft, are part of a larger Bravern development that also includes two residential towers and a shopping center anchored by Neiman Marcus.

"This is the type of product that's selling," said Steve Schwartz, a principal with brokerage Pacific Real Estate Partners in Bellevue. "It's core-plus real estate with a long-term Microsoft lease.... Whether the price is a record or near-record, it's a very healthy number."

Principal Real Estate Investors, the real-estate investment arm of Principal Global Investors, paid more on a per-square-foot basis for The Bravern Office Commons than another buyer, Cole Credit Property Trust III, recently paid for Bellevue's City Center Plaza, also leased to Microsoft.

Before the recession, premium-grade office buildings in downtown Bellevue and Seattle sold for per-square-foot prices in the upper $500 to $600 range.

Schnitzer West solicited bids worldwide for the The Bravern's office towers, and a buyer was selected after several rounds, so "it was a competitive situation," Schwartz said.

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com