Iconic Smith Tower in Seattle is reportedly for sale
Aug 10, 2023, 7:39 AM | Updated: 7:45 am
As one of the world's first skyscrapers and the tallest building on the West Coast until the Space Needle was built. (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
The oldest skyscraper in Seattle, the iconic Smith Tower, is apparently for sale.
A promotional flyer seen by The Seattle Times is offering the “investment opportunity” at an unnamed price. According to county records, Smith Tower was last sold before the pandemic in early 2019 for nearly $138 million.
When it opened in 1914, Smith Tower was among the country’s tallest buildings outside of New York. When it opened, it was the fourth tallest building in the world, and it spent nearly 50 years as the tallest building on the West Coast.
It is 269,000 square feet and has a penthouse residence that, at last check, rents for $17,000 a month. According to the flyer, other floors contain office and retail space, nearly half of which is empty today.
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The building underwent an extensive renovation in 1998, featuring an observation deck and a bar.
The tower is named after L.C. Smith, a businessman from New York who revealed plans for the building in 1909, and his son later finished the project. New York architectural firm Gaggin & Gaggin designed the tower. It was the first skyscraper the firm had ever designed.
Unico and Goldman Sachs Asset Management are the current owners.
The tower is inside the Pioneer Square Preservation District at 506 Second Ave. Most changes or remodeling would require advance approval from a neighborhood preservation board and the city.
