‘I hope it survives’: Jake, Spike fear Bellevue Collection could follow Seattle’s retail collapse as it goes up for sale

The Bellevue Collection, the 5.5 million-square-foot mixed-use complex that became the Eastside’s retail crown jewel while Seattle’s malls hollowed out, is up for sale.

Kemper Development Company announced it is exploring a sale of the property after 80 years of family ownership. The company said it will select a broker shortly. No buyer has been identified, according to Seattle Red 770 AM. The property includes Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place and Lincoln Square North and South, along with three office towers and three hotels.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said the announcement caught them off guard.

“This was kind of a big surprise announcement,” Jake said. “They are exploring a sale because Kemper Freeman Jr. is retiring.”

Bellevue figured out what Seattle couldn’t

Jake pointed to the contrast between Bellevue’s thriving retail scene and downtown Seattle.

“You look at Bellevue, and Bellevue really has been the standout,” Jake said. “What’s the place that we always kind of make fun of in downtown Seattle, but it’s basically just boarded up? Pacific Place, which in the 90s used to be like a hip, cool place.”

Spike noted the same decline has played out locally at Northgate and Southcenter, but Bellevue avoided it.

“That’s how Northgate got gobbled up,” he said. “It was just sitting empty. It vacated. Southcenter is almost the same way. It’s peripheral shopping at best.”

When Jake asked how the Bellevue Collection became the exception, Spike said you can’t buy what they sell on Amazon.

“Your average American shopping experience, going to the Gap, going to wherever it might be, all the different little mall stores. You go to the Bellevue Collection, it’s high-end stuff,” Spike said. “These folks have been insulated from economic hard times.”

“There’s a tactile thing,” Jake responded. “You want to go and see it in person. You want to see a $5,000 whatever.”

“It’s an upper-end shopping experience over there, and I think that’s been insulated from the retail blight that is online shopping,” Spike replied. “I don’t just blame Amazon, but online shopping in general. It’s kind of eating into retail. We’ve changed how we retail until you get to the upper echelons.”

Jake says the Freeman family legacy is real

Jake said he’s met Kemper Freeman and that the family genuinely cares about what happens to the property.

“I had the good fortune of meeting him at a dinner and sitting right next to him,” Jake said. “He and his wife are like the sweetest people I’ve ever met. And this was at a charity event where he’s donating large amounts of money for first responders and stuff like that. I do think that he actually, he doesn’t need the money. They’ve done very well.”

“I do think that he looks at Bellevue and says, ‘Hey, you know what? We’ve been able to fight back what other cities have lost to, and we’ve been able to hold that ground.’ And that’s a legacy that I don’t think he wants to lose,” he continued.

Spike agreed.

“Part of which I’m going to assume here is that they’ve cared about their tenants, and their tenants care about their employees, and it hasn’t been a cut every dime, cut services, cut quality,” Spike said.

What does something like this even cost?

Neither host could put a number on what the Bellevue Collection might sell for.

“What do you think something like that goes for? 5.5 million square feet,” Jake asked.

“I can’t imagine,” Spike said.

“Couple bill? Don’t you think?” Jake said. “Four billion, $5 billion? I just have no concept of what something like that would cost.”

“Probably less than the Seahawks, but not by much,” Spike said.

Both hosts said they hope the property lands in the right hands.

“I hope it survives,” Spike said.

“I hope they’re able to figure this thing out,” Jake replied.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3