By Bryan Corliss
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD — Fisher Business Center, one of Snohomish County’s landmark office buildings, is up for sale.
Owner Fisher Communications Inc. said Wednesday it is putting almost all of its real estate holdings on the block to focus on its core media businesses.
The sales will comprise about 1.3 million square feet of office and industrial space, including Fisher Business Center in Lynnwood, West Lake Union Center in Seattle, Fisher Industrial Park and Fisher Commerce Center in Kent, and Fisher Industrial Technology Center in Auburn.
It will not include Fisher Plaza, the newly built Seattle home of the company’s KOMO-TV television station and other media operations.
Analysts said the holdings could be worth between $100 million and $120 million.
"It’s a big deal," said Derek Heed, vice president with Colliers International in Bellevue who specializes in Snohomish County commercial real estate. "Fisher is probably one of the premiere buildings in south Snohomish County."
The South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce is among the tenants in the two-building complex at 3400-3500 188th St. SW.
"As landlords go, they’re unbeatable," said chamber president Jean Hales. "It’s not good news for us to lose them."
Fisher is marketing the buildings itself and hopes to find one buyer to take them all, Heed said. The buildings will attract interest, he said. "A lot of the properties they own are in prime locations."
The Fisher Center in Lynnwood is an example of that, Heed said. "It’s a prominent building — has been for a long time."
And it shows what kind of job Fisher has done maintaining its properties, Heed said. The building is more than 15 years old, yet "it still looks brand new," he said. "That’s the kind of building that would attract a lot of buyers."
The buildings have "a myriad of substantial tenants," Hales added.
Fisher has been a good neighbor, as well as a landlord, she said. People with the company have been involved in Lynnwood’s effort to create a downtown. "We’re hoping to at least in some way retain them."
The move comes after Fisher reported a $3.7 million loss for the third quarter. It also said it was technically in default on its $227 million debt after failing to meet financial criteria set by its lenders.
Christopher Wheeler, Fisher’s senior vice president of communications, said the company was not getting out of the real estate business because of those financial problems, but conceded that most proceeds from the sale would likely be used to pay off debt.
Fisher has already taken other measures to cut costs and consolidate. Earlier this year, the company sold its flour milling and food distribution operations and asked its 12 television stations and 26 radio stations to cut costs by 10 percent.
KOMO-TV cut 22 jobs in the belt-tightening, including 10 in the newsroom.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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