Lynnwood Center sold for $30 million

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 3, 2005

LYNNWOOD – A national investment firm has paid nearly $30 million to buy the Lynnwood Center shopping complex at one of the state’s busiest intersections.

BlackRock Inc., which bought the property at the southeast corner of 196th Street SW and Highway 99, is among the nation’s largest publicly held investment management firms.

With 165,000 square feet of space, Lynnwood Center hosts major tenants such as Safeway, JoAnn Fabrics and Hollywood Video.

Office Depot opened a new store there last year after moving across the street.

Nearly 40,000 vehicles pass the center each day, according to recent traffic counts.

“This was a very desirable asset,” said Reynolds Haas, a senior vice president at Colliers International in Seattle. “It had a lot of interest from investors around the country.”

Before its purchase by BlackRock for $29.6 million, the shopping center had been owned by Seattle’s Michael Sandorffy and partners. Haas and Colliers’ Paul Sleeth represented the sellers.

Jim Alexander of Madison Marquette, the shopping center’s leasing agent, said the center is leased except for two small spaces totaling about 3,500 square feet.

Haas said the new owner doesn’t plan to make any big changes to the shopping center.

While several large apartment complexes in Snohomish County have sold for more than $20 million in recent years, Lynnwood Center is one of the few local shopping centers to command a price above that level. Last year, the much larger Everett Mall changed hands for about $50 million.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.