Sep 13, 2022, 6:13pm PDT

NEWMARK

The Blis apartment complex, developed in 2019, has 107 apartments, seven townhouse units and 121 parking spaces not far from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.

Bellevue-based Cairn West has purchased the 114-unit Blis apartment complex on Bainbridge Island for $65.5 million in a deal announced Monday.

The seller is Bremerton-based Sound West Group, which developed the property on a 1.5-acre site at 747 Hanami Lane NE in 2019. It includes 107 apartments, seven townhouse units and 121 parking spaces.

“We couldn’t be more proud of this project which achieved Gold LEED standard and included the creation of a city park on the adjacent property,” Wes Larson, Sound West Group’s CEO, said in a news release. “We are pleased to transfer stewardship to a truly outstanding ownership group and trust they will carry it forward as the premier multifamily community on Bainbridge Island.”

The price works out to approximately $575,000 per unit and $528 per square foot for the 124,000-square-foot development. The property is located about a third of a mile from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.

“This prime location in a supply-constrained submarket led to extensive interest from a variety of investment profiles,” said Newmark’s Marty Leith, who represented Sound West in the transaction.

Nationwide, multifamily sales volume for during the first half of 2022 is up 53% year over year, according to Newmark research. The increase is attributed to buyers and sellers finalizing transactions ahead of anticipated interest rate hikes and the mid-term elections.

Though just announced, the Blis transaction took place in mid-August, about the same time that Cairn West purchased the OSW Equipment & Repair building in Maltby for $24.5 million. Earlier in the summer, the investor sold its seven-story Lake Union Building office and marina property in Seattle for $71 million.

At the time of the OSW Equipment purchase, Hugh Barber, president of B Alliance Holdings, which does business as Cairn West, said the company was looking to diversify its portfolio with a high-quality industrial holding. Cairn West owns around a half-dozen multifamily and commercial properties, as well as leased fee interest in the Third Avenue and Pine Street parking garage in downtown Seattle, according to its website.

Shawna De La Rosa

Reporter

Puget Sound Business Journal