Smith Tower Condos Delayed Indefinitely?
From the Seattle Times comes word that the Smith Tower owner in default on big loan.
The owner of downtown Seattle’s well-known and well-loved — but mostly empty — Smith Tower has defaulted on the loan it took out when it bought the landmark in 2006.
The default was revealed in a press release Monday announcing sale of the $42.5 million mortgage, in which the broker representing the seller referred to the loan as “nonperforming.”
The buyer, CBRE Capital Partners, presumably paid much less than $42.5 million for the loan, said Seattle land-use economist Matthew Gardner. The firm probably will start talks with the Smith Tower’s owner, Walton Street Capital of Chicago, about modifying the loan, he said.
Plans for condos at Smith Tower was first rumored in 2007 back when everything was hot, but when things started to cool they scaled back to only the top 12 floors and now what will happen is anybody’s guess.
