Developers Jeffrey Rhodes and Thomas Klutznick have reached a preliminary agreement to buy the Frederick & Nelson building, a key piece of downtown Seattle real estate that could become Nordstrom’s new flagship store.
The deal calls for the developers to come up with a financial plan and definitive agreement within four months that also includes striking a deal with Nordstrom to move its flagship store into the empty F&N building, and redevelop its present store for other retailers.
“The dream of downtown revitalization is closer than it has been for a long time,” Seattle Mayor Norm Rice said at a recent press conference.
Rice emphasized that the deal is far from done. “We’ve made some very important progress, but there is still a lot of work to be done before anyone should even think about popping champagne corks,” Rice said.
Ordinarily, no announcements would be made at this stage, Rice said. But public interest in downtown is so high that Rice said the parties wanted to give the public a status report.
Nordstrom as of yet has no agreement to move into the building, but “we’ve turned loose our architects and engineers in the building to determine exactly what it will take to renovate it,” said Dave Mackie, vice president for real estate. “But we have a lot of homework to do before we’re ready to announce anything.”
The developers hope to put Nordstrom into the F&N building, diagonally across Pine Street from Nordstrom, then renovate the current Nordstrom building on Fifth Avenue and Pine for other retail business.
Mackie said Nordstrom’s architects and engineers had examined the building a few years ago. But he said that examination was limited and Nordstrom needs updated information. Other sources estimated construction could start as early as a year from now.
If successful, the plan could revitalize the heart of Seattle’s downtown retail district, pumping in scores of new businesses and reversing the decline that has been under way since the 1992 closures of F&N, I. Magnin and smaller shops dependent on their draw.
One likely candidate for some of Nordstrom’s current 268,000-square-foot downtown space is Saks Fifth Avenue. For years, the prestigious specialty store has been interested in a suitable downtown Seattle site.
Rhodes and Klutznick come armed to the project with exceptional credentials. Both were officials with Chicago-based Urban Investment and Development Co., known for its work in downtown areas.
Among its most prominent projects are Chicago’s Water Tower Place, a hotel-office-retail complex whose tenants include Marshall Field, Lord & Taylor, a Ritz-Carlton hotel. UIDC also is known for developing Boston’s Copley Place, a $500 million office-and-hotel complex.
