Investcorp’s real estate group today announced that it has entered a joint venture with Schnitzer West, a leading Seattle area real estate development group, to develop a 1.6 million square foot office, retail and residential project in Bellevue, Washington, outside Seattle. The total value of the transaction exceeds US$ 800 million.
The mixed-use development, known as The Bravern, is located on a prime, six-acre site in Bellevue’s central business district. 750,000 square feet of office space, in two high-rise office towers, has already been fully leased by Microsoft on a long-term basis. A further 305,000 square feet of luxury retail space will be anchored by a 125,000 square foot flagship Neiman Marcus store. There will also be two 29-story residential towers with 456 luxury one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse condominiums. Construction on The Bravern has been well underway for over a year.
Under the terms of the joint venture, Investcorp will provide a majority of the project equity. Schnitzer West will provide a substantial portion of the balance of the overall project equity and will serve as the project’s day-to-day investment developer.
This transaction was completed just prior to Investcorp’s 2007 fiscal year end on 30 June 2007. This is Investcorp’s first year as a UK listed company following its secondary listing of GDRs on the London Stock Exchange in December 2006.
