City of Seattle in midst of selling Pacific Place garage

SEATTLE, Wash. — After years of losing millions of dollars on the Pacific Place garage, the city of Seattle is currently negotiating its sale.

On Monday, council members unanimously approved the renewal of an interfund loan of up to $10 million, to fund the garage until the sale happens.

"It authorizes a loan of up to $10 million, $7.5 million of which will be used to repay the former loan. The rest will be used to cover any shortfalls in the garage funds," said Councilman Tim Burgess.

In 2013, the city considered selling the garage. Julie Moore, the communications director for the Seattle Finance and Administrative Services said the offer was above market value at the time, but would not have completely covered what the city owed from construction of the garage, and the interfund loans used to cover debt service payments.

Regarding the current sale negotiation, Moore said, “While we cannot divulge details until a purchase and sale agreement is signed, proceeds from the sale are expected to fully cover repayment of the loan and other obligations related to the garage.”

The city of Seattle purchased the Pacific Place garage in the mid-90s for $73 million. The purchase was criticized at the time for being much more than the cost of construction, which was about $50 million.
But the deal was crucial in bringing businesses to revitalize the downtown core.

"We're just excited that so much has happened here on Pike Pine, and it really wouldn't have happened without the vision of the city council and the mayor decades ago," said Don Blakeney, the vice president of advocacy and economic development for the Downtown Seattle Association.

Because of the garage, Nordstrom agreed to move in across the street, and businesses filled 300,000 square feet of retail space in Pacific Place.

Before this project, windows of shops at Sixth and Pine were boarded up.

Tina Ruppel, a Seattle resident, said she remembers how empty it was. She said she would never have gone downtown to shop back then.

As for the garage, “I’m surprised they’re losing money on it, because in the wintertime during holiday shopping, it’s always busy,” said Ruppel.

The current rates at Pacific Place Garage start at $4 for the first half hour, up to a maximum of $28 a day. On weeknights after 5 p.m., the maximum is $6. KIRO 7 asked whether the city would make the new owner promise to keep rates low for a few years, but city staff wouldn’t say.

KIRO 7 asked Madison Marquette, the owner of Pacific Place mall, if they were interested in buying the garage. They directed all questions to the city.

In November, Inrix suggested Pacific Place garage as the best place to park for Black Friday.

The sale is expected to happen in the next few months to be approved by the council.

Cox Media Group