Grosvenor Americas (‘Grosvenor’), a privately owned international developer and investor, announces that its Structured Development Finance (‘SDF’) business has closed a new financing commitment with Intracorp through Grosvenor’s True North III Partnership.

The commitment of $30M in equity financing will be used to build an apartment building in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood. The 220,000-square-foot, five-story property will deliver 295 homes, 59 of which will be below market rate. Designed by local Seattle-based architect Studio Meng Strazzara, the building is expected to break ground in early 2022 and complete in 2024.

The development project is located at 11201 Roosevelt Way NE, in Seattle, Washington, six miles north of downtown. The expansion of the Northgate Mall; the addition of the Seattle NHL team facility; and imminently opening rapid transit station present an opportunity to invest in a well-established but evolving neighborhood.  

Brian Biggs, Director of Research for Grosvenor Americas, states: “We have been investing in Seattle for more than 20 years. Our long-term belief in the market helps us look through short-term volatility. During the pandemic, employment in the greater Seattle metro fell 5%, but employment is forecast to grow 13.1% cumulatively to 2025. Job growth in Seattle’s primary economic engine – the technology industry – clocked 4% year-over-year in Q1. In other words, the technology jobs rebound has been so strong that technology employment is higher today than the pre-pandemic baseline.”

Alex Henderson, SVP Co-Investment at Grosvenor Americas said: “Our relationship with Intracorp is well-established and long-standing. Grosvenor and Intracorp have been investing in properties together for over 20 years, and the Northgate deal marks our 25th project. Together, we have helped deliver more than 2,500 homes in California, Seattle and Vancouver.”

Lis Soldano, VP of Development at Intracorp shared: “This isn’t your average Seattle neighborhood.  Northgate was home to the first covered mall in America and became a landmark for retail in the greater Puget Sound.  With the new Sound Transit station, a catalyst for redevelopment, more retail and lifestyle experiences are coming, and our partnership with Grosvenor Americas will contribute to this exciting neighborhood transformation.”

The closing of the Northgate deal in Seattle marks the second transaction for Grosvenor’s True North III Partnership, following the announcement of a 10-story condominium project at Eighth and O Streets NW in Washington, D.C. with Roadside Development earlier this year.

True North III is the third iteration of a Grosvenor partnership to fund residential and mixed-use developments in the U.S. and Canada. Since 2000, the Company's SDF business has acted as a capital provider to 76 residential development projects representing over 6,300 residential units and $3.5bn in gross development value.

Grosvenor has operated a diversified real estate development and investment business in North America since 1952. The Company actively manages its $2.8B investment portfolio and is executing on a proprietary development pipeline that will deliver 4,200 homes across its active markets. Consistent with the firm’s farsighted approach to investment and development, Grosvenor Americas values long term partnerships: across their nine active investment partners, the average relationship is 20 years.