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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Seattle firm buys Rock Pointe office buildings

Plans in the works to upgrade property

Staff reports
A Seattle firm has purchased the Rock Pointe Corporate Center, a steel and mirrored glass set of commercial buildings along Boone Avenue north of the Spokane River. The sales price has not yet been disclosed. The property has been ensnared in a series of complicated bankruptcy cases involving Tacoma-based Prium Cos. LLC. The properties are assessed at $52.6 million for Spokane County tax purposes, however assessments are not necessarily reflective of a property’s market value. The purchase is the second major real estate investment for Unico Properties LLC, which in 2007 paid $36 million for Spokane’s tallest building, the Bank of America Financial Center. Spokane hotelier Walt Worthy began building Rock Pointe in 1986. With four buildings and ample parking, the development stretches across 11 acres. About 86 percent of the office space within Rock Pointe is leased. Tenants include a division of Pitney Bowes; the state of Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services; Ecova, an energy management subsidiary of Avista Corp.; and Verizon. Worthy sold Rock Pointe to Prium in 2005 for about $82 million. Unico announced plans for upgrades to bring Rock Pointe back into the fold of Class-A downtown office space. The company intends to remodel building lobbies, restrooms and outdoor spaces.