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SEATTLE-The owners of Kells Irish Pub have acquired one of two adjacent buildings here that house their business. Through McAleese Properties LLC, the owners paid $2.95 million for the 17,015-sf Butterworth Building, which fronts both First Avenue and Post Alley in the Pike Place Market area.

Kells Irish Pub occupies 2,000 sf on the Post Alley side of the building that houses its bar. Kells occupies another 2,300 sf in the adjacent Alaska Trade Building that houses Kells restaurant. The seller of the Butterworth building, David Zarett (ATB LLC), owns both buildings.

Bob Swain of Puget Sound Properties, who represented the buyer, says it would have been nice for his client to have been able to purchase both buildings, "but it just wasn't in the cards for the seller or the buyer at this point in time." Eric Smith of Paragon Real Estate Advisers Inc. represented the seller.

The McAleese family opened Kells Irish Pub in 1983 in the Alaska Trade Building adjacent to the Butterworth Building. Shortly thereafter, they expanded the larger bar into the Butterworth. "We have been here a long, long time," says Kells VP Patrick Pearse McAleese. "We are very happy that we finally have some ownership in the real estate here."

The Butterworth Building is approximately 30' by 110' and sits on the same amount of ground at 1921 First Ave. Listed on the National Historic Register, it was the city's first funeral home built in 1910. The First Avenue side facade is three stories high and the Post Alley side is five stories high.

The first floor of the First Avenue side of the building is leased to the operators of Starlite Lounge, which just opened last month. Tetra-Tech KCM, an environmental engineering firm that once owned the building, occupies the top two floors and a mezzanine space above Kells. Swain tells GlobeSt.com that Tetra-Tech's lease expires at the end of this year and its space is now on the market for lease at $19 per sf gross. Swain has the leasing assignment.

Concurrent with the acquisition, Kells inked a 10-year lease extension for its space in the Alaska Trade Building. Swain tells GlobeSt.com the lease agreement does not include an option to purchase.

Instant Insights /

Butterworth Building Bought by Pub Owners

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