For more than 100 years, the Tochterman family owned theproperty, which was originally part of a 15-acre farm. In the1950's, seven acres were sold to accommodate the building ofInterstate 405. In 1999, the Tochtermans sold the land under theMeydenbauer Center to the City of Bellevue for $7.8 million, plusland for an expansion of the center at $1.5 million.

In recent years, the family had taken a run at a majordevelopment with New York City-based Palladium Co., but the projectwas never brought to fruition. Connie Grant, a member of thefamily, as well as the Chair of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce,said the decision to sell the property to Schnitzer was in part dueto the fact that Schnitzer's "goals and objectives for the propertywere so closely aligned" with Tochterman's. Schnitzer Northwest isa partnership with Portland-based Schnitzer Investment Group.

Grant and other sources revealed that Schnitzer plans to build a1.5 million-sf complex, with a 500 to 600-room hotel and two officetowers with a combined 1M sf of office space. Grant declined todivulge the price paid for the property, stating she wascontractually prohibited from releasing that information. The realestate community, however, is speculating that the price is between$28 million and $34 million.