Strategically located between the Downtown core and South LakeUnion, where billionaire Paul Allen is developing some 60 acres hecontrols, the Clise portfolio is capable of supporting between 10million and 13 million sf, making it one of the nation's largestinfill assemblages in a major urban market. Clise Propertieschairman Al Clise tells GlobeSt.com he hopes the sale leads to arapid transformation of the area.

"I think it needs to happen now, (and) for us to do it, becauseof the size of the company we are, would be very difficult," Clisesays. "We have developed high-rise real estate for many years, butthis is on a different level, a bigger level than we could probablydo in any kind of timeframe. Others are better suited to do it thanus…or we might do it with them."

Last year's up-zoning of the area increased the allowablebuilding height by 30% to approximately 40 stories. As a result,the Clise portfolio at maximum build out could total approximately13 million sf. Recent land-sale comps suggest a property value ofbetween $40 per sf and $60 per sf that can be built, whichtranslates to between $400 million and $780 million, depending onhow much the buyer thinks it can develop and how much it's willingto pay on a per-sf basis.