Surpassed by Columbia Center Construction started 1966 Floors 50 Owner GLL Real Estate Partners Architecture firm NBBJ | Type Commercial offices Height 192 m Opened 1969 Cost 32 million USD | |
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Alternative names 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza
Seafirst Building
Seattle-First National Bank Building Preceded by Space Needle
Smith Tower Location 1001 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, Washington Similar Wells Fargo Center, Columbia Center, Fourth and Madison Building, 800 Fifth Avenue, 1111 Third Avenue | ||
Safeco Plaza, previously 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza and the Seattle-First National Bank Building, is a 50-story, 630 ft (190 m) skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington. The building is referred to by locals as "The Box the Space Needle Came In". When the tower was completed in 1969 for Seattle First National Bank, it dwarfed Smith Tower, which had reigned as downtown's tallest building since 1914, and edged out the Space Needle (built in 1962) in Seattle Center by 25 ft (7.6 m) to become the tallest structure in the city. It was the first class-A office building in Seattle.
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Map of Safeco Plaza, 1001 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98154, USA
Safeco Insurance Company of America leased 284,000 square feet (26,400 m2) of the building on May 23, 2006 to be its headquarters, moving from offices in the University District and Redmond, and renamed it Safeco Plaza. The company announced in 2015 that it would consolidate its offices into the tower, increasing its lease from 17 to 26 floors.
On July 6, 2016, it was reported that German firm GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH agreed to buy the building for $387 million. The tower had previously been sold in 2005 to CalPERS and Hines for $163 million.