SEATTLE, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Swedish Medical Center, owner of three large Seattle hospitals, has hired New York advisory firm Shattuck Hammond Partners to manage the sale of five of its medical office buildings.
Shattuck Hammond identified more than 40 qualified potential purchasers throughout the United States. This week, Swedish received indication of initial interest from 15 parties. After a qualification and bidding process, Swedish will select a finalist and the sale could close as early as mid-summer.
Swedish plans to invest the sale proceeds, which could exceed $100 million, in developing clinical programs, acquiring new medical technology, replacing older buildings and equipment, and expanding to the Eastside of Lake Washington.
"Having so much resource tied up in medical office buildings no longer makes the most sense for us," said Ron Sperling, Swedish's chief financial officer. "We believe the capital from the sale of these buildings could be better used on investing in improvements that are central to Swedish's nonprofit mission of providing excellent patient care."
Currently, the buildings house some Swedish clinical programs and departments, physician practices and retail businesses. The properties include 1101 Madison Tower, Arnold Pavilion (7th floor and above), located at 1221 Madison; 600 Broadway; the Heath Building, located at 801 Broadway; and the retail space around the Nordstrom Tower, located on Madison St. between Summit and Boylston Avenues -- all on the Swedish Medical Center/First Hill campus. Also included is the Ballard Medical Plaza, located at 1801 N.W. Market, at the Swedish/Ballard campus in northwest Seattle.
Since its inception in 1910, Swedish has acquired considerable real estate in Seattle. With more than 25 city blocks, it is one of the region's largest landowners. As part of a strategic planning process, the Swedish Board of Trustees and administration has been evaluating the best means to monetize some of those assets.
"This is the ideal time to reconfigure these assets," said Sperling. "Historically, when the economy sags and interest rates are low, properties such as medical office buildings are considered lower-risk investments."
Sperling noted that Swedish's most important selection criterion in a real-estate partner is extensive experience in working with medical tenants. Terms and conditions of current tenant leases will remain in effect. The leases will be assigned to the new owner, consistent with language already included in the lease documents.
Swedish Medical Center is the largest, most comprehensive, nonprofit health provider in the Pacific Northwest. It is comprised of three hospital campuses (First Hill, Providence and Ballard), Swedish Home Care Services and Swedish Physicians -- a network of 11 primary-care clinics. In addition to general medical and surgical care, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiac care, oncology, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, neurological care, sleep medicine, pediatrics, organ transplantation and clinical research. For more information, visit http://www.swedish.org/
Swedish Medical CenterCONTACT: Ed Boyle of Swedish Medical Center, +1-206-386-2748, ored.boyle@swedish.org
Web site: http://www.swedish.org/
