By Natalie Guevara
November 9th 2020, 12:09 AM EST
Urban Renaissance Group CEO Pat Callahan has made his mark with deals in Seattle. But his interest in real estate began decades ago, as a kid in Ohio.
“I grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Cincinnati. Not far from my house was a park bluff overlooking downtown Cincinnati,” he said. “This made me interested in how cities grow and prosper over time. Ultimately, that interest led me to commercial real estate.”
Last year, URG purchased Park Place office tower in Seattle. What was your company’s interest in this building? We believe Park Place is a great asset at a great location. It is highly occupied and will be for many years.
What were some challenges associated with this deal? Since we were recapitalizing Plaza 600 at the same time as acquiring Park Place, these transactions were done through a reverse 1031 exchange which is inherently complicated. Bentall GreenOak was a great “buyer” as our partner for Plaza 600. Washington Holdings was a very fair and cooperative seller. We appreciate the working relationship with both firms.
This building was the first existing building in Seattle to be awarded LEED-EB Platinum recognition. What are some of the features to earn that building this designation? From a climate change perspective, being able to achieve LEED Platinum on an existing building is very important as commercial buildings account for about 35% of greenhouse gas emissions in Seattle. It is relatively easy to achieve LEED Platinum on a new development, but much more difficult on an existing building.
One important feature that helped Park Place earn this designation is its green roofing system which collects rainwater and prefilters it before collecting it in storage tanks located in the garage of the building and is used for toilets and urinals located on floors 1-8, for example. The green roofing system allows the building to use less city water, reduces the impact of rainwater entering the city storm sewer system and better insulates the roof.
URG worked with KKR on the acquisition of Summit, F5 Tower and Tower 333 earlier this year. What were some of the biggest challenges associated with that deal? These were highly competitive bid transactions – meaning it was very important to distinguish ourselves as the buyer. In addition, at Summit the challenge was that you were acquiring two existing assets as well as the development of an office building. That was challenging to underwrite as it turned out there were significant obstacles caused by Covid-19 that could not be anticipated in the underwriting process.
Company: Urban Renaissance Group
Year founded: 2006
Locations:
• 11 offices (Seattle/Bellevue, Denver and Portland)
• 37 Properties
Position: CEO
Years in position: 14
Volunteer positions:
• Urban Land Institute – Americas Executive Committee
• Downtown Seattle Association – Past Chair and Board Member
Hometown: Cincinnati
Residence: Bainbridge Island
Family: Married with four adult children
Education: Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
