Mercer Island’s 77 Central sells for $96 million

One of Mercer Island's high-end five-story apartment buildings, 77 Central, sold for about $96.3 million on April 21, according to a King County deed.

One of Mercer Island’s high-end five-story apartment buildings, 77 Central, sold for about $96.3 million on April 21, according to a King County deed.

The 77 Central building, at 2650 78th Ave. SE, occupies a full block at the north end of Town Center, where most of the five-story buildings currently stand. It has 171 units and 14,000 square feet of retail space, and tenants include MI Athletic Club, Mo’s Pizza, Menchie’s, HSBC Bank, 5 Elements Pilates and Mercer Island Martial Arts.

Tenants say that the building management team has already changed.

The land was owned by former Islander Ron Cohn since 1983 and his father, David Cohn, before that. It was redeveloped in 2009 by Seco Development, which also managed the Island Market Square project with Cohn’s brother, Steve.

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The building sale, from Renton-based Seco Development to the New York-based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, will generate about $479,000 in REET funding for Mercer Island, said city finance director Chip Corder.

“It can be used for capital purposes like streets and parks, but not general fund operations,” he said.

Sales of large buildings, including Shorewood Heights and Farmers Insurance recently, can never be predicted, but are “helpful for balancing the capital budget,” Corder said.

The 77 Central sale is one of the region’s largest apartment sales so far this year, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. When Island Square sold for about $112 million in 2008, it was the Puget Sound region’s largest sale that year.

Mercer Island’s newest apartment building, Hadley, opens this fall.