Update or Die

720 Olive’s now Eighth + Olive, and new owners Talon and Prudential plan to bring the ’80s building into the 21st century, Talon director of asset management Jeff Rakow tells us. (First thing: get rid of those leg warmers.)

Eighth + Olive’s got a prime location, at the convergence of the city’s retail core, South Lake Union, and the residential density of Capitol Hill, with the transit hubs at Convention and Westlake stations thrown in for good measure, Jeff says (he’s snapped looking out at the building, and he assures us he doesn’t have three hands). But while location might be strong, that isn’t enough in Seattle. The building has to meet the needs of the best and brightest generation of workers ever to come Downtown, so the new owners of Eighth + Olive are ponying up $10M for a revamp, besides the purchase price of $101M.

“Stayed tuned for details,” Jeff says. But the outline is in place: the building’s going to have a lobby unlike any in an older Downtown office property, featuring flexible work space and retail. (Pictured is the current lobby, created only three years ago by Howard S Wright at the behest of Hines; the cycle of updates is shorter than it used to be.) Elsewhere, the new owners will add a fitness center and expanded bicycle storage and repair facilities. Talon’s goals as a major investor Downtown, Jeff explains, “aren’t magic. We’re patient, long-term investors.” Little known fact about Jeff: After a computer science degree from Princeton, he did stints at several Silicon Valley software startups before turning to real estate.