Published December 2001

Fisher Business Center
up for sale

By Bryan Corliss
Herald Economy Writer

Fisher Business Center, one of Snohomish County’s landmark office buildings, is up for sale.

Owner Fisher Communications Inc. said Nov. 7 it is putting almost all of its real estate holdings on the block to focus on its core media businesses. The sales will comprise about 1.3 million square feet of office and industrial space, including Fisher Business Center in Lynnwood, West Lake Union Center in Seattle, Fisher Industrial Park and Fisher Commerce Center in Kent, and Fisher Industrial Technology Center in Auburn.

It will not include Fisher Plaza, the newly built Seattle home of the company’s KOMO-TV television station and other media operations.

Analysts said the holdings could be worth $100 million to $120 million.

“It’s a big deal,” said Derek Heed, Vice President with Colliers International in Bellevue. “Fisher is probably one of the premiere buildings in south Snohomish County.”

The South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce is among the tenants in the two-building complex at 3400-3500 188th St. SW.

“As landlords go, they’re unbeatable,” said chamber President Jean Hales. “It’s not good news for us to lose them.”

Fisher is marketing the buildings itself and hopes to find one buyer to take them all, Heed said. The buildings will attract interest, he said. “A lot of the properties they own are in prime locations.”

The move comes after Fisher reported a $3.7 million loss for the third quarter. It also said it was technically in default on its $227 million debt after failing to meet financial criteria set by its lenders.

Christopher Wheeler, Fisher’s Senior Vice President of Communications, said the company was not getting out of the real estate business because of those financial problems, but conceded that most proceeds from the sale would likely be used to pay off debt.

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