Pathfinder Buys Fractured Condo Project in Seattle

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Seattle—Pathfinder Partners LLC, a San Diego-based firm that specializes in opportunistic investments in real estate assets and defaulted loans, has acquired the remaining unsold inventory of the Florera Condominiums. The property is a four-story, 37,000-square-foot mixed-use condo project five miles north of downtown Seattle.

Florera is a 64-unit community comprised of 59 residential units and five ground-floor commercial units. Pathfinder acquired 45 residential units in a lender-approved, third party-facilitated short sale, according to Pathfinder Partners managing partner Lorne Polger. He adds that the company plans to keep the units as rentals and may sell individual condominiums in the future.

Completed in 2007, Florera is LEED Silver and an example of the mixed-use, mid-rise product popular in urban Seattle neighborhoods. Common amenities include a courtyard with a lounge area, underground parking, a rooftop terrace with barbecue area, dog station and individual planting/gardening boxes.

Polger tells MHN that his company is “attracted to Seattle for its high quality of life, young and educated workforce, and rapidly-growing economy, driven by progressive, technology-oriented companies like Amazon.com and Microsoft, and consumer-oriented companies like Costco and Starbucks.”

With this latest purchase, Pathfinder has acquired five multifamily properties in the Seattle region within the last two years, including The Sanctuary, Chelsea Courte, View at Redondo and Gordon Apartments. The purchase also marks the firm’s 14th acquisition for 2013.