The glassy life-science tower sitting at the foot of the Space Needle has quietly traded owners, and it is now in the hands of a former NBA power player. The 10-story research building known as 222 Fifth, designed for lab buildouts and science tenants, has been acquired by an Arizona outfit tied to former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver. The deal marks 3Edgewood's first purchase in Seattle and is the latest sign that out-of-town investors are still betting on the city's life-science scene.
What Sold And Who Bought
According to CoStar, Arizona-based 3Edgewood LLC bought 222 Fifth from Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation. CoStar identified both the buyer and the seller and reported the transaction in a subscriber-only piece.
About 222 Fifth
The brokered marketing materials describe 222 Fifth as a purpose-built, Class A life-science tower with about 197,919 rentable square feet stretched across ten stories, plus ground-floor retail and a 10,000-square-foot outdoor deck with views for tenants. CBRE's listing calls out side-loaded floors and lab-ready mechanical systems aimed at users connected to UW Medicine, Fred Hutch and other research heavyweights. The building also had a brief moment in the political spotlight when Mayor Bruce Harrell chose 222 Fifth as the backdrop for signing downtown activation legislation on May 6, 2025, as detailed by the mayor's office.
Why a Phoenix Investor Is Buying Seattle Labs
Sarver launched 3Edgewood to scoop up office and lab buildings at discounted prices, then wait for the market to come back, with sizable deals already completed in Texas and Chicago, per a profile in CoStar. As Jordan Mellovitz, 3Edgewood's head of real estate investment, put it, "We are one of the crazy people buying office buildings." That contrarian, all-cash, repositioning-focused strategy helps explain why a well-located lab tower on the edge of Seattle Center would be on their shopping list.
What This Means For Seattle
The sale brings another deep-pocketed owner into the tight South Lake Union lab market at a time when Seattle is trying to cement its status as a national life-science hub. Local marketing and commercial leasing materials for 222 Fifth promote spec suites and lab-ready floor plates pitched to both major institutions and younger research outfits, signaling that the new owner is likely to lean into leasing and tenant improvements to draw UW Medicine, Fred Hutch and other regional players; see local listings for the building. Watch for future tenant announcements and any modernization plans from 3Edgewood and the property's former steward.
