Vulcan sells project that helped begin S. Lake Union transformation

Seattle developer Vulcan sold the Whole Foods location and other retail space at 2200 Westlake on Monday for $65 million, King County records show.

Houston-based Weingarten Realty, a real-estate investment trust that owns and manages shopping centers in 19 states, acquired about 73,800 square feet in the mixed-use project at Westlake and Denny Way, along with 412 parking stalls.

The project, built in the mid-2000s, was one of the early developments in the South Lake Union neighborhood’s transformation from a gritty industrial district of factories, warehouses and auto dealerships.

Vulcan said the sale did not include the 153-room Pan Pacific Hotel. Parts of the hotel remain under plastic sheets as contractors make repairs under a construction-defects settlement.

Vulcan has been selling off properties in its South Lake Union portfolio and investing the proceeds in new projects. Last July, the developer received about $221 million for 2201 Westlake, across the street from the shopping center, setting a price-per-square-foot record for a Seattle-area office building.