A new owner is leading to a new era of experience-led retail in Seattle.
Located at 6th Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle, Pacific Place has been a cornerstone of the city’s retail landscape for more than a quarter century.
Originally developed by Pine Street Group LLC and designed by architectural firm NBBJ, the center’s 335,000 square feet of retail space was designed to wrap around a crescent-shaped atrium topped with a skylight. Opened in October 1998, the five-story shopping and entertainment center redefined urban retail in the Pacific Northwest, introducing an upscale environment that included shopping, dining, entertainment and a skybridge connection to Seattle’s Nordstrom flagship store. A below-ground parking garage with more than 1,200 spaces supported the property’s role as a regional shopping destination.
A Long Road Through Renovation and Vacancy
Anchored by popular national retailers and restaurants, Pacific Place thrived as a hub of downtown activity for many years and benefitted from the surrounding retail corridor and pedestrian traffic — including shoppers from the nearby Pike Place Market and flagship Nordstrom store. Although many urban malls across the United States faced mounting challenges over the last decade, including changing consumer habits, the rise of online shopping and broader economic shifts, which have all been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pacific Place fared better, but had its challenges.
Pacific Place’s ownership changed hands in 2014 when Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette purchased the mall and parking garage for $358 million, with plans to redevelop the property to include updated common areas and a new grand entrance. As construction stretched into 2020, the property opened mid-pandemic. Despite the multimillion-dollar investments and impacts from construction upgrades, Pacific Place lingered at 45 percent occupancy, leaving much of the mall in transition as national retailers opted to consolidate or shutter their downtown footprints.
A Turning Point
In May 2024, a new chapter began when BH Properties, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, acquired Pacific Place and its underground garage from Madison Marquette at a fraction of the mall’s replacement cost. While the transaction reflected the complications facing urban retail real estate in the post-pandemic economy, it also signaled renewed optimism for the recovering industry, according to Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties.
The company believes Pacific Place represents a strategic asset that can be reestablished as a vibrant mixed-use hub in an improving vibrant urban hub.
“A lot of the renovation completed on its infrastructure is in really good shape,” says Brooks. “The work will be focused on the interior spaces, and those tenants we are in discussions with will drive those improvements.”
Brooks also shared that a thoughtful re-merchandising strategy will coincide with other capital improvements at the property, such as creating “lease ready” suites and emphasizing the connection where entertainment meets retail.
“What existed there prior was traditional based mall merchandising, and those days of retailing are falling off. We believe the new era of retailing and curating is to create a unique experience including a mix of experiential, food and retailers, that is the art of it, and that’s where the entertainment piece is evolving,” he says.
However, the signature improvement that will be most visible to guests will be centrally located in the atrium of the property. The installation of a four-story, 70-foot-wide high-resolution LED display screen was completed in January, promoting tenants, events in and around Seattle, as well as pop-up shops.
“When visitors walk in, the first major improvement they will see is our LED display,” says Brooks. “It’s going to be that centerpiece to the development. And if you look at a demographic of an entertainment tenant that might come in, we’ve got the screen to pull visitors in, an entertainment use that keeps them there, while they are also shopping. So, it’s a combination of factors and uses that creates an attraction.”
BH Properties has approached Pacific Place with a value-add strategy to reposition the center to align with current market demands, with new leasing and marketing strategies aimed at attracting a blend of higher-end local, regional and national tenants that can draw consistent foot traffic. By seeking a mix of entertainment concepts, experimental food and beverage options, arcades and soft goods retailers that appeal to both locals and visitors, Pacific Place has the chance to renew its focus on attracting tenants that bring energy and variety to the center.
BH Properties has tenant spaces that range in size from 300 square feet to 75,000 square feet, with newly signed tenants anticipated to be announced in the second and third quarters of 2026. Existing restaurant and retailers at Pacific Place include Din Tai Fung, Midnight Cookie Co., Proto101 and Pumarosa Candles, Pike Place Chowder, Mabel Brempong and AMC Theaters.
Looking Forward
More than 25 years after its grand opening, Pacific Place has remained a pillar of downtown Seattle’s retail aspirations and its ongoing evolution. BH Properties’ vision for Pacific Place represents more than just a redevelopment, but a thoughtful transformation of an underutilized space into a vibrant, mixed-use destination that reflects the evolving needs of the community.
— Abby Cox
This article was originally published in the February 2026 issue of Shopping Center Business magazine.