'Big House' fetches $7.6M

By JOURNAL STAFF

The Big House LLC completed the sale of the old Regence Group headquarters building in the Denny Triangle to 1800 Terry Avenue LLC for future development. The purchase price was $7.6 million.

Joe Brotherton, Big House managing member, said he hadn't made any substantial improvements to the property since Big House bought it for $4.55 million about a year ago. He said Regence moved out after Big House bought the property and it has sat vacant since then.

"Our original thought was to develop it as student housing for nearby Cornish College of the Arts," said Bill Summers, Brotherton's associate, "but that didn't happen quite fast enough."

"I didn't have the guts to tear it down," Brotherton said.

"Every time I looked at that building I thought it was a prison," Brotherton said about the inspiration for the name of the limited liability corporation he and Summers formed to buy the property.

"The location is one of the best in town," Brotherton said, "but I am too cheap to do the right thing, which would be to tear it down and build something more substantial. The new owners have more courage and will be well rewarded."

British Columbia's Bosa Properties is behind 1800 Terry Avenue LLC.

Bosa hired Seattle architect Weber+Thompson to design a "Vancouver-style" condo for the site.