Wright Runstad Buys Jones Bldg.

Speculation that Seattle developer Wright Runstad will acquire the Marathon block in the heart of the city's financial district has been set off by the company's purchase of the 65-year-old Jones Building, at the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street.

That seven-story building, across from the Post Office, was purchased earlier this month for $3.15 million and is the only property on the block bounded by Second and Third avenues and Union and University streets that is not owned by Marathon U.S. Realties Corp.

Wright Runstad built the 55-story Washington Mutual Tower to the south, and other nearby office buildings. So, others in the industry consider the company a logical developer for the vacant Marathon property.

Cornerstone had owned the Jones Building at 1331 Third Ave. since 1986. County records show Cornerstone paid $4.6 million for the property, which currently is valued by the county at $4 million.

Wright Runstad refused to comment on the purchase or the possibility of acquiring the rest of the block. Marathon's U.S. operations are headquartered in San Francisco, while the main office is in Toronto.

The Marathon property has been the subject of several development proposals over the past 15 years. The block faces the new Seattle Art Museum and is considered a key undeveloped property, one of a few major tracts in the area. It was used by Metro as a staging area during construction of bus tunnel under Third Avenue.

Marathon had proposed a 35-story twin-towers office project, and holds a building permit for such a development. That didn't work out because of market and financial conditions. The property was optioned by Intrawest Corp. for a potential retail/office center in 1989. Intrawest later transferred its option to a New York-based developer that never did anything with it.

Most recently, a small city park has been suggested for that location. It would be created under a new city proposal that would allow the owner to also build a single, taller office tower on the block.

Speculation downtown is that Wright Runstad will start over with a new design that would complement its other properties, including the Washington Mutual Tower, and not block any of the views.

The Jones Building, whose fate likely is doomed by any new development, was the McDowall Building when constructed in 1926 by J.K. McDowall. It was renamed in 1948 by the Jones family of Wenatchee. T.B. Jones and his son, Richard, purchased the building in 1945.