Historic Moses Building for sale in Pioneer Square

When we last heard from the Moses Building, it was through a head-scratcher of a penthouse listing four years ago. Now, the whole building is for sale in earnest—all three stories of it.

Then five stories, the building was originally constructed for one Sarah Moses in 1900. Briefly between 1905 and 1912, it was known as the Sartori Building, but eventually it reverted back to its original name.

Its top two floors were lost in the 1949 earthquake, which damaged many historic Pioneer Square buildings (including the Mutual Life Building we featured last month).

The Seattle historical survey calls the building “striking,” and says despite the loss of those upper floors, “the building retains a significant amount of its architectural integrity and detailing.” That includes carved lions’ heads.

A 2007 remodel added seismic upgrades, braced steel framing, and ADA accessibility, including a passenger elevator. The new owner could either keep the building at three stories or add two stories back on. (If they missed out on that original listing, they could even build a penthouse on top.)

The whole building, as it currently stands, has more than 22,000 square feet of space. An underutilized basement adds another 6,000—and adding floors back on could add even more.

Besides the basement, all the current square footage is occupied by tenants: Radici Italian Eatery and Path With Art below, and eShares and Fun Bits in the office space above.

The price is undisclosed, but the last time it went up for sale, the asking price was $6.9 million with the $1.9 million penthouse purchase. It ended up selling the next year for $5.49 million, according to sales records.

• Moses Building Investment Offering [JLL]
• Moses Building/Sartori Building [DON]