News
Michael's Preservation Nation
May 22, 2012
| What happens when you start a music company in 1970 in an abandoned stairwell five feet wide and 30 feet deep? You gain an appreciation for space. Luckily for Pike/Pine corridor, Hunters' Capital principal Michael Malone seems to have been born with an appreciation for architecture as well. |
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| Here's Michael (and no, he's not posing for an album cover). Many developers interested in older buildings buy projects, restore them, and wind up selling for a profit. He buys, restores and holds. Preserving the historic buildings in Pike/Pine has remained dear to his heart. "If I hire an architect, their tendency is to want to build something new.? AEI Music, by the way, snowballed from a stairwell to a $200M company with several hundred employees. |
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| Hunters Capital owns seven properties in the Pike/Pine, all vintage. Above is 1000 East Pike, a former automotive dealership that's been there since 1912. In March, it acquired the Stanley Automotive Building for $3.8M and plans a $200k restoration of the facade. |
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| Above, the Colman Building in Pioneer Square. Though he doesn't own it, Michael counts it among his favorites in Seattle. "Built turn of the century, great cast iron, brick, beautiful timbers," he says. Fun fact about Michael: Though Seattle is home (and has been for four generations) he and his family have relocated to London for a year so his two school-age children can gain a different cultural experience. Michael was back in town briefly last week to accept Historic Seattle's annual award for Community Investment. |
