Safeco Plaza (formerly known as1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza, theSeafirst Building, and theSeattle-First National Bank Building) is a 50-storyskyscraper inDowntownSeattle, Washington, United States. Designed by theNaramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson (NBBJ) firm, it was completed in 1969 by theHoward S. Wright Construction Company forSeattle First National Bank (later known as Seafirst Bank), which relocated from its previous headquarters at the nearbyDexter Horton Building.^[5]

Safeco Plaza
Safeco Plaza viewed from the sundeck ofWashington Mutual Tower in 2008;Columbia Center is directly behind it
Location within downtown Seattle
Alternative names	1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza Seafirst Building Seattle First National Bank Building
Record height
Tallest inSeattle andWashington state from 1969 to 1985[I]
Preceded by	Space Needle
Surpassed by	Columbia Center
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Location	1001 Fourth Avenue Seattle,Washington, U.S.
Coordinates	47°36′22″N122°20′03″W / 47.6061°N 122.3341°W /47.6061; -122.3341
Construction started	1966
Completed	1969
Cost	$32 million
Owner	Boston Properties
Height
Roof	630 ft (192 m)
Technical details
Floor count	50
Floor area	70,089 m2 (754,430 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	18
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Naramore, Bain, Bray, and Johanson
Structural engineer	Skilling Helle Christiansen and Robertson
Main contractor	Howard S. Wright Construction Company
Website
www.bxp.com/properties/safeco-plaza
References
[1][2][3][4]

Standing at a height of 630 feet (192 m), Safeco Plaza was, upon completion, the tallest building (and structure) in Seattle, and the second-tallest building west of Mississippi River, behind555 California Street in San Francisco.^[6] It dwarfedSmith Tower, which had been the tallest building since 1914, and edged out theSpace Needle, the tallest structure since 1962, by 25 ft (7.6 m);^[7] the latter led locals to refer to the building as "The Box the Space Needle Came In".^[8][9] The building was surpassed by theColumbia Center in 1984;^[10] as of 2022, it is theseventh-tallest building in Seattle.

The building served as the headquarters of Seafirst until the bank moved into the Columbia Center upon its opening in 1985;^[11] in 2006, it became the headquarters ofSafeco Insurance, which relocated from itsprevious headquarters in theUniversity District.

The bronze-colored aluminum and glass structure was the first modernclass-A office building in Seattle^[12] and is the first skyscraper in the world to feature aVierendeelspace frame.^[2] The structure includes a two-story lobby as well as a five-story subterranean garage. Other amenities include 15,000 square feet (1,400 m²) of ground-floor retail featuring a fitness center, a bank, some restaurants, a medical center, and a post office.^[12] The building also has a rooftophelipad, one of twelve in the city.^[13]

Prominent among its restaurants was the Mirabeau, which was situated on the 46th floor.^[14] The landmark restaurant closed in 1991 following a business downturn.^[15]

The eastern plaza in front of the building is home toThree Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae, an abstractbronze sculpture byHenry Moore that was part of a three-piece series. It was installed by previous tenant Seafirst Bank in 1971 and was planned to be removed after being sold in 1986, but was saved with a donation by theBank of America (Seafirst's successor) to theSeattle Art Museum following public outcry.^[16]

Originally the headquarters of Seafirst Bank, it was sold fourteen years later toJMB Realty in 1983 for $123 million, a record for a Seattle building.^[8][18] The building was purchased by Seafo Inc., a company affiliated with theNew York State Common Retirement Fund, in 1993.^[19]Hines and theCalPERS retirement system purchased 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza in May 2005 for $162 million, with plans for $30 million in renovations to attract a new major client.^[20][21]

Safeco Insurance Company of America leased 284,000 square feet (26,400 m²) of the building on May 23, 2006, to be its headquarters after moving from itsformer building in theUniversity District and consolidating itsRedmond office. The company subsequently renamed it to Safeco Plaza.^[22][23][24] In 2015, Safeco announced that it would consolidate more offices into the tower, increasing its lease from 17 to 26 floors.^[25]

In July 2016, German firm GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH and South Korean firm Vestas Investment Management bought Safeco Plaza for $387 million.^[26] The firms sold the building in 2021 toBoston Properties for $465 million.^[27][28] A major renovation of the tower's lobby and amenity spaces was announced in July 2023 and is scheduled to be completed by 2024. A longue, fitness center, and conference rooms are set to be added as part of the project; a bicycle hub on 3rd Avenue will replace a retail space occupied by Mel's Market until 2020.^[29][30]

• Safeco Insurance
• Bank of America
• Fox Rothschild (formerly Riddell Williams)^[31]
• Helsell Fetterman
• Fehr & Peers
• Interior Architects
• Business Service Center, Inc
• Bain & Company
• University of Washington
• Aedas Architects

• Seafirst Bank
• List of tallest buildings in Seattle

• Safeco Plaza atHines Interests Limited Partnership