Waterfront Home Sales Surge In 2011

Bruce McCaw’s Former Groat Point Mansion Sold For $15.3M

This is the most expensive home sold so far in 2011 and was featured in our 2/13/11 post.

The Puget Sound Business Journal reported in the March 31, 2011, edition sales of homes over $1 million are surging. This, of course, includes the premier waterfront homes featured in Lake Washington 130 Homes. The March 254 pending and closed sales for homes over $ 1 million in King County are up 63% year over year. Slightly less half the 254 had closed at the time of publication.

Tere Foster of Foster Realty and Windermere was quoted in the article: “It’s significantly different than last year. There’s some energy in the market.” Tere has the “Harmony” – Glazer Mercer Island $26.9 M listing featured in our 3/20/11 post.

The article also featured a former Microsoft exec who moved from Sammamish to a $3.6M 6,670 sq ft mansion adjacent (but not on the water) to Michael Mastro’s former mansion on Medina’s Evergreen Point.

Bruce McCaw Sells Medina Mansion

Looking West at Groat Point

The Groat Point Estate

Bruce McCaw sold, for $15.3 million, his Medina Groat Point estate in January 2011 to to a trustee for John E. and Debbie Ellison Bacon. This was the highest priced sale of Lake Washington waterfront property in 2011. The property was listed for sale in 2009 for $34 million and dropped to $27 million in 2010. The listing agent was Terre Foster, Windermere – “The Grand Point of Medina. A landmark offered for the first time this century. Commanding 527 feet of some of the most coveted waterfront in the world, the Chateau takes its place among the great estates in the Northwest. Regal grounds split into expansive views.” The estate has 13,940 sq ft on 1.89 acres with 527 feet of waterfront, 6 bedrooms and 9 baths.

This is considered Lake Washington’s premiere lot (see earlier post) with spectacular 300° views that include downtown Bellevue, Mt. Rainier and the Olympics with the top of the Seattle skyline in the foreground. The location is minutes from downtown Bellevue.

Bruce is the oldest of four brothers who were the pioneers of cellular communications. He had been listed by Forbes as one of the wealthiest people in the world but has not been on its recent lists as a result of declining stock market values. He is now involved in large scale commercial real estate investments with his Pistol Creek Financial Co. He is also involved in auto racing as president of Bellevue-based PacWest Racing Group LLC and director of Michigan-based Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc.

More information about the mansion and the McCaw family is in Lake Washington 130 Homes on pages 88 and 106.

John Bacon, Thomas Ellison and Ellison’s and Debbie’s father, Bill Ellison (the founder of the company), were the principal owners of Bellevue-based Savers, Inc. The company is an international chain of thrift stores and operates under the name of Value Village in the PNW. The Bacons and Thomas Ellison own a mansion about a seventh of a mile to the northeast in Meydenbauer Bay that is for sale for $8.9 million.

(Revised 2/21/13)

Groat Point Medina

J. Lennox Scott’s Mansion

Looking across tip of Groat Point east towards Bellevue

Groat Point marks the Medina entrance to Meydenbauer Bay. This has been the site of many famous mansions. The first (McGilvra) house was built in the 1800s. In 1928 Miller Freeman purchased and moved into a 14 room mansion on this site. Miller was the owner of a Seattle publishing house and several journals. He was instrumental in getting the Lake Washington Ship Canal built in 1916. He is the father of Kemper Freeman and grandfather of Kemper Freeman, Jr. The Kempers have been responsible for major development of Bellevue. Kemper Jr. founded Kemper Development Company which is the major developer of downtown Bellevue.

The Point was subdivided into multiple lots. The property and mansion on the southwest corner of the Point is owned by J. Lennox Scott. Lennox is Chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. The company was founded in 1931 by his grandfather and has become one of the largest and most successful regional real estate companies in the nation.

The next lot to the northwest is for sale for $11.3 million (2/15 post). It belongs to Richard DiCerchio, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Issaquah-based Costco.

The property and mansion on the southwest corner of the Point was owned by Bruce McCaw and sold in January 2011 (2/13 post) to Michael V. Griffith, Trustee, for an undisclosed buyer for $15.3 million. Last year I received a rumor that J. Lennox Scott was negotiating to buy the property for investment purposes and to consolidate the tip of the Point and use part of the site for income-producing lavish events. This is a spectacular event site with 300° views that include downtown Bellevue, Mt. Rainier and the Olympics with the top of the Seattle skyline in the foreground. The location is only minutes from downtown Bellevue.

More information is in Lake Washington 130 Homes on pages 88 to 90.