Downtown Seattle building with Ben Bridge Jeweler sells for $17M

Downtown Seattle's historic O'Shea Building has sold for nearly $17 million, just three years after Ben Bridge Jeweler opened a flagship store there.

The building's longtime owners sold the century-old building for almost $3 million under its assessed value, according to a tax affidavit. Puget Sound Business Journal first reported the sale.

Green Gate Capital, which appears to be a real estate investment firm, made the purchase. It's unclear what its plans are for the four-story building at 1530 Fifth Ave.

Although the O'Shea Building is mostly office space, the site is known for its prominent location and ground-floor retail, which previously housed a Gap store.

Ben Bridge began leasing the space in 2023 after the jeweler left its previous location of 94 years in downtown Seattle.

The Seattle-based company is famous for its cast iron Ben Bridge Street Clock, which was installed in 1928 adjacent to its first store in the Liggett Building - another historic building that recently changed hands.

The clock now sits in front of the O'Shea Building as a reminder of the city's past and marking Ben Bridge's status as one of Seattle's oldest retailers.

But, the Seattle brand seems to be undergoing constant change.

Last summer, its parent company Berkshire Hathaway combined Ben Bridge with Helzberg Diamonds to become a consolidated entity.

Shortly after, Lisa Bridge, Ben Bridge's CEO at the time and the last family member to lead the multigenerational retail jeweler, announced her abrupt departure as Ben Bridge headed "in a different direction," she said in a LinkedIn post.

Ben Bridge, the building's owners and Green Gate Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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