Digital Realty's Westin Stake: 49 Percent

Digital Realty Trust paid $30.2 million to acquire a 49 percent stake in the Westin Building, Seattle's premier Internet Gateway, according to company documents. The size of the payment and Digital Realty's ownership position wasn't detailed in the Nov. 2 press release announcing the investment, but was included in the company's quarterly 10Q filing with the SEC.

The Westin Building (2001 Sixth Avenue) is a 34-story, 389,000 square foot tower that is 90% leased. Approximately 185,000 square feet is built out as technical space and supports a variety of telecom functions including colocation space and meet-me rooms. In an investor conference call, Digital Realty executives said the entire Westin Building was not for sale, so it bought a 49 percent interest from one of two partners in the building. Digital Realty had been discussing an interest in the Westin Building for more than two years, and is clearly excited about the deal.

"This asset ties in extremely well with our strategy of controlling these gateway facilities in Tier 1 markets," said Digital Realty CEO Mike Foust. "This building is really the unique and dominant Internet gateway in the Pacific northwest. We can bring a lot of our marketing and customer relationships to the building. This is a long-term asset for us."