Columbia Center Sold; Bellingham House Comes With Ship

NEIGHBORHOOD BEEFS — The Pioneer Square Preservation Board voted 7-1 against an 11-story mixed-use tower at 316 Alaskan Way South. Then the city went ahead and approved the project anyway. Is this a case of even-handed deliberation or Seattle caving to the demands of a developer? Curbed digs into the details.

SOLD STUFF — Columbia Center, the 76-story skyscraper that tops the Seattle skyline, was sold last week to Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners for $711 million. It's considered the third-biggest real estate transaction in region history. The new owners plan renovations and some think this is just the beginning of an Asian financial influx of new high-rise owners around Puget Sound.

THAT'S RATHER STRANGE — We're not sure what's more surprising about this Bellingham house. That the master bedroom sits inside an 18th century British Royal Navy ship replica or that, knowing that, it's only asking $425K. According to the owner, it's part of an actual reproduction of the HMS Endeavour, notable as Captain Cook's vessel. How exactly it ended up as the stern of this four-bedroom house remains unknown, at least to us.