Originally the headquarters of Seafirst Bank, it was sold fourteen years later to
JMB Realty in 1983 for $123 million, a record for a Seattle building. The building was purchased by Seafo Inc., a company affiliated with the
New York State Common Retirement Fund, in 1993.
Hines and the
CalPERS 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.
Safeco Insurance Company of America leased of the building on May 23, 2006, to be its headquarters after moving from its
former building in the
University District and consolidating its
Redmond office. The company subsequently renamed it to Safeco Plaza. In 2015, Safeco announced that it would consolidate more offices into the tower, increasing its lease from 17 to 26 floors. In July 2016, German firm GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH and South Korean firm Vestas Investment Management bought Safeco Plaza for $387 million. The firms sold the building in 2021 to
Boston Properties for $465 million. 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. == Major tenants ==