The owners of the Space Needle have purchased part of Seattle’s Pacific Science Center for $17.25 million, public records show. The transaction officially closed Monday after news of the pending property sale broke last month.
PacSci — a private nonprofit that sits on land adjacent to the city-owned Seattle Center — sold about 21% of its total property, including its Boeing IMAX Theater and other buildings on the northeast corner of its campus.
With the sale, the Space Needle expands its physical footprint in and near Seattle Center. The LLC already owned the roughly 19,000-square-foot parcel that the iconic landmark sits on; it has now acquired the nearby property, which totals 61,872 square feet.
Public records show the buyer is Center Art LLC — which operates Chihuly Garden and Glass museum — rather than the Space Needle LLC, though both entities are owned by the Wright family and led by CEO Ron Sevart.
Space Needle representatives have said they will continue operating the IMAX theater after a brief renovation in the spring and that more details will follow about their plans after the acquisition.
Proceeds from the sale will help fund Pacific Science Center’s long-planned improvements to its aging campus and buildings, said President and CEO Will Daugherty, as well as ongoing operations. Planned and ongoing initiatives include removing the gates to PacSci’s courtyard to create a new, open entrance, as well as other courtyard enhancements, a new Maker & Innovation Lab and expanded educational programming.
Earlier this month, the nonprofit said it would lay off nine people due to its reduced footprint, including its longtime director of theaters, after the sale. The cut from 171 to 162 employees represents a staff reduction of 5%.
By selling the northeast corner of its campus, leadership says, PacSci hopes to sustain and upgrade less property while accessing more capital to invest in its remaining facilities.
PacSci leadership said it became clear in 2023 that the nonprofit would need to sell some real estate to survive; the institution has struggled financially since the pandemic, weathering rising costs and other economic headwinds as its campus has continued to age.
The nonprofit ended fiscal years 2023 and 2024 in a deficit, according to publicly filed tax records. More recent tax records weren’t immediately available. In 2024, PacSci’s total expenses hovered near $24 million, with its revenue closer to $19 million.
Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this report.
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