83 South King Street (Photo via OfficSpace.com)

Pioneer Square is a hub for the region’s growing technology companies. And perhaps no buildings symbolize the promise of the historic area as much 505 First Avenue and 83 South King Street. Starbucks has now sold those buildings — which house companies such as Nuance Communications and Sharebuilder — to San Francisco real estate firm Spear Street Capital for $125 million.

The buildings, connected and spread across 475,000 square feet, also are the future home of fast-growing Isilon Systems.

John Grassi, president of Spear Street Capital, said they continue to look for buildings to acquire in the Pioneer Square neighborhood and the larger Seattle area. The firm also has an interest in gobbling up space where technology companies cluster, including several office buildings in Austin, Texas.

“We think that technology is the growth engine of the American economy,” said Grassi. “It certainly is not financial companies. Like the automobile companies were in the 50s and the railroads in the early 1900s, it is where the innovation is, it is where the growth is…. and so for us it makes sense to own real estate that is connected to that.”

The firm previously owned the building at 111 South Jackson, which housed Microsoft’s Zune unit. It also owned a building in Lynnwood, which housed The Cobalt Group.

83 South King, formerly known as the Seattle Hardware building, features eight floors and a brick exterior. It was purchased by Starbucks in 2006, and renovated a year later. The building is about 70 percent leased, said Grassi.

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