Jan 08, 2002

Centex Homes

Lou Smith has been named president of the Seattle division of Centex Homes. Smith will oversee the company's operations within the greater Seattle area. Before joining Centex, he was executive vice president of Richmond American Homes-Phoenix, a national builder based in Denver. Centex says it is the only national builder operating in the Puget Sound area. It builds about 350 homes a year in the local area.

Master Builders

The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties had elected its new president and board for 2002. Sandy McAdams, owner of Sandy's Design and Remodeling in Bellevue, is president. She is joined by board members Todd Bennett of Bennett Companies LLC, Peter Orser of Quadrant Homes and Bonnie Miller of Puget Sound Energy. McAdams has been a member of the home-building association since 1982. She has been instrumental in many association activities, including the Remodeled Homes Tour, a fundraiser for the Seattle AIDS support group, and the annual Rampathon, which provides handicap access ramps for low-income individuals.

Jan 04, 2002

Hazelden Foundation

Springbrook Northwest, a residential treatment center located in Newberg, Ore., has been acquired by The Hazelden Foundation. Hazelden, based in Minnesota, has been providing addiction services since 1949 and is known as a pioneer of the most widely used models of care for alcoholism, drug addiction and related diseases. Springbrook is the seventh facility operated by Hazelden.

Demarche Consulting Group

The 15-year-old Washington-based and woman-owned Treefarm Center Consultants has become Demarche Consulting Group, and has moved its headquarters to downtown Seattle. Demarche is led by Linda Paralez, a 20-year veteran of technical and business process redesign, and formerly a member of the team that helped redesign NASA’s solid rocket boosters after the Challenger disaster. Paralez has worked for Microsoft, municipalities, public utilities and disaster mitigation providers. The new offices are located at 999 Third St., Suite 3800.

Pierce Transit

Pierce Transit named Susan Lang chief information officer, a newly created position. Lang will be responsible for managing the information systems division and providing organizational leadership on the use of information technology in support of public transit. Prior to joining Pierce Transit, Lang served as vice president of Web commerce for Getty Images.

Tacoma Police Department

David Brame, a 20-year veteran of the Tacoma Police Department, is the department's new police chief. Brame began his police career as a patrol officer and was named assistant chief in 1999 after serving as head of the department's criminal investigations division. He also served six years as chief contract negotiator for the union representing city patrol officers. Brame replaces James Hairston, who retired after a 33-year police career, the last three as Tacoma's chief.

Washington State Ferries

Mike Thorne has been named executive director of the Washington State Ferries. Thorne, a former Oregon state senator, resigned last May as executive director of the Port of Portland, and recently abandoned plans to run for Oregon governor. As director of the Port of Portland, he oversaw the rebuilding and expansion of Portland International Airport, and started dredging the Columbia River navigation channel. The director's post has been open since October 2000, when Paul Green left after six years. Terry McCarthy, an assistant to Green, was acting director

Jan 03, 2002

Harley Marine Services

Harley Marine Services promoted Dave Gore to the position of director, marine operations. He will be responsible for the operation of Harley's fleet of 45 vessels. Gore's previous duties with Harley were operating vessels with its Olympic Tug & Barge fleet in Puget Sound and on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers

Building Owners and Management Association

Jerry A. Creim has been appointed a board member to the Seattle chapter of the Building Owners and Management Association. Creim is a member of the Seattle office of Williams Kastner & Gibbs. His appointment is for a three-year term.

The Seminar Group

Attorneys in need of Continuing Learning Credits for 2001 can attend CLE Boot Camp sponsored by The Seminar Group. The educational event is scheduled for Jan. 17 and 18 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Seattle. Credits earned can also be applied to those needed for 2002. Registration information is available by calling (800) 574-4852.

WestCoast Hospitality

WestCoast Hospitality has acquired all of the capital stock of Red Lion Hotels from Hilton Hotels for $50.6 million. The Red Lion hotels total 6,052 rooms, and are located primarily in the Western U.S., including Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota. As a result of the acquisition, WestCoast doubles the total number of rooms in its portfolio, from 8,600 rooms in 46 hotels located in 9 states to more than 15,000 rooms in 89 hotels located in 13 states. WestCoast Hospitality is headquartered in Spokane.

Recession and the apartment market

Mike Scott, Doug Pederson, Tracy Edgers, Mike Kuntz, John Pfister and Greg Laycock will speak at a symposium about the direction capital will take in the Northwest apartment market. The event is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Columbia Tower Club atop the Bank of America Tower in downtown Seattle. Scott is a principal in the apartment research and consulting firm of Dupre + Scott. Edgers is a lender with KeyBank. Laycock works as an apartment broker for Cushman & Wakefield. Dupre + Scott, KeyBank and Cushman & Wakefield organized the event. Pederson is an economist with Conway Pederson. Kuntz is a lawyer with Foster Pepper & Shefelman. Pfister works with Chicago Title. The event is called "Capital Directions: Northwest Investment Strategies." For information, contact Patricia Leonard at (206) 521-0260.

Merrill Gardens buys two more

The Seattle senior housing operator Merrill Gardens closed out the year with buying two complexes from Health Care REIT of Toledo, Ohio.

The purchases bring Merrill Gardens to owning and operating 61 communities totaling 6,100 units in 15 states. Assisted Living Today says that makes Merrill Gardens the second largest private senior housing company in the country and the eighth largest overall.

The two complexes bought from Health Care REIT, each of about 130 units, are in Austin, Texas, and Mesa, Ariz. Both complexes are less than two years old, Merrill Gardens said.

American Property Financing

American Property Financing's Seattle office, headed by Louis Weisman, issued an $8.5 million permanent loan on a Boise, Idaho, apartment complex, the 204-unit River Pointe. Freddie Mac promptly bought the 20-year loan, Weisman said. River Pointe was built two years ago