May 28, 2010

Lynnwood Convention Center

SMG, a venue management, marketing and development firm, named Erin Haldi the new catering manager at Lynnwood Convention Center. Haldi was the operations/banquet manager for the Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson, Nev. The Lynnwood Public Facilities District owns the center and contracts with SMG to manage it.

GreenRubino

GreenRubino said John Rubino is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Award in the Pacific Northwest. The awards recognize entrepreneurs for innovation, performance and commitment to their business and community. Winners will be announced June 18 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. GreenRubino offers advertising, branding, design, media and public relations services.

May 27, 2010

Seattle City Light

Seattle City Light hired Tuan Tran as director of energy delivery engineering. Tran has 20 years experience in the utility industry and recently managed the Transmission and Distribution System Planning and Operations Group for Tacoma Power. He will lead a group of 98 engineers working on major capital programs and nine support staff employees.

Life Care Center

Life Care Center of Federal Way, a nursing and rehabilitation facility, hired Aaron Marson as executive director. Marson worked at Garden Terrace Alzheimer's Center of Excellence in Federal Way, where he was an administrator-in-training and then assistant administrator.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Bankruptcy Trustee Brian Lynch has been appointed to serve as a judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. Lynch will replace Bankruptcy Judge Philip Brandt, who retired in January. Brandt has agreed to remain on the bench as a recalled bankruptcy judge at the request of the court, which has seen a sharp increase in bankruptcy filings. Lynch has been a standing chapter 12 and chapter 13 trustee for the Portland Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon since 2004.

GVA Kidder Mathews

Dave Low was promoted to director of sustainability practices for GVA Kidder Mathews. He was project manager for the division that offers sustainability assessments, and LEED and Energy Star certification management. The division has consulted on more than 20 LEED projects. In his new role, he'll also work to elevate the company's corporate commitment to environmental sustainability. Also, LaeRoc Funds, the new owner of the 27-story Seattle Tower, hired GVA Kidder Mathews to manage the 161,400-square-foot building at 1218 Third Ave. GVA Kidder Mathews hired Jan Greene to manage the property. She managed it for the previous owners, Legacy Partners. Natalia Beran joined the Bellevue office specializing in multi-family investment sales.

Urban Land Institute

Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstad & Co., was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Urban Land Institute, a global nonprofit education and research institute. Johnson is past chair of ULI Seattle and serves on the national advisory board of ULI's Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use.

Land-Linc

Suzanne Britsch, Rob Purser and Todd Britsch have formed Land-Linc, a real estate brokerage focused on the residential land market. Suzanne Britsch and Purser are the designated and associate broker, respectively, and Todd Britsch is an agent. The Britsches also operate New Home Trends, a Bothell-based residential real estate research and consulting firm.

Capitol Hill Housing Foundation

Pat Grimm, owner of Windermere Real Estate Capitol Hill, was named to the Capitol Hill Housing Foundation board. The foundation raises money to support the affordable housing and community development group, which operates 42 buildings.

Impact Capital

Impact Capital, which helps build and sustain neighborhoods in under-served communities in Washington, named Melanie Gillespie senior lending officer in the Seattle office. She was founding executive director of Home For Good, and supervisor for the Snohomish County Office of Housing.

NorthMarq Capital

Ron Peterson of the Bellevue office of NorthMarq Capital arranged a first mortgage of just over $17.1 million for Colony at Bear Creek II, a 238-unit multifamily property in Redmond. Bear Creek Associates No. 2 LLC, managed by John Deal, is the property owner, records show.

NRC, Excell partnership

NRC Realty & Capital Advisors and The Excell Group created a partnership for residential real estate transactions in Washington and Oregon. The alliance will provide marketing and sales help to developers, builders, lenders and receivers. The Excell Group has offices in Seattle and Portland. NRC, which helps clients dispose of a range of real estate, has offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.

FloorPlanOnline updated

Issaquah-based Floor Plan Online, a website that offers virtual property tours, launched FPO 2.0, an upgraded version of its interactive online floor plan tour. Navigation tools have been upgraded and users can customize tours.

Class on 1031 exchanges

The Seminar Group will present a continuing education class “1031 Exchanges in a Challenging Real Estate Environment” June 18 at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle. For more information or to register, call (206) 463-4400 or (800) 574-4852.