Aug 10, 2010

Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker

Lawyers Samuel Baker, Douglas Oles and James Nagle were named “Washington Super Lawyers” by Washington Law & Politics Magazine. All are partners in the Seattle-based law firm Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker, which specializes in construction, government contracts and public procurement. Also, OMRB attorney Jason Wandler was named a “Rising Star.”

Skanska

Skanska's Seattle office awarded $3,000 scholarships and summer internships to University of Washington students Damir Alic and Andrea Haluptzok. The scholarships are part of the Skanska Scholars program, which is presented annually to UW juniors who are pursuing construction management degrees. Alic is a board member of the Associated Students in Construction, and Haluptzok is a member of the AGC Education Foundation's Ready Set Build program and the UW's Husky Mentor program.

WSDOT

WSDOT was recognized by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for its SR 16 Burley-Olalla Interchange project and its SR 410 Nile Valley landslide emergency response. The SR 16 project won the “On Time — Small Project” category for finishing 11 months ahead of schedule and $1.75 million under budget. The landslide repair won the “Innovative Management — Small Project” category for meeting a 45-day deadline to construct a new river channel and 4,000-foot detour route.

Washington State Bar Association

The Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors appointed Keith Seo to a two-year position on the Committee for Diversity, effective Oct. 1. Seo was the 2007 recipient of Riddell Williams' Diversity Fellowship and joined the firm as an associate in 2010. He is a member of the Corporate Transactions and Finance as well as Health Care, Nonprofit and Real Estate and Land Use practice groups.

Enprecis

The Seattle office of Enprecis hired Elias Israel to its executive team in product development. Israel has 25 years of experience in software product development. He is an executive, inventor and a published technical author. Enprecis provides insight on vehicles for automotive manufacturers and has offices in Seattle, Beijing and Seoul.

Aug 06, 2010

Berk & Associates

Berk & Associates hired Gary Simonson as a project associate in the Strategy and Policy Practice. Simonson has worked as a consultant for Seattle's Office of Sustainability and Environment and as an intern for the Seattle Department of Transportation. Berk is a public policy and management consultant firm working with elected officials and senior managers.

Seattle Symphony

Eric Garcia has been named Seattle Symphony's Douglas F. King assistant conductor for the 2010–2011 season. Garcia succeeds Thomas Hong, whose appointment ended in May.

Aug 05, 2010

Keller Rohrback

Keller Rohrback elected Ian S. Birk to partner. He practices in the plaintiff's tort litigation section and has experience litigating cases involving wrongful death, medical negligence and product liability.

Central Washington University

Central Washington University's College of Business has achieved accreditation by AACSB International, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Central officials said 593 schools of business, less than 5 percent worldwide, have achieved the accreditation. In King County, Central offers degree programs and classes at CWU-Des Moines at Highline Community College.

GVA Kidder Mathews

Office properties specialist Joel Shabel joined GVA Kidder Mathews' Tacoma brokerage division as an associate vice president. He was with Colliers International and completed more than $40 million in commercial real estate transactions.

NAIOP Tacoma boat tour

NAIOP's fourth-annual boat tour of Commencement Bay and the Port of Tacoma is Aug. 12. The three-hour cruise starts at 1 p.m. at Gate 8 at 1129 Dock St. Jack Hedge, the port's new director of real estate and industrial development, will lead the tour and will discuss development plans. Cost ranges from $35 to $50. Register at naiopwa.org.

Kennedy buys $69M shopping center

On behalf of Multi-Employer Property Trust, Seattle-based Kennedy Associates bought the 230,000-sqaure-foot Springbrook Prairie Pavilion shopping center in Naperville, Ill., for $69 million from the Bond Cos. It is the first LEED gold retail property in the Chicago area. The center is 96 percent leased. Anchors are Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack and Cost Plus World Market. Kennedy has more than $2 billion in LEED-certified assets under management. MEPT is a real estate equity fund that buys institutional-quality U.S. real estate. MEPT has more than $3.78 billion in net assets.

LEED gold for Hines building

Hines officials say its Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza in Seattle received LEED gold certification for existing buildings.

The 42-story tower also has an Energy Star rating of 100, which means it performs in the top 1 percent of commercial office buildings nationwide in terms of energy efficiency.

Hines said the 1.2 million-square-foot building is 55 percent more energy efficient and saves $1.33 in energy costs per square foot per year when compared to the national average.

Hines installed low-flow fixtures and whole building water metering; purchased low-mercury lamps; started recycling and green cleaning programs; installed workstation lighting controls; and launched Green Office for Tenants, which involves occupants in sustainability programs.