May 27, 2011

JayRay

JayRay, a Tacoma-based communications consultant, hired Adam Cochran as assistant advisor. Cochran previously worked for T-Mobile and has written, produced promotional videos and coached baseball.

Columbia Bank

Columbia Bank in Tacoma hired Chris Sakas as vice president and private banking officer. Sakas recently worked at Wells Fargo Bank in Seattle as a senior relationship manager in the commercial real estate and business banking group. He has 14 years experience in the banking industry.

May 26, 2011

Low Income Housing Institute

The Low Income Housing Institute's board of directors elected Pearl Leung and Joe Ingram as members. Leung is community relations manager with Vulcan. Ingram is executive director of Vets Edge, a nonprofit providing advocacy and outreach to homeless veterans. LIHI owns and manages over 1,800 affordable housing units for low-income individuals and families in the Puget Sound region.

Symetra

Symetra Life Insurance hired Brent Martonik for a new position: vice president and director of capital markets pricing in the Retirement Division. Martonik will be based in Bellevue. He previously worked with Surema, a Seattle-based risk management consulting firm he co-founded in 2004.

NBS Financial Services

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Henderson

Jeff Henderson of NBS Financial Services in Seattle originated $20.2 million in permanent financing for Pacific Plaza, a LEED platinum office and retail project in Tacoma. Bank of America is the lender; terms were not disclosed.

He said the CMBS single-asset transaction was challenging because the market recently lost a large tenant — Russell Investments — and Pacific Plaza is a condominium with partial owner/user space, including a grocery store that has yet to take occupancy.

Henderson said lenders are starting to look in secondary markets.

NorthMarq Capital

Bob Spiro of NorthMarq Capital's Bellevue office arranged first mortgage financing of $3.1 million for Hidden Firs Apartments, a 62-unit property in Lynnwood. Financing was based on a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged through Freddie Mac. Spiro said the transaction is a low-leverage $2 million cash back contract. The client spent $150,000 improving the property before closing. The borrower got what Spiro said was a low fixed rate, 10-year loan to retire a HUD loan.

Premier Communities, Matrix

Premier Communities LLC selected Matrix Real Estate to market Greenfield Park, which has 74 single-family detached homes on condominiumized lots. Sales will start in September. Matrix President Chaun Mackey will lead the team. Twenty homes were built and sold when the original developer lost the property. State records list Clark and Ryan C. McGowan of Puyallup as Premier's managers.

TheRetailPlanet.com

The RetailPlanet.com unveiled BrandScore for Retailers this week at the International Council of Shopping Centers' convention in Las Vegas. The web-based system helps retailers and brokers determine the quality of a retail location. New Mexico-based RetailPlanet says it has taken the concept of credit scoring and applied it to retail site selection. It is built on Google Maps, and scores every retail district in the United States for more than 3,000 brands, combining demographics and consumer preferences to produce a score.

Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle was named a lead sponsor of the Carbon Disclosure Project Cities program, which provides a global platform for cities to report greenhouse gas emissions and other sustainability-related information. Jones Lang LaSalle will help refine the reporting criteria and help cities improve performance.

BOMA's Day of Caring

Members of the Building Owners and Managers Association volunteered to do maintenance for Seattle's Downtown Emergency Service Center. Members cleaned a shelter, and installed new floors and cabinets at the Kerner Scott building in the South Lake Union area.

NAIOP: Next steps for recovery

NAIOP's 7:30 a.m. June 10 breakfast in Tacoma will look at recovery in the South Sound commercial real estate market. Tacoma Economic Development Director Ryan Petty will talk about Russell Investments' former headquarters, Old City Hall, BNSF's 80 acres in South Tacoma and the multi-family market. Port of Tacoma Real Estate Director Jack Hedge will discuss the port's strategies and portfolio. The meeting will be at the Hotel Murano. Register at naiopwa.org.