Jun 04, 2015

Pierce County Superior Court

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Tom Larkin will retire July 31 after a 30-year career as a judge in Pierce County. He served 20 years in Superior Court and 10 years in District Court.

Northwest Music Hall

Everett Music Hall is now Northwest Music Hall to reflect its regional focus. The music hall at Everett Mall is the home of Snohomish County Music Project, which has been in the former Regal Cinema space since 2010. The nonprofit offers concerts, recitals, corporate meetings and music therapy programs.

Port of Kalama

The Port of Kalama won the Pathways 2020 Community Champions Award. Pathways 2020 is a Cowlitz County nonprofit focused on education, housing and health. Last year at the port, Temco completed a $200 million renovation of the grain elevator and the port managed construction of new offices and an interpretive center. The port also began construction of Haydu Park, the first phase of development at East Port that will also include Spencer Creek Business Center.

Doug Daley joins Bellwether Housing

Daley

Former Harbor Properties CEO Doug Daley will be executive director at Bellwether Housing, replacing Sarah Lewontin, who is retiring after being executive director since 2004. Daley has been on the affordable housing group's board since 2010, and was chair in 2013 and 2014. Daley spent 10 years at Harbor Properties, now called Mack Urban, and before that was CFO at Trammell Crow Residential West Coast Group. Daley said in a press release that more investors today want to support affordable housing. Bellwether manages 30 properties with 1,900 units in Seattle, housing 3,200 people.

TruAmerica hires Doug Vodder

TruAmerica Multifamily, which owns several apartment complexes in the area, has hired Doug Vodder as director of capital improvements. Vodder will oversee renovations in the Pacific Northwest. He worked at the Seattle office of Greystar, where he supervised maintenance and capital improvements for more than 5,000 apartments. TruAmerica was founded in 2013 as a joint venture between Robert Hart and The Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America. The Los Angeles-based company has about 8,000 units valued at $1.5 billion, including 1,400 in the Pacific Northwest. TruAmerica said it wants to buy 2,000 units in the Pacific Northwest this year.

Cushman to manage Central Building

Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce said it will manage the eight-story Central Building at 810 Third Ave. for KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT. The 191,784-square-foot building is 92 percent leased. John Fox and Janice Davis will lead the team for Cushman & Wakefield. KBS bought the building in July 2013 for $34.5 million. It was constructed in 1907, and designated a landmark in 2008 after a five-year renovation. Cushman & Wakefield manages approximately 1 million square feet in the region.

CREW topic: affordable housing

Commercial Real Estate Women Seattle & Sound's June luncheon will tackle the issues of affordable housing, looking at demand, policies and financing. The event is at 11:30 a.m. June 11 at Washington Athletic Club. Panelists are M.A. Leonard of Enterprise Community Partners, Sarah Lewontin of Bellwether Housing and Faith Pettis of Pacifica Law Group. They will look at the effectiveness of current policies and how they could be modified. For more information, visit: https://goo.gl/jAnOfL

Jun 03, 2015

WATG

Alvarez

Heironimus

Hurst

Rehill

Global architectural and design firm WATG hired Dennis Rehill as a vice president, Chris Hurst as an associate vice president, and Erik Heironimus and Miguel Alvarez as senior designers. They will provide leadership on high-rise, mixed-use and urban design working as a virtual team, with Rehill and Heironimus in the WATG Seattle studio, and Hurst and Alvarez in Chicago. They will work with the firm's offices in Southern California, London, Honolulu and Singapore. Rehill previously was at Gensler in Seattle as architectural design director, Northwest region tall buildings practice leader, and commercial office building practice leader. He directed design of two pairs of high-rise residential towers, Skanska's 2&U Tower and 888 2nd Avenue. Before that, he worked at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture on towers and master plans. Prior to AS+GG, he was an associate director for Scott Tallon Walker Architects in Dublin. He also worked on Burj Khalifa and 7 South Dearborn at SOM. Rehill is co-chair of the Seattle chapter of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Hurst was with Opus Architects and Engineers as a senior architect and manager of the Chicago office and has held project architect and lead designer positions for SOM, AS+GG and Lohan Anderson. At AS+GG, he was involved in design development of Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. Heironimus was an architectural designer and associate at Gensler, focusing on high-rise office and residential design, and hospitality and restaurant design. Alvarez has several years of supertall design experience, and previously was a senior designer at AS+GG responsible for design on several high-rise projects that include Kingdom Tower.

Gensler

Covarrubias

Haines

In its Seattle office, Gensler promoted Ryan Haines and Susana Covarrubias to principal. Haines is the firm-wide technology practice leader and head of Gensler Seattle's consulting practice. He has experience in design strategy, workplace design, master planning, retail, transportation and government projects, and specializes in global workplace services. Covarrubias is a studio director and creative director at Gensler, and is a design leader for the Northwest region. She has more than 20 years of design experience, with a portfolio that includes workplace, hospitality, retail, residential and building repositioning. She leads research about how tech trends affect workplace design, and has won more than 15 design awards.

HOK

Unterreiner

Buchanan

In Seattle, HOK promoted Todd Buchanan to senior associate and hired Jerome Unterreiner as a vice president and senior urban designer. Buchanan has managed projects in the Seattle office since 2008, with a focus on aviation, justice, and science and technology. He is working on the King County Children and Family Justice Center. For over 25 years, Unterreiner has worked on urban districts and transportation systems while at ZGF Architects and 360 Architecture, which HOK recently acquired. Projects include early planning for South Lake Union and the Stadium District in Seattle; Bel-Red Corridor in Bellevue; Pearl District in Portland; and eco-districts in Japan. HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm.

NAC|Architecture

McLean

Bentley

In its Seattle office, NAC|Architecture hired Jason Bentley and Kate McLean as design architects on the health care team. Their projects include Highline Medical Center and PeaceHealth. Bentley has over 10 years of industry experience, most recently as president of Bentley Design, specializing in urban planning and visioning for civic, residential and mixed-use projects. McLean graduated in 2014 from the University of Washington with a master of architecture degree. She has a design background in public/civic and mixed-used projects, and worked on a school in Honduras with the nonprofit Global Architecture Brigades. NAC provides planning, design, engineering and capital facilities services.

CollinsWoerman

Damento

Robinson

CollinsWoerman hired Elizabeth Robinson and Peter Damento as senior designers. Robinson will lead corporate and commercial interior projects. She has over 30 years of experience, including leading corporate interior design studios for U.S. and international firms. She has led design teams for headquarters, retail and hospitality projects for Fortune 100 companies. Damento will work on architectural commissions. He has over 36 years of experience that includes health care and commercial projects. CollinsWoerman provides architecture, design and planning.

Metrix Engineers

DiGiovanni

Metrix Engineers hired Blake DiGiovanni as a mechanical engineer. DiGiovanni is a 2014 graduate of Washington State University and is supporting Tacoma School District's Stewart Middle School modernization. Metrix is a mechanical engineering consulting firm based in Renton.

Landau Associates

Gauglitz

Jorgensen

Landau Associates hired Danille Jorgensen as an environmental data manager and Katie Gauglitz as an assistant geologist in Tacoma. Jorgensen will manage environmental databases. She spent the last 11 years as an environmental chemist and database specialist. Gauglitz holds a bachelor's degree in geology and a master's in applied geology from the University of Washington. She was with the UW Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory for two years. Edmonds-based Landau provides geotechnical and environmental engineering, remediation, permitting, and compliance services.

Lighter Capital

Seely

Lighter Capital, a Seattle-based online lender for tech companies, named Jeff Seely chairman. Andy Sack, the company founder, is now vice chairman. Seely was founder, chairman and CEO of ShareBuilder Securities, an online brokerage firm that was sold to ING Direct for $220 million in 2007. He is a trustee on the Washington State Investment Board and spent 15 years in investment banking at Robertson Stephens & Co., Dean Witter and Smith Barney.

KCTS 9

Cerna

KCTS 9 named Enrique Cerna director of community partnerships. Cerna will host events and direct a program that teaches community storytelling, while continuing to produce and report stories for broadcast and digital platforms. He joined KCTS 9 in 1995.

Seattle Office of Economic Development

Mayor Ed Murray named Brian Surratt head of Seattle's Office of Economic Development. Surratt has been a senior policy advisor on economic development issues and helped the Income Inequality Advisory Committee that worked on the $15 minimum wage. He will replace Steve Johnson.