Jun 27, 2019

Miller Nash Graham & Dunn

Twitchell

The law firm of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn added Brenton Twitchell in its Seattle office and Max Forer in its Portland office. Twitchell focuses on corporate transactional law, with clients in the biotech, technology, food and beverage, manufacturing, real estate and banking industries. Forer focuses on corporate, real estate and construction matters.

The Seattle Times

Sharon Pian Chan, vice president of innovation, product and development at The Seattle Times, is leaving the paper to join The New York Times. The Seattle Times says it is reorganizing Chan's role, adding product responsibility to Kati Erwert and promoting her to senior vice president. Business intelligence, formerly under Chan, has been assigned to Curtis Huber, senior director of audience. The paper is also seeking a vice president of development for community funding of public service journalism. Chan joined the Times in 1999 as a reporting intern.

Ryder System

Ryder System opened a 16,000-square-foot maintenance facility at 3919 88th St. N.E. in Marysville. The facility has nine work stations, two mobile maintenance units, an exterior covered truck wash bay and a rental counter for commercial vehicles. Ryder provides commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation and supply chain solutions.

Ernst & Young

Winners of 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year for the Pacific Northwest are Jordan Allen of Stay Alfred, Madeline Haydon of Nutpods, Alissa Leinonen of Gourmondo Co., Chris Moore of Concord Technologies, Kyle Stavig of Myers Container, Karl Siebrecht of Flexe, Rajeev Singh of Accolade and Jessie Woolley-Wilson of DreamBox Learning. All are eligible for the program's national awards. Ernst & Young is the program's founder.

Bellwether starts $4.5M crowdfunding initiative

Bellwether Housing has launched what it calls the Building Opportunity Fund, which will use a crowdfunding model to raise $4.5 million to help create 750 affordable units. The initiative was created with local group Tech 4 Housing. Bellwether says it's the first nonprofit to use such a model for housing. CEO Susan Boyd said in a statement, “This fund is not just about raising money, It's about engaging an entire community directly and powerfully in the creation of a more affordable and inclusive region.” The fund apparently isn't targeted toward any one particular project. Tech 4 Housing is an advocacy group founded by Ethan Phelps-Goodman, whose website Seattle in Progress is regularly used and cited by the DJC and other industry annals. The program was launched last week at the Amazon Spheres, and Amazon announced that it will match employee contributions.

KM's Hicks to lead industry group

Hicks

Drew Hicks of Kidder Mathews has been named president-elect for the Western Washington Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management. He'll assume those duties next year. A 15-year industry veteran, he's currently a VP and senior property manager at KM.

Kinzer adds to capital markets team

Hunter

Kinzer Partners announced that it's added Adrienne Hunter to its capital markets team. She makes the move from JLL. She had prior posts at CBRE and the Staubach Co. Kinzer's Stuart Williams said in a statement, “Adrienne's diverse experience in capital markets, strategic planning and tenant representation gives her a holistic understanding of all sides of a deal.” Hunter will be responsible for portfolio analysis, advisory services, and investment sales and acquisitions.

Terrene breaks ground on 135 Kirkland condos

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Terrene Urban of Bellevue announced that Realogics Sotheby's International Realty (RSIR) will be selling the condos at its six-story, 135-unit Jade at 11903 N.E. 128th St. in Totem Lake. With units running from studios to two-bedrooms, prices will range from just below $400,000 to over $900,000. Construction began on Wednesday. Delivery is expected by early 2021. Terrene's Wade Metz said in a statement, “We saw a market underserviced for a unique area ripe for development.” Terrene bought the land, home to an old medical office building, for about $5.8 million last year. Three levels of underground parking will have about 169 stalls. The team includes group CES Properties, financial partner; Johnson Braund, architect; Blueline, civil engineer; and LA Studio, landscape architect; and Sechrist Design Associates, interiors. Terrene, related to single-family homebuilder Terrene Homes, will apparently act as its own general contractor. RSIR says that Jade is the largest Kirkland condo project since the recession. RSIR's Dean Jones said, “Condominium development overcorrected since the last housing cycle as developers overwhelmingly preferred to build apartments for rent.” Of prospective Jade buyers, he said, “Many of them have been living in these expensive rental communities for years and seek to build equity in a home they own. That's been the challenge at the more affordable price points, until now.”