Dec 13, 2019

Nautilus

Konold

Aina Konold is the new CFO of Vancouver-based fitness equipment maker Nautilus. Konold has over 25 years of financial management experience, including a 20-year career at Gap Inc. with leadership roles in financial planning and analysis, real estate strategy and investor relations. Most recently, she was founding CFO for Gap in China, where she helped develop over 170 stores.

Greater Seattle Partners

Atlanta-based Shadow Ventures added four members to its strategic advisory council, including Greater Seattle Partners CEO Brian P. McGowan. McGowan was economic development advisor to former President Barack Obama. Greater Seattle Partners is a public-private economic development corporation. Shadow Ventures is a technology venture capital firm focused on seed-stage startups in the real estate and construction markets.

CoreStack

In Bellevue, CoreStack hired Bala Vishwanath as chief marketing officer. Vishwanath has over 20 years of marketing leadership experience. He was founding CEO of Nimbic, a provider of electronic design automation software that was acquired in 2014 by Mentor Graphics. CoreStack provides operational management, backup and disaster recovery services using the cloud.

City of Tacoma

Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards is a new board member of the National League of Cities. Woodards will provide strategic direction and guidance for NLC's federal advocacy, governance and membership activities over her two-year term. NLC represents cities, their elected leaders and municipal staff.

Vacasa

Portland vacation rental management company Vacasa added 176 vacation homes in Park City, Utah, previously managed by Wyndham Vacation Rentals. The move is part of Vacasa's purchase in October of Wyndham Vacation Rentals. In Park City, Vacasa is retaining all 27 former Wyndham employees. Vacasa will continue integrating Wyndham's more than 9,000 vacation rentals in North America over the next 12 months.

Glassdoor

Website Glassdoor ranked the 100 best companies to work for in the U.S. for 2020 and four of the firms are based in the Seattle area: T-Mobile, Microsoft, Costco and Slalom.

Dec 12, 2019

Stoel Rives

Business attorney Kirsten L. Koester joined Stoel Rives' Seattle office as of counsel. For nearly 15 years, Koester has counseled clients on complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. She previously practiced law with Polsinelli and Foster Pepper. At Stoel Rives, Koester is working in the Corporate Practice Group.

City of Renton

Several personnel changes are in play at the city of Renton. Mayor Denis Law and City Council President Don Persson are both retiring, Valerie O'Halloran was sworn in as a new councilmember and Kim-Khanh Van will become a councilmember next month. Law has been in public service for 16 years, including 12 years as mayor of Renton. Persson has been on the council for 20 years. Prior to that, he spent 33 years on the Renton Police Department. O'Halloran filled a seat vacated by Carol Ann Witschi, who moved to North Carolina with her family. O'Halloran is filling the remainder of Witschi's term before serving her own four-year term starting on Jan. 1. Van will be sworn in on Jan. 6.

BitTitan

Bellevue-based BitTitan appointed James Clifford as sales director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Clifford has over 20 years of tech sales experience, working for Microsoft, Salesforce and Ingram Micro. BitTitan helps IT service companies automate cloud technologies. It has identified EMEA as a key region in the cloud adoption market.

Vesta

Lake Oswego, Oregon-based Vesta hired Laura Stepp as chief people officer. Stepp has over 25 years of experience in the tech industry, lastly as vice president of people and workplace at Jama Software. Prior to that, she was vice president of people and human resources with Puppet, a Portland IT software company. Vesta provides e-commerce payment and fraud detection services.

Flyhomes

Seattle startup Flyhomes is expanding into the Boston, Los Angeles and Portland markets. Flyhomes is a real estate brokerage that brings every step of the home buying process under one roof to reduce obstacles for buyers. It bills itself as the only service enabling any qualified buyer to make an all-cash offer on a home in hot markets like San Francisco and Seattle.

KM's Sidor receives CRE designation

Sidor

Kidder Mathews has announced the recent Counselors of Real Estate designation of its Stan Sidor, who's a senior vice president and manager for valuation advisory services. Sidor is a 27-year veteran in the field.

ULI names new local head

The local chapter of the Urban Land Institute has named Andrea Newton as its new executive director. She began her term earlier this month, ULI announced. The 20-year industry veteran succeeds Kelly Mann, who recently concluded a 14-year term.

CBRE secures $47M for Bellevue apartments

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CBRE announced that it has secured a $47 million construction loan for Surrey on Main Flats, a 125-unit apartment project planned at 10777 Main St. in Bellevue. CBRE's Mollie Means and James Bach led the effort. The money comes through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with an interest-only construction period of 20 months. After that, it's a 40-year, non-recourse, fully-amortizing permanent loan. Pastakia + Associates is the developer working for the longtime family owner of the corner property. Encore Architects designed Surrey on Main, and general contractor Pavilion is expected to break ground on the project this month.

Mesa West has $52M loan for The Joe sale

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The 131-unit Joseph Arnold Lofts, at 62 Cedar St. in Belltown, traded last month for $74.5 million. Now Mesa West Capital of Los Angeles has announced its provision of $52 million in funding to the buyers, Rise Properties Trust and Cigna Investment Management.

Mesa West's Joshua Westerberg said in a statement regarding the five-year, non-recourse financing, “Joseph Arnold Lofts is a unique, top quality apartment building in a very desirable neighborhood in downtown Seattle. The sponsor's planned improvements will enhance the resident experience and ensure the Property remains competitive as a top-tier apartment project in the market for years to come.”

The Joe was developed in 2014, originally as a condominium project, by Schuster Group.

NBS secures $13M for First Hill apartments

Norris, Beggs & Simpson announced a recent $13 million financing package for the developer of The Point, a 36-unit apartment project recently completed on a triangular parcel at 1320 University St. Jeff Ballaine and Colin Ceithaml of NBS secured the non-recourse, fixed-rate from life insurance company UNUM. Cyzner Properties of New Jersey developed the seven-story project, which includes about 5,000 square feet of retail, and has 12 underground parking stalls. Grouparchitect designed The Point, which is on the border between Capitol Hill and First Hill, and Cyzner apparently acted as its own general contractor.

Avenue Bellevue condos selling nicely

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The phased mixed-use Avenue Bellevue project planned by Fortress Development, on the block just north of Bellevue Square, includes about 322 condos in two towers. The west tower, dubbed The Residences, will have 224 units. Of those, about 30% have now been pre-sold, according to the developer. Rennie Marketing Systems is marketing the condos, where prices start at $899,000. Avenue Bellevue will also include about 85,000 square feet of retail, commercial and restaurant space. The south tower will have an InterContinental Hotel with about 98 larger condos on its upper floors. The team also includes Weber Thompson, design architect; CollinsWoerman, architect of record; Hirsch Bedner Associates, interior designer; and PCL Construction, Phase I general contractor. (See liveatavenue.com for details.)

(Editor's note: The story has been corrected to say that Hirsh Bedner Associates is the interior designer.)

PMF welcomes new Safeway in Puyallup

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PMF Investments of Bellevue announced the recent opening of a new Safeway store at its Pioneer Crossing in Puyallup. It's the anchor tenant in the six-building, 86,000-square-foot shopping center. The Safeway, which opened last Saturday, has about 56,000 square feet. Other tenants opening soon are Starbucks, MOD Pizza, Taco Bell and Supercuts. PMF says that Pioneer Crossing in now fully leased.