Jan 31, 2020

Holocaust Center for Humanity

Egan

Citterman

Bogaard

New board members of the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle are Alex Bogaard, Teri Citterman and Cara Egan. Bogaard is president of Brown & Brown Insurance of Washington, where he oversees the Seattle, Bellingham, Lynden and Newport offices. Citterman is CEO of Talonn, as well as an executive performance coach and author of the book “From the CEO's Perspective.” Egan is senior communications officer of community and civic engagement at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Holocaust Center for Humanity operates a Holocaust museum in Belltown.

Housing Finance Commission

Tripp

Albert Tripp is a new member of the state Housing Finance Commission. Tripp has been city manager of Airway Heights since 2008. He was on the Spokane Regional Homeless Governance Council and the board of the Washington City/County Management Association. He is serving a four-year term on the commission.

Perkins Coie

In Seattle, Perkins Coie promoted 29 counsel and senior counsel attorneys to partner. They are: Michael Avent, Joe Bailey, Elizabeth Manno Banzhoff, Adam Brenner, Jim Brenner, Caitlin Carey, Michael Carr, Garrett Colli, Nick Davis, Andrew Dufresne, David Fentin, Amir Gamliel, Amelia Gerlicher, Martin Gilmore, John Gray, Emily Greb, Tyler Hagenbuch, Heather Heindel, Samuel Jo, Kira Loehr, Louise Lu, Tony McCormick, Nicola Menaldo, Uzoma Nkwonta, Laurie Rasmussen, Elena Romerdahl, Thomas Ryerson, Gilbert Villaflor and Yingli Wang.

StormSensor

Minnesota angel investment group Sofia Fund invested an undisclosed amount into Seattle-based startup StormSensor. Sofia Fund focuses on woman-led companies. StormSensor designs smart urban watersheds by mapping how water moves through cities with sensors placed within the infrastructure. Engineer Erin Rothman is the founder.

Boeing

Boeing is donating 250,000 medical-grade respiratory masks to address medical supply shortages in China. The masks are going to health officials battling the spread of coronavirus in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.

Jan 30, 2020

CBRE arranges loan for Alley24 buyer

The residential portion of Alley24, at 241 Yale Ave. N. in South Lake Union, sold last month for $71.8 million. CBRE recently announced that it secured a loan for the buyer, Jacobson Co. of Los Angeles, without specifying the amount or the lender. (Public records say it was Heitman.) In CBRE's Los Angeles office, Brian Eisendrath, Brandon Smith and Cory Wizenberg arranged the deal. The mixed-use Alley24, with 172 unit apartments, was developed in 2006 by Vulcan Real Estate with Pemco Insurance. New owner Larry Jacobson said in a statement, “There is a supply and demand imbalance in local multifamily which bodes well for existing product in the neighborhood such as Alley24.” He also said that other Seattle area investments were planned this year.

Atari hotel planned

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Japanese game maker Atari recently announced a branding deals with developer True North Studio and GSD Group.

Though the location hasn't been disclosed, Seattle will eventually be home to a new Atari-branded hotel. The Japanese game maker recently announced a branding deals with developer True North Studio and GSD Group. The first hotel will be in Phoenix, with an expected groundbreaking this year. Others are planned for Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Jose. The companies said in a release, “Atari hotels will feature common areas following the latest trends in hospitality, with a focus on the video game universe and the Atari brand. They will include a state of the art eSport studio, an Atari gaming playground, meeting and event rooms, co-working spaces, restaurants, bars, a bakery, a movie theatre and a gym. They are targeted at family or business travelers.” Whether they'll include vintage Pong and Asteroids consoles remains to be seen.

Aegis adds board member

Fast-growing West Coast senior housing developer Aegis Living, which is based in Bellevue, announced a new board member. Nader Naini of Frazier Healthcare Partners joins a small board led by Aegis CEO and founder Dwayne Clark. The company, now with 32 communities, plans to double in size over the coming decade. It currently has plans underway in Ballard, Kirkland, Eastlake and near Laurelhurst.

Alki condos break ground

Vibrant Cities is developing the 40-condominium Infinity Shore Club Residences, at 1250 Alki Ave. S.W., and Realogics Sotheby's International Realty is selling them. Prices will run from below $1.5 million to over $5 million, with sizes from around 1,108 to 2,382 square feet. (See infinityshoreclub.com for further details.) The first shovel was planted yesterday, followed by a buyers reception at Salty's. Walsh Group is building the project, which was designed by Tiscareno Associates, with Susan Marinello Interiors. Vibrant Cities' James Wong said it took 23 years to assemble the site, which his company purchased in 2015 for $5.7 million. JLL recently secured a $43 million construction loan for the project, which Vibrant Cities hopes to complete next year.

BOMA names new chair

Angela Merculief has been announced to be the new chair for the Building Owners and Managers Association Seattle King County. She rises from vice chair to succeed outgoing chair Jeff Myrter of Wright Runstad & Co. Industry veteran Merculief is with EB-5 developer American Life, where she manages properties including the Avalara Hawk Tower, Home Plate Center and Stadium Innovation Center. She's been a BOMA board member since 2012.

Berkadia secures $30M for ICG apartment deal

Berkadia announced that its Seattle office recently secured $30.3 million in financing for the local buyer of the 288-unit Talus in Great Falls, Montana. Berkadia's Jeff Stuart arranged the 10-year Freddie Mac loan for Investors Capital Group. ICG invests in most of the West Coast, Southwest and Texas. It doesn't list any Seattle properties, but owns apartments in Pasco and Spokane. It has about 6,000 units in its portfolio. The firm is led by Mick Halpin, Ward Murphy and Michael Christian.

NAIOP confronts rent control

To address possible legislation in Olympia, economist Morgan Shook of EcoNW will speak on the industry specter of rent control at NAIOP's breakfast meeting next month. Joining in the conversation will be attorney Ian Morrison with McCullough Hill Leary. The gathering takes place at 7 a.m. Feb. 26 at the Four Seasons (99 Union St., Seattle). Details and registration: naiopwa.org. Also note that the topic replaces the previously scheduled subject of co-living.

$19M secured for Redmond industrial purchase

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Redmond Heights Center sold in December for $37.5 million. The local buyer was Alco Redmond Heights LLC, which is associated with the Rosen family-run Alco Investment Co. of Bellevue. Continental Partners of Los Angeles recently announced that it secured an $18.75 million loan for the deal, which was worth about $296 per square foot. Continental's Carl Riggins arranged the 10-year fixed, non-recourse loan without naming the lender (public records say TIAA). He said in a statement, “This acquisition presented the sponsor with an opportunity to benefit from the increasing appetite for office space throughout greater Seattle.” He also noted that the flex-industrial complex at 8561 Willows Road was renting for about 25% below current market rates; it's now fully leased to 13 tenants.

Housing Finance Commission

Rich Nafziger is a new member of the state Housing Finance Commission. Nafziger has worked as an economist in public policy for nearly 35 years and currently teaches economics and public policy at Seattle University's Institute for Public Service. He is serving a four-year term on the commission.

PSEB Group

Mike Egeck next week will step down as CEO of PSEB Group, the operating company for Eddie Bauer and PacSun. Egeck was CEO of Bellevue-based Eddie Bauer before taking the lead at PSEB. He is pursuing a new opportunity outside of the apparel industry and wants to be geographically closer to his family. He will remain as a PSEB shareholder and board member following the transition. PSEB director Jim Gulmi, a 30-year specialty retail veteran, will be interim CEO while the company's board seeks a permanent replacement.

Clearwater Paper

Arsen S. Kitch on April 1 will take over as CEO of Spokane-based Clearwater Paper. Kitch is senior vice president and general manager of the company's consumer products division. He will succeed Linda K. Massman, who will retire after serving as CEO for seven years. The company also announced that Alexander Toeldte will transition from board chair to independent executive chair to ensure an effective leadership transition. A search is underway for the next general manager of the consumer products division. Clearwater supplies private-label tissue to major retailers and wholesale distributors, and produces bleached paperboard.

Alliant

Travis Webb joined the Spokane office of Alliant's Employee Benefits Group as a vice president. Webb was an advisor with a Spokane-based employee benefits consulting firm. He also was a relief pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers for seven seasons. Alliant Insurance Services is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

Amazon

Seattle-based Amazon will donate $2 million to two nonprofits working to make STEM and computer science education more accessible, equitable and meaningful for Washington state students. Half of the money is going to Washington STEM and the other half is going to Pacific Science Center, which will develop a new computer science curriculum and expand outreach to 200,000 students in low-income communities.