Sep 15, 2022

Gordon & Rees

Hughbanks

William Hughbanks joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as senior counsel in the firm's Spokane office. He joins the Construction practice group. Hughbanks focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on construction related matters. He regularly assists clients at the outset of a construction project by reviewing, negotiating and developing contract documents to protect the clients' interest. He also counsels his clients in preparing claims and evaluating liability when a dispute arises on a project. He most recently served as president and CEO of the Inland Pacific Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors. Hughbanks handles matters before the federal and state courts of Washington, Idaho and Montana and also in administrative courts of those states. He earned his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. Founded in 1974, Gordon Rees has offices and attorneys in all 50 states.

North Seattle College

North Seattle College has earned a STARS Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, AASHE's STARS program is recognized for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university's sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: 1) academics 2) engagement, 3) operations, 4) planning and administration, and 5) innovation and leadership. AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. It provides resources, professional development and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research.

Madrona

Madrona, a Seattle-based venture capital firm, announced it raised $690 million across two oversubscribed funds for technology startups based in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. With more than 25 years of experience building companies with founders from pre-seed onward, 100% of existing institutional investors supported the firm's new funds — $430 million Madrona Fund 9 and $260 million Acceleration Fund 3. Madrona Fund 9 will focus on its strategy of supporting Pacific Northwest-based pre-seed, seed, and Series A founders to help them build and scale throughout their company journey. Historically, over 80% of Madrona's core fund portfolio companies are based in the Pacific Northwest. Acceleration Fund 3 will focus on investing in teams that have found product-market fit, generally at the Series B or C stage, and are at a growth inflection point. About half of Madrona's Acceleration Fund companies are in major tech centers across the country, including Silicon Valley, New York City and Salt Lake City. This news follows the appointment Karan Mehandru as Madrona's new managing director. Mehandru, an experienced venture capitalist with strong ties to Seattle, will be based in Madrona's new Palo Alto office.

Ribbon snip in Kent

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Developers GIS International Group and DMG Capital Group announced a ribbon cutting next Monday at 11 a.m. for their new 157-unit Madison Plaza in Kent. Also on hand will be dignitaries from the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. GIS, which is led by Eugene Gershman (and who'll attend the ceremony), built the seven-story project, with IHB Architects as the designer. Mayor Dana Ralph will also be on hand. Thrive Communities will manage market rate and workforce-priced apartments. GIS says that amenities in the Built Green-certified project include two levels of retail, fitness center, game room with lounge area, bike roof, dog run and a rooftop gathering space. The apartments are about a 15-minute walk east to Kent Station.

Dermody Properties

Seeger

Dermody Properties announced the recent hiring of Benjamin Seeger as Northwest region partner. He makes the move from Amazon, where he worked in last-mile logistics. Dermody, of course, builds precisely those kind of buildings, with Amazon among its past tenants. Most operate under the LogistiCenter rubric. Seeger said in a statement, “I am thrilled to join the experienced and talented team at Dermody Properties, and to contribute to this fast-paced and dynamic region within the portfolio.” He'll work out of Dermody's Bellevue office with Phil Wood. In addition to his logistics background, Seeger is a real estate attorney with experience in acquisition, financing and development.

Skanska

Dealy

Dayna Dealy has been promoted to VP of development for our region at Skanska, the firm announced late last month. She's been with the firm for four years. Its Charlie Foushe said in a statement, “Dayna has been an integral part of the Skanska team and a vital driver in our work. Thanks to Dayna's exceptional work, we are one step closer to starting The Kaye and delivering the project to the Belltown community.” That 30-story, 323-unit project, at 2208 Fourth Ave., received its master use permit in May. A demolition permit appears near, and Skanska, acting as its own builder, will proceed with phased construction permits. VIA Architecture and Grzywinski + Pons are the designers.

New crane in the Triangle

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There's a new crane swinging over the Denny Triangle, operated by Centreville Construction. The latter is an arm of Concord Pacific, also of Vancouver, B.C., which is partnering with local shop HB Management on what had been known as Seattle House. That long-brewing 45-story project at 2300 Sixth Ave. was once announced to be condos, then more recently pivoted to a possible 1,130 rentals. Excavation for the underground parking was completed during the pandemic, then the half-block project lay quiet for well over a year. Fellow Canadian firm IBI Group is the architect for the two-tower plan. There's no announced date for completion.

Sep 14, 2022

Architects West

Rada

Architects West hired Rod Rada as an architect. Rada brings more than 20 years of experience to Architects West. Previously he was an associate principal at NAC Architecture where he was the design lead architect for several high-profile projects. Rada's portfolio includes a wide range of building typologies nationally and internationally, including K-12, higher education, commercial, mixed-use, residential, retail, municipal, public safety, and corporate projects.

Rada earned his Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 2000 and his Diploma from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, England in 2002. He is a licensed architect in multiple states.

Rada is active in various community activities and organizations including the American Institute of Architects, where he is a board member. Some of his current projects include the renovation of the old Triumph's Composite building for Lakeside Capital Group in Spokane; Housing developments in the Atlas Waterfront in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; The Ione High School in Ione, Oregon; and many other public and private pursuits that are currently in the early stages of design.

FSi Engineers

Aamir

FSi Engineers has hired Umaima Aamir, who brings seven years of design experience with a special expertise in plumbing. Aamir graduated from NED University of Engineering & Technologies with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 2012, and received a Masters in Mechanical Engineering in 2015. She is a certified plumbing design technician. At FSi, she will focus her energies on sustainability and using her plumbing expertise to help her clients use their resources wisely.

JRJ Architects

Mullavey

Portland-based JRJ Architects announced the promotion of long-time staff architect Jason Mullavey, AIA, to principal. Mullavey has over 18 years of design and project management experience with the last 14 years employed with JRJ Architects working exclusively on healthcare facilities in both acute and non-acute patient spaces. He joined JRJ in 2008 and most recently held the role of senior project architect.

Mullavey earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon and has spent his entire career serving Pacific Northwest clients. His portfolio includes diverse and often complex tenant improvement projects for both healthcare and commercial clients. Career highlights with JRJ include the Providence Heart Institute, Providence Children's Development Institute, Providence Newberg Medical Plaza, Kaiser Eugene Medical Building and several clinic re-fresh projects for Kaiser Permanente.

As principal-in-charge, Mullavey will continue to provide executive leadership on key JRJ projects while also contributing to the firm's business development and marketing programs along with mentoring and continuing to build a talented staff of designers. He is currently leading multi-discipline design teams for several key projects including Providence Heart Institute at the Providence Office Park Campus, Providence Redmond Bear Creek Hybrid Hub and Security Operations Center, Kaiser Rockwood and Salmon Creek Building Refreshes and Kaiser Bellevue Infrastructure Master Plan and ancillary projects.

Mullavey, a licensed Architect in Oregon, is LEED AP BD+C and NCARB certified, and a member of the Oregon Society for Healthcare Engineering (OSHE), the US Green Building Council, and the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Parametrix

Bradbury

Eleno-Orama

Emery

Justin Emery has joined Parametrix as a surveying supervisor based in Puyallup. He has 17 years of experience as a surveyor, including serving as a party chief, senior survey technician, project surveyor, and survey manager.

Emery joins Parametrix from Huitt-Zollars, Inc. He specializes in boundary surveys and is experienced in all aspects of surveying, including researching and coordinating field work, writing legal descriptions for subdivisions and easements, preparing boundary and easement exhibits, reviewing title reports, and calculating boundaries and plotting easements. Emery is a licensed professional land surveyor. At Parametrix he will lead the firm's Puyallup survey practice, serving public and private clients throughout the Pacific Northwest including King County, Washington State Department of Transportation, Cascade Natural Gas, Lakehaven Utility District, and others.

Maricris Eleno-Orama also joined the Puyallup office as a senior engineer. She has 16 years of experience as an engineer working in government, consulting, and academia. Eleno-Orama comes to Parametrix from Murraysmith/CONSOR Engineers where she also served as a consultant project manager for the City of Bellevue. Her recent project experience includes reservoir design, seismic assessment, and decommissioning projects, as well as resiliency and emergency response planning for various utilities. She was also Murraysmith's Tacoma Office Lead and helped establish the company-wide Outreach Team that focused on equitable engagement as part of the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative.

In 2020, Eleno-Orama co-founded SCOPE (Supportive Community of Professional Engineers), which connects students with professionals “to empower and support future engineers in defining their own career scopes.” At Parametrix, she joins the firm's Puyallup Water group, which provides electrical and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), flood control, stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water services to cities, counties, water districts, and others throughout the Puget Sound region.

Kate Bradbury joined Parametrix as a senior engineer based in Seattle. She has 12 years of experience as an engineer working in transportation and traffic engineering, specializing in roadway safety and traffic operations. Bradbury comes to Parametrix from Jacobs where she served as a transportation engineer working on highway safety, traffic operations, and transit projects. She has conducted multiple American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials highway safety manual trainings across the country. She is also involved with the Women's Transportation Seminar, Institute for Transportation Engineers, and the Transportation Research Board.

At Parametrix, she joins the firm's transportation planning team, serving municipalities, counties, and transit agencies throughout the Puget Sound region.

Stantec

Olaes

Nicole Olaes has joined Stantec as a mechanical project manager in the firm's Seattle office. Olaes brings over eight years of experience as a mechanical engineer specializing in data centers, emergency response centers, commercial office and airport design. She is a licensed Professional Engineer with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Columbia University.

Weinstein A+U

Babey

Arndt

Malmon

Weinstein A+U announced three new hires. Ellen Malmon and Josh Arndt join the firm as architects. Chelsea Babey has been hired as marketing coordinator. Malmon is a project manager on adaptive reuse and multi-family projects. She is also a certified Post-Disaster Safety Assessment Evaluator. Malmon earned a Master of Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Mount Holyoke College. She is a registered Architect in Washington and Connecticut.

Arndt has over four years of experience as a project designer. He works on both multi-family and institutional projects. Arndt earned a Bachelor of Environmental design from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Master of Architecture at the University of Washington with a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development.

With over six years of experience, Babey oversees all marketing at Weinstein A+U. In her current position as marketing coordinator, she works with architects to translate the parts of their work that make them unique, maintaining a clear, concise, and convincing message throughout all mediums.

Babey earned a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Standard Insurance

Werkman

Portland-based Standard Insurance (The Standard) announced that Gary Werkman has been hired as assistant vice president of corporate tax. Werkman will develop and lead a team of tax professionals who work with the company's financial reporting and operations personnel to achieve efficiencies in The Standard's tax compliance, planning and information reporting requirements. Werkman joins The Standard after more than 22 years of corporate tax experience with Transamerica, most recently as senior director of tax. Previously, he managed statutory tax accounting for Transamerica's largest life insurance company. In business since 1906, The Standard is a family of companies providing financial protection products and services for employers and individuals. The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, and its subsidiaries: Standard Insurance, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, StanCorp Mortgage Investors, StanCorp Investment Advisers, StanCorp Real Estate, and StanCorp Equities.

City of Tacoma

Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards announced a new partnership with Comcast to invest in and support families, students, and small businesses owned by people of color in the region. A total of $300,000 in new funding will be awarded by Comcast to Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce for the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund, and TeamWrk. The contributions are part of Project UP, Comcast's $1 billion commitment to reach tens of millions of people over the next 10 years by providing the tools, resources, and skills needed to succeed in a digital world.

NuScale Power

NuScale Power and Habboush Group (HG) have entered into an agreement forming a strategic alliance that establishes a “one-stop-shop” for the financing, investment, development, execution, and management of NuScale-powered projects and opportunities. This new globally-oriented, strategic alliance between NuScale and HG – along with energy transition platform ENTRA1 – aims to provide integrated capabilities for financing, investment, development, management and execution of large-scale assets and projects in connection with global demand for NuScale's clean energy solutions. NuScale Power has developed small modular reactor nuclear technology to supply energy for electrical generation, district heating, desalination, commercial-scale hydrogen production, and other process heat applications. Founded in 2007, NuScale is headquartered in Portland, and has offices in Corvallis, Ore.; Rockville, Md.; Charlotte, N.C.; Richland, Wash.; and London, UK. ENTRA1 is a private investment platform purpose-built to create value by addressing global transformations. Habboush Group is an international private asset management firm focused on developing, managing, operating and financing proprietary opportunities predominantly in energy and infrastructure sectors.