Oct 12, 2023

Gantry finds $30M for Lee Johnson

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Earlier this month, Gantry announced a successful refinancing deal for the Lee Johnson property in Kirkland. The lender wasn't named, but is evidently a life insurance company. The fixed-rate loan carries a nine-year term, with 30-year amortization. Gantry's effort was led by Mike Taylor and Demetri Koston. The latter said in a statement, “This is a generational operation with nearly 100 years of successful business history in the Kirkland and Seattle region.” Robert Jay of Lee Johnson said, “The Gantry team introduced our company to lending sources that we would not typically have worked with.” The deal again raises questions about Google's supposed intent to buy that 10-acre automotive property in Rose Hill, then develop about 1.5 million square feet for some 7,000 workers. And Lee Johnson has meanwhile been actively buying up new properties, recently completed a new building in Bothell — and is with Freiheit Architecture planning a large new facility in Totem Lake. And the city of Kirkland still hasn't approved an upzone for that Rose Hill strip along Northeast 85th Street.

Yacht club confidential!

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So Nov. 9 is the date for a NAIOP gathering in Tacoma to celebrate, but not tour, the top 10 projects in the south Puget Sound region. What are they? No one's saying, but they'll span multifamily, industrial, office and retail. So it's a mystery. The presentation will be led by Nick Ratzke of Neil Walter Co. and Bart Brynestad of Panattoni. The breakfast event begins at 8 a.m. at Tacoma Yacht Club. Details and registration: naiopwa.org.

M&M secures $10M for hotel refi

Marcus & Millichap recently announced its successful arrangement of a $10.5 million refinancing package for a 102-room Double Tree by Hilton hotel down in Olympia. The lender wasn't named. The deal was secure by Robert Bhat, in M&M's Miami office. He said in a statement, “The property is a high-performing Double Tree by Hilton hotel strategically located in downtown Olympia. Given the strength and experience of the borrower, we were able to secure a loan advancing 70% against total cost, including the property improvement plan required by Hilton, with a 7% interest rate.”

Explore Seattle Southside

Messey

Singh

Explore Seattle Southside (Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority), the regional destination marketing organization serving SeaTac, Tukwila, and Des Moines, added Navdeep Singh and Cindy Messey to its board of directors. The SeaTac City Council appoints RTA board members. Seven members are appointed directly, and four more are chosen from RTA board nominations. They represent various stakeholders including businesses, lodging, restaurants, retail, entertainment, and transportation. As the assistant general manager at Westfield Southcenter, Navdeep oversees relationships with over 240 stores and restaurants that occupy the 1.7 million square foot retail center. In this role, Navdeep manages retailer engagement programs, supports positive tenant relations, facilitates local community/non-profit outreach, and establishes service provider partnerships. Previously, Navdeep managed several security companies and currently is a franchise restaurant owner in Maple Valley. Navdeep is also a member of the board of directors at the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce. Messey began work at The Museum of Flight in 2007 and served as private events manager before moving into the role of director of sales and events. Messey graduated from Auburn University with a degree in marine biology. She spent the next three years aboard crab and fishing boats in the Bering Sea, collecting data and conducting research as a contractor for NOAA. She later spent eight years planning events and galas at the Pacific Science Center. Explore Seattle Southside was established in 1999.

Jensen Investment Management

Jensen Investment Management, a 100% employee-owned active equity investment management firm based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is celebrating its 35th anniversary. With a team of 40 employees, Jensen serves investors across institutional, intermediary and high-net-worth channels. Jensen portfolio manager Tyra Pratt was presented the “Rising Star” award at this year's With Intelligence Mutual Fund and ETF Awards, and the complany was named one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2022 by Pensions & Investments.

Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson

Seattle law firm Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson announced that it has achieved a Midsize Mansfield Certification. The certification, awarded by Diversity Lab, a research and consulting organization in legal diversity and inclusion, recognizes HCMP's role in promoting inclusivity in the legal community. To attain initial Midsize Mansfield Certification, HCMP underwent a review process, ensuring its commitment to affirmatively considering people from historically underrepresented groups, including women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities, for entry-level and lateral hiring, partnership promotions, significant firm leadership positions, and advancement opportunities. HCMP has also increased transparency in its leadership advancement criteria and processes. HCMP has been in business since 1971, and now employs over 50 attorneys and other professionals. It offers a broad array of legal services providing counsel to individuals and organizations in the Puget Sound region.

Oct 11, 2023

Orca Security

Portland-based Orca Security, a provider of agentless cloud security, appointed two new executives to its leadership team. Oded Edri joins the company as chief financial officer, effective Nov. 1, 2023. In addition, the company promoted Arie Teter to chief product officer to succeed co-founder Gil Geron in the role following his appointment to CEO earlier this year. Edri brings more than 15 years of experience in executive leadership, financial management, human resources management, and operations. Prior to joining Orca Security, he was chief accounting officer at Payoneer, a global financial technology company, where he was instrumental in leading the company through its initial public offering. Prior to Payoneer, Edri was CFO at MakerBot. His career also spans senior financial and operations leadership experience at Stratasys and PwC. Prior to his promotion to chief product officer, Teter held the role of vice president of research and development for more than three years. Prior to Orca, Teter led engineering teams at Symantec and Check Point, after starting his career at Intel and Cisco. In his new role, Arie will be responsible for defining and executing the product roadmap that is closely linked to Orca’s customer needs and strategic objectives, while fostering alignment across teams and ensuring that product development remains closely aligned with the company’s overall mission.

Architects West

Lewis

Jacob Lewis has joined the team at Architects West as an intern architect. Lewis earned both his Bachelor's and Master of Architecture degrees from Washington State University. Current projects he is working on include the Inchelium School Modernization, Atlas Housing design, Salish & Kootenai Housing Authority designs, and the Silverwood Waterpark Expansion.

Cushing Terrell

Calla

Multidisciplinary design firm, Cushing Terrell, has promoted Tom Calla to the role of healthcare design director for the firm's healthcare group. Calla joins Tim Miller and Karl DeCock on the leadership team and will partner with DeCock to set the overall strategy and direction of the group with the goals of ensuring successful business pursuits; integrated, expert project teams; and superior client service.

Calla has 30 years of experience leading healthcare projects from conceptual design to final construction. Most recently, he served as director of the firm's architecture service sector and continues to serve as quality control manager for many of Cushing Terrell's large, complex healthcare projects.

He has been part of the firm's healthcare group for more than 20 years, serving as the lead architect on projects for BVA Healthcare, Humboldt General Hospital, and Saint Alphonsus, among many others. His experience ranges from hospital replacement projects and facility master planning to clinic remodels and everything in between.

DCI Engineers

Sibley

McCoy

Collins

Matkin

Klepin

Fox

McGrath

DCI Engineers announced the promotions of the following staff to associates and associate principals.

Mary Klepin, has been promoted to associate in the San Diego office. Klepin joined DCI nearly 10 years ago in 2014, immediately after she graduated from the University of California, San Diego with her Masters in structural engineering. At DCI, she has designed high-rise structures throughout southwest California with an emphasis on concrete design.

Stephen Matkin has been promoted to associate in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho office. After joining DCI in 2013, Matkin has worked on a variety of projects in the inland Northwest, including but not limited to commercial sites, healthcare, PK-12 schools and sports stadiums.

Chelsea Collins has been promoted to associate in DCI's Wilmington office. Collins has 20 years of valuable technical experience and communication skills. She carries a B.S. from the University of Virginia and a Master's in Structural Engineering from the University of California – Berkley. Her projects range in size from repairs and designing new elements for pre-existing structures to designing multi-story residential, commercial and educational projects.

Jordyn McCoy has been promoted to associate in the Seattle office. As the corporate marketing manager, McCoy has been integral in developing DCI's qualifications branding and managing the company's social media profiles. She has also spearheaded marketing initiatives for several DCI markets and works closely with the firm's Business Development and Communications teams. Since joining the firm in 2018, she has accelerated DCI's role as a thought leader through innovative story-telling and the introduction of new technologies used by her team and throughout the company.

Melissa Sibley has been promoted to associate principal in the Houston office. Sibley manages and leads DCI's Houston office and guides her team of engineers on a range of projects, including multi-family residential, affordable housing projects, healthcare, K-12 schools, mixed-use, and high-rises in the community and across the country.

Connor McGrath has been promoted to associate principal in the Wilmington office. McGrath attended the University of Delaware where he graduated in 2012 with a degree in structural engineering. He has been with the company for 10 years and in that time has designed projects of every size, market and material.

Sam Fox has been promoted to associate principal in the Bozeman, Montana office. Fox started at DCI in 2008 as an intern. Since then she has contributed to a variety of projects, specializing in the assessment and renovation of existing and historic structures, as well as heavy timber and log design. She is part of the Yellowstone National Park team and works to help restore the park's historic structures. Fox also provides full-service project management and construction support for a diverse range of other project types, such as single-family residences, K-12 and higher education buildings and adaptive reuse projects.

Weber Thompson

Meyer

Seattle-based architecture, interior design and landscape architecture firm, Weber Thompson, has promoted landscape architecture principal Rachael Meyer to director of sustainability.

In addition to her landscape architecture projects, Meyer will oversee the firm's sustainability initiatives with a focus on health and wellness, carbon reduction and stormwater management.

Meyer joined Weber Thompson in 2016 as the firm's landscape architecture principal. She has a background in the integrated design of highly sustainable urban developments. Meyer is the designer of Phase Two and Three of the award-winning Aurora Bioswales. She is also the designer of the public open space and green infrastructure at Northlake Commons.

In addition to her project work, Meyer is an accomplished speaker and author. She is the current co-chair of AIA Seattle's Honor Award Committee, and has served on boards for NAIOPWA, the UW Landscape Professional Advisory Committee, Architects without Borders and the Washington Association of Landscape Architects Executive Board.