Sep 04, 2025

222 Fifth finds new tenant

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222 Fifth

The Access to Advanced Health Institute announced that it's moving to 222 Fifth, the fairly new life-science building from LPC West near Seattle Center. AAHI is a nonprofit dedicated to creating new vaccines. It's taking space within 222 Fifth's pre-built CoLabs incubator space. How much space, and at what terms, weren't stated. AAHI's Keeley Foley said, “The move to CoLabs will enhance our research capabilities, allowing for expanded collaboration and faster translation of scientific breakthroughs into real-world solutions.” Its brokers were Kris Washburn and Blair Stern at JLL. The building is represented by CBRE's Marcus Yamamoto and David Abbott. AAHI also has operations in South Africa and England. Its Seattle lab was previously at 1616 Eastlake Ave., which is owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

Coldwell Banker Bain

Abbey

Coldwell Banker Bain announced before the long holiday weekend that veteran residential advisor Karen Abbey has returned to its fold. She'll be based at the Capitol Hill office. She said in a statement, “I began my real estate career with Coldwell Banker Bain in 2010, and have returned because of its strong national and international presence, outstanding reputation for marketing, broker education and the high level of professionalism throughout the company.”

Azose secures tenant on First

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A few steps from Pike Place Market, the Alaska Trade Building has a re-signed a tenant, says owner Azose Commercial Properties. Ecotope renewed its full-floor lease. Terms weren't announced. Mike Azose said in a statement, “Ecotope's decision to renew their lease is a testament to the enduring value of well-located, well-managed properties in the Pike Place Market area.” The tenant's brokers were Mark To and Adam Chapman at JLL. The landlord calls Ecotope “a leader in sustainable building design, energy policy, and research for over four decades.”

Gantry lands almost $28M for Vancouver retail

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Down south in Vancouver, Gantry recently arranged a $27.8 million refinancing package for the owner of Hazel Dell Marketplace. Blake Hering and Abi Hunter work in Gantry's Portland office. Hering said in a statement, “Hazel Dell is a standout performer in Vancouver, with a strong roster of popular retailers and restaurants with high occupancy across the center's inline and pad buildings.” Tenants include Safeway, Ross and Marshalls. The owner and borrower is C.E. John. The new fixed-rate, 10-year loan carries an initial interest-only period, followed by a 30-year amortization.

A bit more about Kowa

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As the DJC reported in July, the fully leased Building D at the Fred310 industrial campus near Frederickson sold for $176 million to BentallGreenOak. The sellers were developer Panattoni and partner Crow Holdings. Readers may recall that the 753,069-square-foot building has two tenants: GE Appliances, which is owned by Chinese company Haier; and Kowa, a Japanese manufacturing conglomerate. The Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County recently shared a bit more about the latter. Kowa has about 300,000 square feet, and is planning its first manufacturing operation in the U.S. Tenant improvements are now underway at Building D; the facility will open next year, with the hiring effort already begun. Kowa hasn't said how many folks it's hiring or what it will make there. Its wares include medicines, medical devices, vision units, energy and energy-creating products. Said Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, “Kowa's expansion demonstrates that our region is well-positioned for global investment. It reflects our shared commitment — across public and private sectors — to building a strong, resilient economy that offers opportunity and innovation.”

Harborstone Credit Union

Harborstone Credit Union, headquartered in Lakewood, has acquired SaviBank, headquartered in Mount Vernon, and its parent holding company, Savi Financial Corp. SaviBank's banking offices will continue to operate as branches of Harborstone. As a result of the transaction, Harborstone now has approximately $2.7 billion in assets, $2.2 billion in loans, $2.4 billion in shares and deposits and has 26 branches throughout Island, King, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom counties in Washington.

Savi Financial has been paid an aggregate price in the transaction of approximately $77.6 million. However, the final price per share to be received by stockholders will be reduced to reflect post-closing expenses and other factors that Savi Financial incurs in the course of its liquidation.

“We are excited to announce the acquisition of SaviBank. We look forward to being a part of the communities that SaviBank serves and welcome SaviBank's customers and employees into the Harborstone family,” said Geoff Bullock, president and CEO of Harborstone. “This acquisition expands our footprint into Northwestern Washington and will result in expanded product, service and technology offerings for SaviBank's customers. As we bring our communities together, we look forward to continued engagement in the communities we serve, fostering a strong organizational culture, and a sincere care for our members' and customers' financial wellness. Additionally, we are committed to working closely together with our SaviBank partners towards a smooth integration.”

Harborstone Credit Union was advised in the transaction by McQueen Financial Advisors as exclusive financial advisor and Luse Gorman, PC, as legal counsel. SaviBank and Savi Financial was advised by Panoramic Capital Advisors as exclusive financial advisor; Buchalter, A Professional Corporation, as legal counsel; and Hillworth Securities LLC provided a fairness opinion.

Sep 03, 2025

Optimum Energy

Norwood

Optimum Energy has appointed Erik Norwood as its new chief product officer. Norwood brings over a decade of experience as a former solar executive and Boeing rocket scientist. As chief product officer, he will expand on Optimum Energy’s technology in chiller plants to provide campus-wide energy solutions for its partners in hospitals, research campuses, higher education, and advanced manufacturing. Optimum Energy offers holistic energy infrastructure optimization, providing comprehensive and integrated solutions to mission-critical facilities. Its expertise spans a full spectrum of services, from initial engineering and construction to ongoing maintenance, asset management, and Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) offerings.

Aug 29, 2025

Damage Prevention Hero

Garcia

Kemp Garcia, a safety professional for Kirkland-based The Integrated Group and Dig Law Advocates, is one of four safety professionals nominated for the national Damage Prevention Hero of the Year. Kemp started out in the construction industry as a private locator and progressed to vac and excavation, and now safety and mitigation. He has played an active role in revising the Dig Law in Washington state on two separate occasions. Kemp has lead Dig Safe classes for NUCA of Washington for over a decade, working to minimize damages and injuries related to underground utilities. Voting for the Damage Prevention Hero of the Year is open at https://actsnowinc.com/ through Sept. 17.

BakerHostetler

Wang

Phillip Wang has joined BakerHostetler's Seattle office as a partner in the firm's Labor and Employment Practice Group and a member of the Employment Deal team. Wang has more than 20 years of mergers and acquisitions and transaction-related experience in a variety of employment matters, including senior-level executive terminations and restrictive covenant issues. His counseling spans key regulatory areas including Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, and the New York State and New York City human rights laws. In addition, he has successfully handled complex employment litigation and workplace disputes in federal and state courts as well as before administrative agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Public Employment Relations Board. Wang received his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. BakerHostetler helps clients around the world address complex and critical business and regulatory issues.

University of Washington Tacoma

The University of Washington Tacoma has established the Strickland Fellowship for Career Pathways, named in honor of Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland's contributions to education and workforce development in Tacoma and the South Sound. The program provides students with hands-on experience working on municipal projects in Tacoma city departments, helping them prepare for engineering careers close to home. The fellowship's name was unveiled during a ceremony recognizing Strickland, who helped shape the program's vision while serving as Tacoma's mayor. The program was established through a partnership between UW Tacoma, Tacoma Public Utilities and local nonprofit Degrees of Change. It aims to build a local workforce pipeline that helps meet the region's need for more STEM talent. The program began with a focus on civil engineering with plans to expand into other disciplines within UW Tacoma's School of Engineering and Technology. The second cohort of students will begin the fellowship in September. More information is available at tacoma.uw.edu/stricklandfellowship.