Aug 29, 2013

Samis Land Co.

Norman

Samis Land Co. hired Mike Norman as a commercial property manager to oversee 14 properties in Seattle. Norman is a Seattle native with 11 years of experience in property management, leasing and investments. Samis Land Co. is owned by Samis Foundation, which supports Jewish education programs in Washington and projects in Israel.

Red Lion

Spokane-based Red Lion said it added two Southern California hotels to its portfolio. The company signed franchise agreements to convert hotels in the cities of Ontario and Perris to Red Lions. Ayres Grand Boutique Suites is in Ontario, 35 miles east of Los Angeles, and has 107 rooms. A former Holiday Inn Express in Perris, 70 miles east of Los Angeles, will be converted to a 105-room Red Lion Inn & Suites. Red Lion has more than 50 hotels and 12,000 rooms in 10 states and one Canadian province.

Metzler sells Portland property

Seattle-based Metzler Real Estate and Portland-based Gerding Edlen said they sold a 51-unit apartment building called 20 on Hawthorne at 1550 S.E. 20th Ave. in Portland. The buyer was J.P. Morgan and it paid $14.95 million. Jones Lang LaSalle Managing Director David Young, Senior Vice Presidents Seth Heikkila and Corey Marx, and Vice President Joe Nydahl represented the seller. The building has 5,000 square feet of retail leased to a cafe, sushi restaurant and dentist office. It was designed by GBD Architects and built by Lorentz Bruun Construction. Metzler is an investment advisor for private and institutional groups looking for property in North America.

Westfield Southcenter

Westfield Southcenter announced The Container Store will open a 24,000-square-foot store there next April. Other new retailers are also coming this year: Buffalo Wild Wings, Paper Destiny, JCrew, Aveda and Yankee Candle.

Aug 22, 2013

Russell Center, Municipal Tower win TOBYs

Two Seattle buildings won international TOBY awards from the Building Owners and Managers Association. TOBYs honor The Outstanding Building of the Year. Local winners were Seattle Municipal Tower in the government category and Russell Investments Center for best building between 500,000 and 1 million square feet. To be considered for an international TOBY, buildings must win at local and regional levels. The Adobe Waterfront Building in Fremont and Key Center in Bellevue both won regional honors and were finalists for international awards. BOMA represents owners and managers of nearly 10 billion square feet of U.S. office space.

HomeStreet Bank

HomeStreet Bank recently provided more than $35 million in apartment loans. A 120-unit complex in Spokane Valley that opened in March got $9.7 million; the second phase of 128 units and will begin construction soon. Other projects include: $2.8 million for 32 micro apartments on Capitol Hill with 1,328 square feet of retail; $11.3 million for 64 units in Gig Harbor; and $11.2 million to refinance 78 units in West Seattle's Admiral District. HomeStreet is based in Seattle.

ULI offers leadership course

Applications are due tomorrow for Urban Land Institute Northwest's Center for Sustainable Leadership 2013-2014 course. The goal is to teach people who have an interest in the built environment how to make this region more resilient and create a network of leaders that will influence and inspire others in real estate, community development, policy, planning and business management. There will be eight sessions from September to May led by experts in management training and behavioral science. Applications must be postmarked or emailed by Friday. Tuition is $2,000. Some need-based scholarships are available. To download an application for the program, visit: http://bit.ly/16cOaBY