Nov 09, 2000

Heathman Group

Bruce Fery resigned this week as president and CEO of the Portland, Ore.-based hotel development company called The Heathman Group. Fery said he left as a result of the decision by the family that owns the firm, the Stevenson family, to sell the Heathman Hotel and Restaurant to Rim Corp. of Modesto, Calif., and scale back Heathman Group's hospitality operations. Fery ran Heathman for 3 1/2 years and Wally Stevenson spoke well of him in a written statement about the resignation, saying Fery had "enhanced the company."

Two days later, Heathman changed its name to North Pacific Management Inc. and promoted Kevin White from chief financial officer to Fery's replacement as president and CEO. The firm also promoted Brett Wilkerson from general manager of the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver, Wash., to vice president in charge of managing the company's three remaining hotels: Heathman Lodge, Greenwood Inn and the Clarion Hotel. "I've always wanted to work for a small company," the written statement quoted White saying. "You have greater opportunities to focus on customers and make decisions more quickly."

Rep. Chopp will talk to BOMA

State Rep. Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, co-speaker of the House, will talk at the next lunch meeting of the Building Owners and Managers Association. The gathering, at noon in the Washington Athletic Club, will be BOMA's annual business and legislative meeting, so BOMA will also install its leaders for the coming year. Also, BOMA lobbyist Mark Gjurasic will present his analysis of this week's elections and ramifications thereof. For information, call (206) 622-8924.

NAIOP to weigh the merits of light rail

The next lunch meeting of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties will tackle whether building the area's impending light rail transit line is the best way to spend transportation funds. The gathering is titled: "Light Rail -- Yea or Nay?" NAIOP says attendees will hear about an alternative, called "Ride Free," which calls for providing all bus rides for free to increase bus ridership, adding 4,000 van pools outside downtown Seattle and spending $201 million for improved traffic signals and commuter lanes. Retired business executive Charles Collins will speak. Collins, of Mercer Island, led two solid-waste disposal companies in Arizona and Oregon for the past 17 years. Before that he had, among other things, served as a director for Metro Transit. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the Bellevue Club, which is southeast of downtown Bellevue. For information, call (206) 382-9121.

Commercial Real Estate Women

Tracy Lent-Anderson, leasing agent for Martin Smith Inc., was elected next year's president of Commercial Real Estate Women Northwest. She replaces outgoing president Gretchan Young, of the appraisal firm Schueler McKown Keenan & Young. Lawyer Deborah Berg of Tousley Brain Stephens became president-elect. Jeanette Flory of Kennedy Associates is secretary and treasurer.

Nov 03, 2000

NetUpdate

Redmond-based NetUpdate, a provider of mortgage software for the Internet, announced business arrangements with Fannie Mae, Dexma and The Performance Group. Fannie Mae has selected the company's LoanUpdate for integration with Fannie Mae's Desktop Originator on the Web. NetUpdate and Dexma will combine technologies to create an offering (for loan originators and lending companies) that increases efficiency and provides online loan status information for borrowers and partners participating in the loan process. An alliance with The Performance Group will offer customers an implementation package that includes transaction management products bundled with installation and business performance management services from TPG.

Nov 02, 2000

EverTrust Financial Group

Ashbrenner

EverTrust Financial Group announced the addition of Vernon Ashbrenner as a commercial loan officer for Commercial Bank of Everett. Ashbrenner will be responsible for developing a commercial loan portfolio in Snohomish County. Prior to joining Commercial Bank he was an officer with U.S. Bank in East King County for 12 years.

Wallace Properties

Walters

Theresa Walters joined the property management division of Bellevue-based Wallace Properties. The company said Walters "has a diverse background in all aspects of commercial and residential property management."

Lion

David Stedman was promoted to president of the Renton-based online mortgage information company Lion Inc. Stedman, who had been the company's chief operating officer since January, replaced Tuck Marshal. Chairman and CEO Jack McMillan said, "The board feels strongly that (Stedman) is the right person to lead the company into the future and into profitability. David is aggressively pursuing a plan of action to address several of the challenges facing the company today." Marshal remains a member of the company's executive committee and board of directors. Stedman started at subsidiary LionInc.com as vice president of marketing and sales last year after holding a similar position at Safeco Properties, which had been Safeco Insurance's real estate development arm.

Keystroke.com

Seattle-based Keystroke.com brought in a new president and cut a deal with Fannie Mae. Michael W. Hart became president and CEO, taking those positions from company founder Joe Hausauer, who remains Keystroke's chairman. Hart was vice president for product marketing at BGS Systems Inc. and technical services director for Federated Department Stores. He also co-founded a management consulting firm called MGT Technology Group. Keystroke.com writes Internet software for the financial services industry. Last week the company said the national mortgage agency Fannie Mae agreed to used Keystroke.com's product eligibility and pricing technology in Fannie Mae's Desktop Originator On The Web, which connects lenders and mortgage brokers.

Northwest Landing

Quadrant Homes started marketing a 130-home portion of the 3,000-acre Northwest Landing master-planned community south of Tacoma in Dupont. The Weyerhaeuser Corp. development company Quadrant Corp. kicked off Northwest Landing in 1994. Now about 1,500 people live there and companies such as Intel occupy the project's 1,000-acre business park. Weyerhaeuser's Quadrant Homes named the new, 130-home portion to be constructed West Yehle Park. Houses in West Yehle Park will range in size from 924 square feet to 3,319 square feet.

CREW

Commercial Real Estate Women's next monthly lunch gathering will include a presentation about properly managing personal finances. Roberta Diamond of Edward Jones will talk about sound investing, online investing, tax planning and locating a good financial advisor. The event will be Thursday, Nov. 30, at noon in the Norton Building conference room on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle. For information, call (206) 361-6859.