Sep 23, 2003

Melby, Cameron & Hull

Eric Featherstone has been named partner in Melby, Cameron & Hull, an association organization and consulting firm based in Edmonds. Featherstone has been with the company as an association executive for the past two-and-a-half years and currently serves as executive director of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the Building Commissioning Association.

Sep 18, 2003

2003 Friends of Housing honorees

The Washington State Housing Finance Commission gave out eight "Friends of Housing" honors this year. The new "friends" are: retired Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle community investment officer Judy Dailey, former Washington Community Reinvestment Association investment officer Susan Duran, Tonkin Hoyne Lokan Architects of Seattle, Spokane Homeownership Resource Center Board President Kay Cram, Diocese of Yakima Housing Services Director Mario Villanueva, the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Yakima Valley, state Rep. Hans Dunshee (D-Snohomish), and state Sen. Joseph Zarelli (R-Ridgefield). Dailey worked to stop bank red-lining on Indian reservations and helped set up bank programs to reinvest in low-income areas. Duran originated $160 million in affordable apartment loans in 11 years at the reinvestment association. Those loans backed construction of 6,500 apartments. Tonkin Hoyne Lokan Architects has long worked with nonprofits, housing authorities and developers to build affordable apartment projects.

Sonata Capital Group

C. James Judson joined Seattle-based Sonata Capital Group as managing director. Judson was a senior partner at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle and a member of Craig McCaw's Eagle River Investments LLC venture capital fund in Kirkland. At Eagle River, Judson led the legal team in the acquisition of Nextel Communications, the creation of XO Communications and was the founding president of Nextel International. He has served as tax council to many of the state's largest banks, as well as general council for numerous local and national corporations and partnerships. His law degree is from Stanford. Other Sonata managing directors include: Sonata President David Hill; Sonata Chief Investment Officer Tim Cummins; former Seafirst Bank CEO Luke Helms; Davis Wright Tremaine Chairman Mark Hutcheson; and former Seafirst Executive Vice President Earl Shulman.

John L. Scott

McMahon

Barbara McMahon became a sales associate in John L. Scott Real Estate's Everett office, where she joins husband Glenn Godden. McMahon came from Prudential MacPherson’s, where she made the top 7 percent of agents nationwide. She has 24 years of experience in sales and marketing management and 13 years in single- and multi-family sales. Chelsey Samonte also joined her husband in selling homes at a John L. Scott office, this one in Laurelhurst. Samonte's husband, Henry Samonte, is a top producer at that office. Her father, Mike Petryszak, is a 20-year John L. Scott veteran who holds the broker's licence for the Kirkland office.

Sep 11, 2003

Unico Propeties

Belka

Michael Belka joined Seattle-based Unico Properties as senior vice president of management and leasing for Unico's six million square feet of office and retail properties. Belka is a 20-year commercial real estate veteran who came from Tower Realty Management Corp. in Seattle. As Tower's regional property manager, he ran property management for 3 million square feet of downtown offices, suburban offices and warehouses. Before that he worked for RKO Construction. He also worked as a property manager for Seattle-based Wright Runstad & Co. and for Hines Interests in San Francisco. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Some recent leases

Union Bank of California renewed its lease for 47,000 square feet of office space at the Union Bank of California Building in downtown Seattle. Investors assembled by Walton Street Capital of Chicago control that building.

The law firm of Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson re-upped for 21,000 square feet of offices at Two Union Square, another downtown Seattle skyscraper. The Washington State Investment Board, which is a pension fund advised by Seattle-based Washington Holdings, owns Two Union.

Cushman & Wakefield brokers Mike Dash and Garth Olsen put those two deals together.

Louis Vuitton, which sells high-end leather products, renewed and enlarged its lease for first-floor space at Rainier Square in downtown Seattle. The lease, which runs to 2014, grew by 1,480 square feet to 3,270.

Louis Vuitton opened the store five years ago. The expansion will happen between next January and April. During that stretch, the store will move to a nearby temporary location in the Skinner Building formerly occupied by Mephisto. Unico Properties owns Rainier Square and the Skinner Building.

RAF Technology leased 10,000 square feet of offices on the third floor of the Unisea Building in Redmond's Willows area. The software company will move from about 6,000 square feet at 16650 N.E. 79th St.

13 affordable housing projects spotlighted

A state agency praised 13 Seattle-area housing developments as examples of well-designed, affordable, higher density housing within Washington's urban growth areas. Director's Awards for Leadership from the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development went to:

Cambridge Court in Bellevue, the Delridge Library and Vivian McLean Place Apartments in West Seattle, The Gilmore in downtown Seattle, the Greenbrier in Woodinville, Heiwa Commons in Seattle, Lion's Gate in Redmond, Madison Avenue Cottages on Bainbridge Island, New Holly Phase One in Seattle, Poulsbo Place in Poulsbo, Renton Town Center in downtown Renton, Taluswood Townhomes in Redmond, The Village at Overlake Station in Redmond and Thea's Landing in Tacoma.

The agency said it issues the awards to make the public aware that good high-density housing is being built.

Cain and Scott

The Myrtle R. Johnson Trust bought the 49-unit Cedar Gardens apartments in Federal Way for $2.25 million. The seller was Earl Johnson. Broker Elaine Maxwell of Seattle-based Cain and Scott arranged the deal.

NAIOP volunteers to work on Girl Scout camp

On Sept. 13, more than 200 volunteers from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties will work with members of the Totem Council of Girl Scouts to repair and expand the scouts' Camp River Ranch in Carnation.

The crews will build seven new conestoga wagon sleeping structures, providing sleep space for 28 additional scouts. They'll also repair trails, cut some new trails and repaint buildings.

NAIOP says it has collected more than $50,000 in materials and services for the job.

"In addition to helping a very important youth organization, this project gives an opportunity for the construction and commercial real estate industries -- historically male-dominated fields -- to mentor several Girl Scouts interested in these careers," NAIOP said in a press release.

Each summer the 55-year-old camp hosts more than 5,000 girls ages 5 through 17.