Jun 07, 2012

HFO

Risberg

HFO Investment Real Estate in Portland hired Anita Risberg as senior broker associate. She'll focus on multifamily listings in the Willamette Valley. The Salem Association of Realtors named her Realtor of the Year in 2009.

Point Ruston, Marlene's Market

A natural food store called Marlene's Market & Deli will open a 20,000-square-foot grocery at The Waterwalk at Point Ruston, joining a nine-screen Century Theatres Cinema and 175-room Silver Cloud Hotel. Marlene Beadle said her market will sell fresh meat and seafood. Mike Cohen's Point Ruston LLC will design and build the market, which will have a patio overlooking Puget Sound. Marlene's has groceries in Federal Way and Tacoma. The Waterwalk shopping center is scheduled to open in the summer of 2014. Point Ruston is under construction on the 97-acre former Asarco Smelter site in Tacoma, with housing for up to 3,000 people.

Central Business Park, PepsiCo

PepsiCo has signed a long-term lease for 90,000 square feet at Central Business Park, a 50-acre commercial and industrial campus in the Spokane Valley. PepsiCo's distribution center will consolidate Inland Northwest operations. Greater Spokane Inc. helped PepsiCo get $50,000 in incentive funds from the state's Strategic Reserve Fund. Bruno Teixeira of the business park said it is talking with other national and regional tenants. The park also has 26 acres available for build-to-suits.

New name and office for ULI

The Urban Land Institute's local chapter has been renamed ULI Northwest and moved to Suite 1515 at 1800 Ninth Ave. ULI officials say the name reflects the group's expanding presence.

ICSC program

The International Council on Shopping Centers' June 20 program on Renewing Retail in Spokane will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Casper Fry Public House & Eatery, 928 S. Perry St. in Spokane. Topics include Regal Place's plans to develop 14 acres in South Hill, the South Perry District, Vandervert Developments' remodel of Lincoln Heights Shopping Center, and Black Management Realty's remodel of Manito Center. Aaron R. Lake of Stejer Development will moderate a discussion with Chris Bornhoft of Vandervert; Mark Camp and Darby McKee, South Perry District property owners; and Stephen B. Pohl of Black Commercial. Register at http://tiny.cc/60igfw.

Project management program

A project management masters certification program for construction, software and other professions will be offered July 24-27 in Portland. American Project Management is offering the program. The Portland session is the only one in the Northwest. Tuition is $995. Register at http://www.projectmanagementusa77.org or by calling 1 (877) 359-1110 or emailing registrar@projectmanagementusa77.org.

May 31, 2012

NorthMarq

Stuart Oswald of NorthMarq's Bellevue office arranged first mortgage refinancing of more than $4.9 million for the 63-unit Oxford Crest Apartments on Capitol Hill. The borrower is a West Coast apartment investor. NorthMarq arranged the loan through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac.

Keller Williams Realty

Keller Williams employees took a day off this month to work on community enhancement projects. Members of the 14 state offices did neighborhood projects and remodeled veterans' houses.

Xceligent

The commercial real estate information company Xceligent is expanding nationally. Xceligent and a company called DMG Information re-purchased all of Xceligent's outstanding shares. The transaction followed a consent decree by the Federal Trade Commission related to the merger of CoStar and LoopNet that required creation of a national competitor to CoStar. Xceligent officials say that DMG's funding will allow the company to match CoStar's national footprint. Xceligent created CommercialSearch.com as a national public listing and marketing platform. The company is working with the National Association of Realtors.

One Shop Wireless

One Shop Wireless, a partner with T-Mobile, introduced a wireless security device that real estate agents and property managers can use at properties without phone lines or wi-fi. The security device sends pictures and messages to a smart phone or tablet when motion is detected. The system can be used at open houses to keep track of visitors. For larger applications, a fixed system with up to eight cameras is available. CellSign Technologies developed the product, which uses T-Mobile networks but works on all phones with SMS and MMS.

ULI looks at housing demand

The Urban Land Institute's June 13 program is on demographic changes that fuel demand for housing development. It starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Seattle. The speaker is James Chung, president of Reach Advisors in New York. Panelists are Tomio Moriguchi of Uwajimaya and Stephanie Van Dyke of Seattle Housing Authority. Register at http://www.seattle.uli.org or call (800) 321-5011.

CREW event on smooth closings

Commercial Real Estate Women's June 14 noon lunch at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle will be about how to make closing deals go smoothly. Panelists are Amy Curran of Sterling Bank, Susie Detmer of Cushman & Wakefield|Commerce and Cleita Harvey of Urbis Partners. Register at http://www.crewseattle.org.