Oct 17, 2001

Harbor Steps

Three new businesses have opened recently at Harbor Steps, the mixed-use residential complex on University Street. The three businesses, all in the property's north tower, are Holistic Tao, SeattleCafe.com and Art of Illustration. Holistic Tao, associated with the Dahn Center, offers full-service yoga facilities in a 3,235-square-foot space. SeattleCafe.com is an Internet café with high-speed connections rented by the minute or hour and is currently developing fully catered business and teleconferencing suites in its 2,880 square-foot location. Art of Illustration sells original paintings that have been published in books, magazines, calendars, albums, works for children, advertising and other forms of printed pop culture in its 1,400 square-foot space.

Oct 11, 2001

Ray Weber reaches 35-year mark

It took Ray Weber three years of working at another residential agency before he accepted an offer from John L. Scott Real Estate. Thirty-five years later, Weber's still at John L. Scott. This item isn't about him retiring. He's still going. The firm simply celebrated that he's been there this long.

"Thirty-eight years ago, Weber began his career as a real estate agent," the company said. "He met with three local real estate company presidents, including John L. Scott, founder of John L. Scott Real Estate. However, he was offered a job on the spot with a competitor, which he accepted. John L. Scott spent the next few years trying to persuade Weber to join his team. Finally, in 1966 Weber decided to take John L. Scott up on his offer."

"He was a personal friend of my dad and my granddad and he's also a friend of mine," said third-generation company President J. Lennox Scott.

Nancy Nguyen, meanwhile, became a new agent in John L. Scott Real Estate's Federal Way office. Nguyen previously worked in retail sales and is active in the Vietnamese community.

Four people became new agents in the residential agency's Kent North office: Leanne Troung, Russ Hein, Paul Hummel and Brenda Beem.

Three joined the Kent office: Cheryl Malicoat, Patrick Eagle and Jose Cuamea.

Gary Ross signed on in Bellevue, and Alan Hodge began in the Mercer Island office.

Two appraisers designated as MAIs

Two area commercial appraisers completed course work to receive the MAI designation from the Chicago-based Appraisal Institute. Laurel Grant of Shorett KMS Valuation of Seattle and Randall Gilliam of Cornerstone Consulting Group in Kirkland received what Marc Campos, president of the Seattle chapter of the institute calls "THE credential for the job" of appraising. The institute says the average appraiser takes five to seven years to complete the educational and experience requirements to receive the designation. About 6,000 people hold the designation, with another 4,650 seeking it, the institute said.

Natural Capitalism explained

Ways that companies can reduce waste and increase productivity while benefitting the economy and the community -- collectively labeled "Natural Capitalism" -- will be explained at an architecture gathering in Tacoma on Thursday, Oct. 18. Alexis Karolides of the Rocky Mountain Institute will provide an introduction to the subject at the 7 p.m. event at the Washington State History Museum Auditorium. A get-to-know-her dinner will precede Karolides' talk at 5 p.m. at the Harmon Pub and Brewery across from the museum.

Karolides will focus particularly on green buildings and land development, demonstrating how environmentally responsible real estate makes dollars and sense, according to a press release. The American Institute of Architects' Southwest Washington chapter organized the event. For information, call (253) 627-4006.

Leider to address BDA

Richard Leider, the new project director for Lincoln Square, will tell the Bellevue Downtown Association about the four-acre project at a breakfast gathering in downtown Bellevue on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Lincoln Square is a $360 million mixed project that's under construction next to Bellevue Square. The association meeting starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Harbor Club atop Rainier Plaza at 777 108th Ave. N.E. For information, call (425) 453-1223.

American Property Financing

American Property Financing's Seattle office loaned $11.75 million on Granite Investment Group's recent purchase of the 236-unit Lexington Downs apartments in Federal Way. The New York-based commercial mortgage banker said the 10-year note charges 6.59 percent. "As a part of the new acquisition and financing, Lexington Downs will receive over $1 million in improvements," the lender said. American Property said so far this year the Seattle office has originated $71 million in apartment building acquisition loans, including: $6 million on Garden Point in Seattle; $6 million on Pine Meadow Village in Albany, Ore.; $10.6 million on Richardson Vistas in Anchorage; $10.4 million on Huntington Village in Richmond, Va.; $14.56 million on Summerlakes Apartments in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; $4.17 million on Willow Run in Sacramento, Calif.; and $5.2 million on Sable Walk Apartments in Clearwater, Fla.

Coldwell Banker Bain

Coldwell Banker Bain Associates added 26 sales associates to its Puget Sound branches in August and September: Bill Moore and David Hodgson in Bellevue; Karen Sowinski and Fred Francis in Duvall; Grady Geske, Ute Moore, Susan Gerace, Deborah Bissell, Mike Schoonover and Laura Lux in Everett; Susan Kim, Mary Ann Sutcliffe, Tony Gregg, Lori Gregg, Brian Heiss, Hosea Immanuel, Kimlin Phon and Vickie Parmentier in Federal Way; Ron Yamaguchi and Donna Croston in Issaquah; Vince Sielski and Louis Villanueva in Lynnwood; Debbie Libby and Miro Bodsky and Anneliese Bodsky in Redmond; and Pat Nicholoff in Lake Union.

Historic Seattle

Historic Seattle, a non-profit agency dedicated to historic preservation, joined the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County. Historic Seattle project manager Mark Blatter said his group is also a public development authority that started construction last month on artist housing at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. "We're eager to develop additional real estate projects and this gives us further opportunities to partner with HDC's nonprofits," Blatter said.