Jun 02, 2005

King County Housing Authority

Orser

Peter Orser, president of Quadrant Homes, is the new chairman of the King County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. The 66-year-old authority serves more than 17,000 families and has more than 1,000 housing units in development.

Buchanan Street Partners

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Buchanan Street Partners, a real estate investment bank, secured $36.5 million in financing for two Seattle-area properties: Linbrook Office Park in Kirkland and The Landmark in Renton. Buchanan got $19.5 million in structured financing on behalf of Flynn Properties to fund improvements and ongoing leasing of the 275,000-square-foot Landmark, a two-building office campus previously known as East Valley Office Center. Buchanan Vice President John Manning said Prudential Capital Group is the funding source. Conference rooms, a fitness center, dining area and a fountain courtyard will be added. Wizards of the Coast is renting 90,000-square-feet in the property's West building. Buchanan Street Partners secured a $17 million bridge financing loan for Hines Linbrook Associates LLP to purchase the 24-building, 106,000-square-foot Linbrook property. Timothy R. Hawthorne and Jared J. Rogers of Buchanan Street Partners advised Hines on the capital sources. Fremont provided a 77 percent loan to total project costs.

L.J. Melody & Co.

L.J. Melody & Co., the real estate investment banking division of CB Richard Ellis, has arranged $12 million financing for the Tri-Cities Professional Center in Richland. The center is a two-building, 158,000-square-foot office complex built in 1978. David Stinebaugh, director of L.J. Melody's Seattle office, arranged the funding. Bank of America provided the financing on behalf of a tenant-in-common represented by Jerry D. Abrams.

Marcus & Millichap

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp., has arranged $4.8 million of financing for the 124-unit Sunset Vista Apartments in Renton. The financing was provided through a commercial bank at a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio, with a 3.87 percent interest rate. Robert and Arlene Krussel bought the property, and Chris Secreto of Marcus & Millichap's Seattle office arranged financing.

Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield

The Orvis Co. and Cushman & Wakefield have formed Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield Ranch and Recreational Properties. The company specializes in the worldwide marketing and sale of investment-quality properties. It's a 50/50 joint venture. Headquarters will be Colorado Springs, Colo. Officials of New York-based Cushman & Wakefield say the new company is part of its efforts to diversify. Vermont-based Orvis sells a range of products, from fly-fishing gear to log homes.

King County Office of Civil Rights

The King County Office of Civil Rights has published a new handbook, "Fair Housing for Real Estate Industry Professionals — Top 100 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers." It includes the latest information on fair housing laws. Free copies are available by calling (206) 296-7592 or (206) 296-7596 TTY.

Windermere Real Estate

Julie Reese is a new sales associate at Windermere Real Estate's Magnolia office. She previously was a community sales manager with Williams Marketing in Seattle and has six years of experience with John L. Scott.

May 26, 2005

NAIOP

The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties is sponsoring a new Green Development Award along with the U.S. Green Building Council. Applicants will be judged on a number of criteria, including siting, indoor environmental quality, water efficiency, energy use and economic viability. June 20 is the deadline for entries. The winner will be announced in August and honored at NAIOP's Oct. 19-20 conference in Hollywood, Fla. Apply at http://www.naiop.org.

Merit Financial

Four-year-old Merit Financial, which provides mortgage and residential real estate services, has cleared the $2 billion mark in cumulative loan volume. This represents an average year-over-year increase of 165 percent, with every month exceeding the corresponding month in the previous year. Since its founding, the Kirkland company has grown by 1800 percent, earning it a spot on Washington CEO Magazine's 15th-annual Top Private 150 List. Merit, which began with 12 employees, now has 430 employees and plans to continue hiring.

ScanlanKemperBard

ScanlanKemperBard Cos. is pursuing projects in Southern California. It is working with two other Portland-based companies, Williams & Dame and Gerding/Edlen Development, on Elleven, the first new from-the-ground-up condominium in downtown Los Angeles since the 1980s. SKB also has acquired 200 & 300 Corporate Pointe, a two-building, 204,000-square-foot office in Culver City, Calif., for $39.8 million from a joint venture of The Praedium Group and Birtcher Properties. Closer to home, SKB is investing in the South Waterfront in Portland by backing high-rise residential projects of Williams & Dame and Gerding/Edlen Development, including the John Ross, which is breaking ground this month. Also, SKB has acquired the Lake Place Shopping Center in downtown Lake Oswego, Ore., for $6.14 million. The 50,000-square-foot center is 94 percent leased, and will be managed by Cushman & Wakefield. SKB, founded in 1993, specializes in West Coast projects with total capitalization in the $10 million to $50 million range. To date, SKB's portfolio activity is in excess of $1.2 billion and 12 million square feet.

John L. Scott

Les Gallamore is the new operations manager of growth strategies for John L. Scott's University Place office. New agents at John L. Scott are Nadine James at the Laurelhurst office; Daniel Yoo, Lynnwood Center; Don Vanderhule and Rich Waltenburg, Kent; Ann Fielding, Annie Galgano, Jennifer Howard, Reynaldo Pulido and Jim Rio, Edmonds; Natalie Khaytu, Federal Way; and Gayle Warren and Cheryl Will, Gig Harbor.