Bernard Development Co.

President: Tom Bernard

Specialty: Industrial, business park development

Year founded: 1988

Headquarters: Preston

Bernard

This year has not been kind to Bernard Development Co.

Modus Media, which occupied more than half the company’s 306,000-square-foot I-90/Preston Industrial Park in unincorporated King County, vacated. “They were our biggest tenant,” Tom Bernard said, comparing companies such as Modus to big-game trophies. “Modus is what I call an elephant deal.”

In the last year, the only elephant he saw was Modus leaving to relocate out of state. Next year will be different, said an optimistic Bernard, who thinks one or two elephants might crop up.

“I’m starting to get more phone calls,” said Bernard, who has 160,000 square feet of vacant space at his industrial park.

Bernard said he has several factors going for him.

No. 1: There are not many other Eastside locations available to industrial/office tenants.

No. 2: This fall’s opening of the Sunset interchange on Interstate 90 has opened up the Sammamish Plateau to development, including residential. “There is an issue of where does the boss live,” Bernard said.

No. 3: Unlike municipalities, unincorporated areas are immune from local B & O taxes. “In a sense, this is a little tax haven out here.”

Bernard, who opened the Northwest office for developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes in 1974, and went out on his own in 1988, has built three of the four buildings planned for Preston. He is in no great hurry to start building the last one. He has avoided the nonstop build-lease-sell cycle of big companies who have payrolls to meet. Bernard Development is composed of just three people.

“I think I’m most likely going to sell (Building 4) ... to a user company,” said Bernard, who has been talking to two prospects. Building 4’s footprint is 59,520 square feet and its clear height varies from 34 to 37 feet.

While he’s optimistic, he doubts the market will return to the go-go days of the late 1990s. “I don’t see us getting back to that booming economy, but I think in two years we’ll be at a very strong Eastside economy.

“We’ll see some substantial growth moved by a few elephants and incremental moves by the rest of the herd.”

I/90 Preston is not his only iron in the fire. He owns two 6-acre parcels near the confluence of the Raging and Snoqualmie rivers. On one is Bernard Farm and on the other he’s planning the Fall City Country Inn. The project, which would feature 50 to 101 guest rooms plus meeting space, is part of Bernard’s quest to retain rural areas in the Snoqualmie Valley.

He has not selected an architect yet because he is in no rush to develop. But, the project does have his attention. He thinks it’s important to build a sustainable rural economy next to a major urban area and his company sponsored production of a compact disc that describes how it can be done.