Nitze-Stagen

Leadership: Peter Nitze, chairman; Frank Stagen, vice chairman and CEO; Kevin Daniels, president and COO

Specialty: Community investment

Year founded: 1970

Headquarters: Seattle


Nitze-Stagen was among a group of local real estate players this year that unveiled blockbuster plans to remake the Pioneer Square and Sodo area into a high-density urban village. More recently, the firm elaborated on those plans with a proposal to build a $250 million arena for the Seattle Supersonics on Pier 46.

The ambitious designs on the area — which include high-rise offices, parks, 10,000 apartments and condos, hotels, retail and entertainment — are expected to take 15 years to come to fruition should everything fall into place. Major pieces of the redevelopment plan will rely on the Port of Seattle, a major property owner in the area, to approve new uses for sites that have traditionally been tied to industry.

In the meantime, Nitze-Stagen is looking for more to do. Local near-term development opportunities have been slow to materialize, according to President Kevin Daniels.

“We have not been finding anything that meets our investment criteria,” Daniels said.

Instead, the 20-member firm has focused on managing its properties, which include the 1.8 million-square-foot Starbucks Center, Merrill Place and Frye properties, all in Sodo.

Daniels said he’s encouraged by the recent economic upswing, and offers kudos to the state Legislature for responding to concerns about Washington’s business climate.

A decision by Boeing to assemble its 7E7 aircraft in Everett would provide a significant boost to the regional economy, he said.

It’s now up to local officials to decide on the future of the port properties that Daniels and others view as ripe for new development. Waterfront terminals have been operating well below capacity, Daniels said, and new development will help wean the port off taxes. Its King County property tax rate spiked 37 percent last year.



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