Commercial Real Estate
Time to Focus on Seattles Future
In 2009, Seattle welcomed Link Light Rail, approved anAlaskan Way Viaduct replacement plan and celebrated decisions of PATH, RussellInvestments and ShareBuilder to relocate downtown. But even though recent reports show some promisingindicators, many say recoveryparticularly in the commercial and residentialreal estate marketsis still years away. This economic lull provides us with anopportunity to plan for…
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
Like lawyers, car salesmen and politicians, real estatedevelopers are favored scapegoats for societys ills. But as the saying goes,absence makes the heart grow fonder. With the economy in its current state ofmalaise, now may be as good a time as any to give real estate development thecredit it deserves. When construction cranes dot the sky,…
Chris Martin
Sometimes, all it takes is a rotten banana. Thats whatChris Martin saw strewn in the alley outside his Pioneer Square apartment thatfinally made him say, Enough is enough. Martin left the comfortable confines of his advertising jobto start CleanScapes, a garbage collection company that, since its founding 13years ago, has gone on to successfully challenge…
Plugging the Energy Sink
Commercial office building owners and managers in the Puget Soundregion face a conundrum: Although everyone agrees that retrofitting a buildingto reduce energy consumption substantially reduces operating costs while alsoboosting green credentials, few owners have the money or the credit to make thenecessary investments. Retrofitting a building, which typically involves upgradingthe heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) systems, can…
Under the Yakima Sun
The vision for the Vineyards Resort was of a Tuscan-themedcommunity with a golf course and easy access to Yakima Valley vineyards. Thereality turned out to be something quite different. It was just 500 acres across an elevated stretch of sagebrushhills where jackrabbits and rattlesnakes make their home. But the land camewith a view overlooking the…
The Commercial Real Estate Crash
Itonce seemed unstoppable. Now, the Seattle-area commercial office space marketis headed for a rough period of adjustment. But while many developers and investorsare feeling the pain, others see plenty of new opportunities. Thevacancy rate, which was already at 18.5 percent in Seattle’s central businessdistrict at the end of the third quarter of 2009, according to…
Amazon.com Seekiing Additional Office Space in South Lake Union
Less than a year after breaking ground on a new campus in South Lake Union, Amazon.com is lookng for 320,000 square feet in additional office space in the area, according to real estate brokers familiar with the area’s market. . If true, that would be a rare bit of good news in an otherwise depressed…
Paul Allen has cancer… again
Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, is undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, according to an e-mail sent by his sister, Jody Allen to staff of Vulcan Inc., his investment and real estate arm. Allen had been diagnosed with Hodgkins disease in 1983, forcing him to leave Microsoft to undergo radiation therapy and a bone marrow…
Seattle’s Super Broker
There were no champagne bottles opened in celebration at the offices of Craig Kinzer September 9, when it was announced that Russell Investments would leave its longtime headquarters in Tacoma and relocate to Seattle. The occasion would have called for it, for sure. Kinzer, principal of Kinzer Real Estate Services, and his team had worked…
Talking Points: Tay Yoshitani
When Tay Yoshitani took over as CEO of the Port of Seattle in March 2007, the port was plagued by charges of mismanagement and misconduct, which were emphasized in a December 2007 performance audit. Yoshitani, a graduate of West Point who spent six years as a deputy port director in Los Angeles and another six…
McKinstry’s Moment
Amid the sea of people braving the Washington, D.C., cold during Barack Obamas inauguration, stood Dean Allen, CEO of the Seattle-based McKinstry Company. It was happenstance more than anything else that made his presence possible. Allen, who for months had found his company uniquely and surprisingly tied to the Obama campaign, was planning a family…
Real Estate Outlook 2009: Thawing the Frozen Market
When Amy Bohutinsky bought her Greenlake home exactly two years ago, she and her husband chose a small house in which to start their family. “At the time, we said this is a great small-family home, and if we expand our family, we’ll need something bigger,” recalls Bohutinsky, who gave birth to her first child…
Bremerton Scrapes Off Its Rust
Stepping off the Bremerton ferry, one sees a paradoxical view of the town. To the right are fashionable waterfront condos and a polished, white marina. To the left are crumbling concrete naval shipyard buildings. And so the modern tale of Bremerton goes: From the rust of the almost-forgotten war town, Bremerton endeavors to modernize itself….