Oct 29, 2020

Madison Marquette

Almond

Two new hires were recently announced by Madison Marquette, one in Seattle. Heather Almond joins the firm's retail practice as an executive VP. She makes the move from CBRE, and will focus on property management and marketing strategy. Madison Marquette CEO Vince Costantini said in a statement, “These strategic hires augment the firm's growth and scale by adding additional talented resources to an exceptional team of professionals across the country.” Said Almond, “My passion for creating engaging consumer environments and experiences aligns well with Madison Marquette's legacy as an innovative placemaker and vision for its properties.” The firm's local portfolio includes Pacific Place and Bellevue Connection.

City of Kenmore

The city of Kenmore is seeking volunteers to serve on the Planning Commission. Candidates must be Kenmore residents and could be selected to start a three-year term starting in January 2021, or could fill a future vacancy. The application deadline is Nov. 16. The Planning Commission serves as a policy advisory body to the City Council providing guidance and recommendations on the city's comprehensive plan and related land use documents. All commission members are unpaid volunteers. Applications should be submitted to Debbie Bent, community development director, at Kenmore City Hall, 18120 68th Ave. N.E., Kenmore, WA 98028 or via email at dbent@kenmorewa.gov.

Installed Building Products

Installed Building Products announced the acquisition of Norkote. Founded in 1952, Norkote is headquartered in Everett, and installs specialty coatings for fire protection, insulation and acoustics in commercial and industrial applications. Installed Building Products is a installer of insulation and complementary building products, including waterproofing, fire-stopping, fireproofing, and other products for residential and commercial builders in the continental United States.

Ste. Michelle

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates announced the retirement of Jim Mortensen, president and CEO. David Dearie has been appointed to succeed Mortensen. Dearie's career includes positions at Treasury Wine Estates where he served as CEO and managing director for Fosters Wine Group. Prior to this, he spent more than a decade in leadership positions at Brown-Forman, including managing director of Brown-Forman Beverages for Western Europe and Africa, and as president and COO of Brown-Forman Wine Group. Currently Dearie is founder and managing director of East Wind Consulting. He is also chairman of Lark Distillery. The Ste. Michelle label was first introduced in 1967. Today, SMWE owns more than 3,700 vineyard acres across Washington, Oregon and California.

Western Washington University

Ellucian, a provider of software and services built to power higher education, announced that the Western Washington University Foundation and the WWU Alumni Association have launched Ellucian CRM Advance to support its fundraising, alumni engagement and advancement efforts. CRM Advance will integrate with the university's enterprise resource planning software to create more targeted and personalized campaigns to encourage increased engagement and donor activity.

$96M refi deal for 9th & Thomas

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Website Commercial Observer recently reported, citing analyst Fitch Ratings, that the Amazon-leased 9th & Thomas building has received a $96 million refinancing loan from Bank of California. The owner of the office building at 234 Ninth Ave. N. is the Redman family (separate from Sellen Construction). Fitch says the 10-year, interest-only loan carries a rate of 3.6%. The new commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan retires the old construction loan taken out circa 2016, when the nine-story office project broke ground. Olson Kundig designed the building, which Sellen built. Fitch says the lease for Amazon Fulfillment Services runs through July 2033, with two seven-year options to extend.

Oct 28, 2020

Mithun

Wilcox

JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox joined Mithun as a principal and education practice leader. She is a specialist in the design and planning of learning environments and has over 20 years of experience working with public and independent clients in the Northwest on projects that include early childhood development centers, K-12 schools and higher education campuses. Her prior experience includes Tacoma Public Schools' Arlington Elementary (which won a 2019 AIA Institute Award of Honor) and over 76 projects for clients that include Seattle Girls' School, Seattle Public Schools, Portland Public Schools, the University of Washington and Western Washington University. Her work will focus on fusing education innovation with high performance building and landscape design strategies. She works in the Seattle office. Mithun provides architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, urban design and planning.

The Riley Group, Inc.

Teng

Robert Teng was hired as a staff engineer on the geotechnical services team at The Riley Group, Inc., a Bothell-based environmental consulting and geotechnical firm. He is supporting the department by doing field inspections and laboratory analyses and helping prepare project deliverables. He was a geotechnical summer intern this year at the firm.

Olson Kundig

Vela

Seattle-based Olson Kundig hired Enrique Vela as director of interiors. Vela will lead the interior design studio, collaborating with interior designers, architects, clients and partners on projects. As the firm continues to grow its interior design work in the hospitality and commercial sectors – supported by ongoing projects with brands including One&Only, Miraval, Hyatt and Six Senses, Vela will work with design principals and Claudia Maggiani, senior project manager for hospitality, to target new projects in those markets and support high-end residential design work. Vela has over 15 years of design and project management experience on corporate, hospitality and residential projects. He has worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, ICRAVE Design in New York, Wilson Associates in Los Angeles and most recently as principal and design director for Rottet Studio in Los Angeles. Vela was on Boutique Design magazine's ‘Boutique 18' list in 2014, which recognizes rising stars in the hospitality industry. Olson Kundig provides architecture, landscape architecture and interior design.

SRG Partnership

Duquette

Epler Hout

In Seattle, architecture design firm SRG Partnership hired Lori Epler Hout as a senior associate and medical planner and Aimee Duquette as a senior associate. Epler Hout has over 20 years of experience delivering strategic master plans and built projects for healthcare clients, including Banner Health, Swedish Medical Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Duquette has 13 years of design experience and has managed a variety of projects — from higher education to civic buildings. Project highlights include the Sustainability Pavilion, Expo 2020 in Dubai and Duke University's Brodhead Center for Campus Life.

Dykeman Architects

MacDonald

Everett-based Dykeman Architects hired Aaron MacDonald as a project architect. MacDonald has 25 years of architectural experience, with a background in school, multifamily, commercial, custom home and historic preservation projects. He will manage school and other projects, develop design solutions and mentor. He has an accumulative 10 years of experience in K-12. Prior to Dykeman, he worked on schools, multifamily and custom homes in the Puget Sound area and Alaska.

Bernardo|Wills Architects

Spicer

Spokane-based Bernardo|Wills Architects hired Kenneth Spicer as the office manager. He provides general administrative support to the office, including managing front-office activities and supporting the firm's operation, including financial, marketing, architectural project and staffing. He was the office manager at The Arc of Spokane. Bernardo|Wills provides architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and master planning.

Fashwire

Seattle-based Fashwire won first place in Startup Grind's inaugural global pitch battle competition, where startups from around the world competed in front of a panel of investors, mentors, and the Startup Grind community. Fashwire's global fashion platform provides its portfolio of designers consumer shopping behavior patterns on the popularity of new collections and future products. For Consumers, Fashwire's B2C shopping platform creates an interactive experience by combining immersive swipe voting with the ability to influence the designer instantly. The company has raised $2.5M to date.

Cascade Centers

Cascade Centers, headquartered in Portland, announced the reorganization of leadership roles throughout the company. Anthony Brown, the current vice president of marketing and sales has been promoted to CEO. Julie Marshall, the current vice president of operations has been named COO. Gale Castillo, president of Cascade, will remain in her role and Jerry Brown, a founder of the company, will assume the position of board chair. Cascade also announced Dave Christy, as director of clinical services; Desiree Davis, as team lead for the clinical staff; Frank Clore, as supervisor of provider relations and administration and Caitlin Plato, as senior training & organizational specialist. Anna Meiners will remain as the director of client services. Since 1975, Cascade has worked with clients to decrease employee related expenses while improving the quality of life of their employees.

Thesis

Portland-based Thesis acquired of the assets of Bonfire Marketing, a digital content marketing agency specializing in account-based marketing for technology clients. Thesis will initially contract with all seven of Bonfire Marketing's employees. Founded in 2002, Thesis, formerly eROI, is a full-service digital agency specializing in email marketing, strategy, web design, development, and social media. Thesis was named among the Portland Business Journal's Most Admired Companies in 2019 and named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon.