May 05, 2023

City of Tacoma

The city of Tacoma will conduct an economic disparity study from June through December to refine its efforts to help historically underutilized small businesses. Through its Equity in Contracting (EIC) Program, the city seeks to ensure that small businesses, and those owned by BIPOC individuals and women, have equal access to contracting opportunities with the city. While the current focus is on public works contracts, the goal is to expand the scope to include contracts for supplies, goods and services. The EIC Program is housed within the city of Tacoma's Community and Economic Development Department, which has expanded its efforts in recent years to facilitate economic growth while supporting broader goals relating to equity and accessibility with increased levels of culturally competent support, guidance and technical assistance. Once EIC Program staff members have reviewed the results, and presented those results along with their recommendations to the Tacoma City Manager and City Council, that information will also be made available on the city's website at cityoftacoma.org/disparitystudy, social media channels and other official platforms. Additionally, the consultant selected for the study will conduct public outreach meetings in the Tacoma Public Utilities service area to share study findings.

PACCAR

PACCAR and Toyota Motor North America announced an expansion of their joint efforts to develop and produce zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks powered by Toyota's next-generation hydrogen fuel cell modules. The expanded agreement supports ongoing development and commercialized zero-emission versions of the Kenworth T680 and Peterbilt 579 models featuring Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain kit, with initial customer deliveries planned for 2024. PACCAR and Toyota have collaborated on FCEV truck development for the past several years, including a successful pilot program which deployed ten Kenworth T680 FCEV trucks at the Port of Los Angeles. Designed for use in heavy-duty commercial vehicles, Toyota's heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain kit was recently awarded the Zero Emission Powertrain certification by the California Air Resources Board. Toyota will begin assembly of the modules in the United States in late 2023. Bellevue-based PACCAR designs and manufactures Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF trucks.

Amazon Business

Amazon Business, the Amazon business procurement storefront, kicked off its second annual Small Business Month with the announcement of its 2023 Small Business Grants, designed to spur innovation and support the growth of small businesses that are driving impact in their local communities. This year, Amazon Business will give eligible small businesses in the U.S. the chance to win more than $250,000 in grants. Existing Amazon Business customers with annual revenues of $1 million or less can apply for a grant, with one grand-prize winner, a group of finalists, and semifinalists receiving monetary grants, Business Prime membership, and select Amazon devices. Applications are due by May 21, and winners will be announced on July 17. Additional information about how to apply is available at the Amazon Small Business Grants website.

May 04, 2023

Say hello to Jack

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Everyone on the waterfront is excited about The Jack, from Urban Visions. The eight-story, 145,500-square-foot project is downtown's only significant ground-up office building to have soldiered through the pandemic. Demolition came in 2020, followed by a long pause. The project finally broke ground under JTM in the summer of 2021, topped out last December, and you can tour the Olson Kundig-designed building next month. (It's set to open in a few more months; one floor appears to have been leased.) But there's a catch: The June 14 preview is being conducted by ULI Northwest's young leaders group. So if there was ever a good time to join, it's now. Details and registration: northwest.uli.org.

EQ Office

Marks

Veteran broker David Marks has jumped from Newmark to EQ Office, the latter firm recently announced. He becomes director of leasing, and will oversee day-to-day leasing in the company's Seattle office portfolio. (It has about 3 million square feet here, including 999 Third and U.S. Bank Centre.) Blackstone owns EQ Office, whose Britton Derkac said in a statement, “David is an established leader in Seattle's commercial real estate market. We are confident that David will enhance our regional operating capabilities.” Said Marks, “I am thrilled to join an organization focused on creating effective, inspiring workplaces and maximizing tenant success.”

MainStreet Property Group

Faust

Hizzey

MainStreet Property Group has announced two recent promotions. Jackie Hizzey and Kim Faust are now co-presidents for the prolific apartment developer. They both previously served as senior VPs, and have been with MainStreet since its founding in 2011. Kelly Price co-founded the company, and is now stepping down as president to become CEO. Eric Campbell had been serving in that role; he now becomes chairman of the firm. Price said in a statement, “It's an exciting time for MainStreet, Jackie and Kim. It is exciting to see these two strong and experienced women emerge as the day-to-day leaders of our company.” Faust added, “This is a journey without end, and we are as motivated as ever to continue this success.” MainStreet recently completed 106 units in downtown Redmond, and recently broke ground on 207 Woodinville units.

Recreation and Conservation Board

Craig

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Kathleen “Kitty” Craig, a national program director for The Wilderness Society, to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board. The board awards about $200 million in grants every other year to tribes, nonprofits and government agencies to create parks, trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities. The board also awards grants to conserve the state's natural resource heritage by protecting working farms and forests and wildlife habitat, including places inhabited by plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. As director for the Urban to Wild program, Craig helps lead The Wilderness Society's efforts to advance equitable access to nature in urban communities across the country by eliminating barriers and fostering connections to the outdoors and public lands. The Wilderness Society is a national nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1935 that works to protect America's wild places. Craig joined The Wilderness Society in 2010. She became advocacy director for urban communities in 2021, and a year later took the job as Urban to Wild director. Before joining The Wilderness Society, Craig led The Trust for Public Land's Conservation Vision program in Washington state, where she worked with communities to develop collaborative action plans that balanced community recreation, conservation and development needs. Craig has a bachelor of arts degree from Whitman College and master of arts degree in community and regional planning from the University of Oregon. She is on the boards of directors for the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and the Stewardship Partners, and serves on various advisory committees for public agency grant programs. Craig's term runs through 2025.

Kenmore Air

Kenmore Air announced a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. Travel for the San Juan Islands is now available with a single transaction and one-stop service between the destinations served by Alaska Airlines from Paine Field. Kenmore Air wheeled plane flights between Paine Field and Friday Harbor or Eastsound are now bookable on AlaskaAir.com, linking to Alaska Airlines' destinations from Paine Field. Kenmore Air is the largest floatplane operator in the United States, serving over 80,000 customers a year.

Jensen Investment

Jensen Investment Management, a 100% employee-owned active equity investment management firm, appointed Crista DesRochers as its new client services director. She joins from ACA Group where she was a partner, providing Global Investment Performance Standards consulting and verification services to investment managers across the globe. DesRochers has more than 20 years of investment and management experience. She will work with Jensen's senior leadership and investment teams. As director, DesRochers will be responsible for managing client services as the firm continues to grow its institutional client base both domestically and overseas. Currently, DesRochers is a member of the GIPS Standards Technical Committee and the ESG Verification Sub-Committee, and a former member of the United States Investment Performance Committee. She is also a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society New York. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Washington State University. Jensen Investment Management is based in Lake Oswego, Oregon.