Oct 10, 2024

Markets! Markets! Markets!

Ziemba

Let's talk capital markets! That's the subject of the coming Oct. 16 NAIOP breakfast gathering at the Hyatt at Olive 8. With interest rates falling, and new developments few, will the borrowing climate improve in the coming months and new year? That's the question to be addressed by industry experts attempting to forecast the near future of capital markets. The panel will feature moderator Sam Ziemba from JLL (pictured), Jordan Lott of Lake Washington Partners, Bill Pollard of Talon Private Capital and Paul Roeter from Cushman & Wakefield. The event begins at 8 a.m. Details and registration: naiopwa.org

Perkins Coie reduces footprint again ... in Portland

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Law firm Perkins Coie made news last fall by announcing a downtown Seattle move from its longtime home at 1201 Third Ave. to the nearby Russell Investments Center. With some 800 attorneys and staff, Perkins then said it would take about half the space, dropping from about 297,000 to 150,000 square feet. Now there's a sequel of sorts to that movie. Perkins said last week that it would keep its Portland home at Brewery Block 2 (pictured), but will reduce its office footprint to 29,239 square feet. That's about half its old total, on three full floors. The firm has about 115 lawyers and staff in Portland. Its Chris Rich said in a statement, “We're thrilled to reaffirm our deep commitment to Portland's business community, and to our many clients in the city and across the greater region.” In the Pearl District, Gerding Edlen began developing the mixed-use Brewery Blocks project circa 2007. It has seven buildings on five contiguous city blocks, and encompasses the historic old armory and Blitz-Weinhard Brewery. Various portions have since been sold to several parties.

Emerging Trends is back, baby!

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It's not too late to register for the annual Emerging Trends gathering from the Urban Land Institute. This year's confab will be held on Nov. 20 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center (pictured). An elect panel of locals will discuss the concurrently published ULI Emerging Trends report, always a must-read. Panelists have yet to be announced. Quoth the ULI, “During this event, you will gain valuable insights from industry experts who have successfully weathered the storms of economic cycles.” The event begins at 2:30 p.m. Details and registration: northwest.uli.org

TAPCO Credit Union

Stirgus

TAPCO Credit Union promoted Richard Stirgus to vice president of community relations. In this role, he will lead TAPCO's efforts to deepen its community engagement, strengthen partnerships with local organizations, and enhance its impact on the Tacoma region. Stirgus started his career with TAPCO as assistant vice president of community relations. After graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno, Stirgus entered the banking industry through a branch manager training program, advancing through a variety of roles, including teller, banker, service manager, business banker, and branch manager. He later worked in the mortgage sector, helping clients navigate home financing. Now, as VP of community relations, Stirgus continues to champion financial empowerment, fostering meaningful connections and advocating for underserved communities. TAPCO Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative serving individuals and businesses in Washingtonstate since 1934.

Finch, Thornton & Baird

The construction industry law firm of Finch, Thornton & Baird has opened an office on the 18th floor of the Skyline Tower in Bellevue to service clients with projects in Washington and the surrounding area. Partner Daniel Scholz and associate Matthew Seeley have been admitted to the Washington bar to provide service to clients in Washington. Finch, Thornton & Baird provides representation to construction, business and individual clients in all aspects of construction law. Other areas of practice include labor and employment; general business and commercial litigation and transactions; and wealth preservation. Based in San Diego, the firm's lawyers are licensed in California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

Oct 09, 2024

Dahlin Architecture Planning Interiors

Taylor

DAHLIN Architecture Planning Interiors is expanding its Bellevue office with the appointment of principal Mark Taylor who joined DAHLIN last month.

Taylor comes to DAHLIN with 25 years of design and sustainability experience leading complex projects for large-scale retail and mixed-use development in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. As principal, he will lead multifamily, commercial, and mixed-use projects for DAHLIN throughout the PNW.

An active member of the Urban Land Institute for nearly a decade, Taylor holds a reputation as an exceptional leader in both design and business development and has been deeply involved in the Seattle community for over 25 years. In particular, his expertise in retail design will complement DAHLIN's residential expertise to help create comprehensive mixed-use projects for the firm's clients. Notable past work includes the sustainably designed, mixed-use community of Crossroads in Bellevue, and a vibrant mixed-used, master-planned community in Downtown Woodinville.

Taylor holds a Master of Architecture degree from Tulane University.

Graphite Design Group

Campbell

Lee

Radovich

Hanna

Graphite Design Group recently welcomed five new members to the team, supporting the firm's expanding retail division and recently launched Brand Experience group, Studio 6B.

The new team members are Austynn Machado, Pearl Hanna, Leslie Radovich, Yugyeong Lee, and Caroline Campbell.

Lee earned her architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University. After a brief stint working in Seoul, Korea, she joined MG2 and later Weber Thompson, where she contributed to large-scale retail projects and multifamily developments.

Radovich holds an Interior Design degree from Bellevue College and has spent much of her career on the store design team at MOD Pizza, most recently as a store design manager. Radovich played a key role in the national expansion of the MOD Pizza brand.

Hanna earned an Interior Design degree from the University of Florida and brings around six years of experience from small to mid-sized firms in Miami and Seattle, including GGLO and Shugart Wasse. She has worked on everything from small-scale retail to large multifamily interiors.

Machado received his architecture degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a master's degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. With nine years of experience, including work at top design firms in Melbourne, he has strong design, technical and BIM expertise. He most recently worked at GGLO.

Campbell recently joined to support the growing Retail and Brand Experience team, including Studio 6B initiatives. She earned her Interior Design degree from the University of Cincinnati and has worked as a senior designer at CallisonRTKL (Arcadis) and IA Interior Architects, where she supported brands like REI Co-op, Alaska Airlines, and Lucid Motors. Campbell is based in Australia and works fully remotely as the team explores cross-time-zone collaboration.

Olson Kundig

Olthoff

Olson Kundig has elevated principal Mark Olthoff to the firm's ownership group as principal/owner.

Olthoff joins the firm's 12 existing owners —Tom Kundig, Kirsten Ring Murray, Alan Maskin, Kevin Kudo-King, Hemanshu Parwani (HP), Steven Rainville, Marlene Chen, Edward Lalonde, Blair Payson, Daniel Ralls, Jamie Slagel, and Ming-Lee Yuan — and principal/founder Jim Olson.

Olthoff has designed a wide range of building types. His work is rooted in residential architecture and attention to client service, with a portfolio spanning houses, cabins, hospitality, commercial, workplace and cultural projects.

He is adept at working in diverse environments and locations worldwide. Olthoff is primarily based in the firm's New York City office and maintains a regular presence in the Seattle office.

He has been contributing to Olson Kundig's work for 21 years.

Russell Investments

Russell Investments hired Shelly Heier as global head of institutional client service, a newly created role. Most recently, Heier served as president and senior consultant at Verus Investments. With 26 years of industry experience, Heier's role at Verus Investments included delivering both non-discretionary consulting and discretionary management services to institutional clients, including endowments, foundations, corporate pension plans, and public and multi-employer trusts. She also chaired Verus' OCIO Investment and Alternatives Investment Committees. Prior to Verus Investments, Heier started her career as a financial analyst for high-net-worth clients. In her new position, she will focus on enhancing the delivery of Russell Investments' holistic investment solutions and implementation services. Heier will lead a team of client chief investment officers, account executives, and client-service associates to strengthen and expand the firm's international institutional relationships. Heier will also work closely with Kevin Turner and Rachel Carroll, who are responsible for Russell Investments' North America consulting business. Heier, who reports to Lindy Freeman, managing director and global head of institutional at Russell Investments, is based in the firm's Seattle headquarters. Russell Investments has 16 offices in major financial centers including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, New York, Milan, and Dubai.

Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum and the Betty Bowen Committee, chaired by Gary Glant, announced that Portland-based artist Samantha Yun Wall is the winner of the 2024 Betty Bowen Award. The juried award comes with an unrestricted cash award of $20,000 and a solo exhibition at SAM. Founded in 1977 to continue the legacy of arts advocate and supporter Betty Bowen (1918–1977), the annual award honors a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work. Wall was born in Seoul, and creates drawings that reflect her experience of navigating transcultural identity as a Black Korean immigrant. Her work has been exhibited throughout Washington and Oregon.