Apr 13, 2023

New owners at Schnitzer West

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Schnitzer West recently announced that co-founder Dan Ivanoff has sold a minority stake in the company to five partners in the firm, which is based here and in Denver. They are Pam Hirsch, Greg MacDiarmid, Tyna Fisher, Zeb Keck and Doug Zabel. Ivanoff said in a statement, “By expanding the ownership team to include Pam, Greg, Tyna, Zeb and Doug, we have positioned Schnitzer West with the optimal potential to realize perpetual, sustainable success. The team is currently managing more than $2 billion of capital investment and executing approximately 3.2 million square feet of development and investment activity.” Among those is the two-building Interval on Mercer project in Lower Queen Anne; the east building is pictured.

ULI to address office anxiety

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Is it time to panic yet? The office market continues its nationwide post-pandemic slump, as tech-firm layoffs and work-from-home continue to wreak havoc in cubicle-land. Seattle's office vacancy rate is still climbing, and leasing activity is down, down, down. In recent first-quarter reports, Kidder Mathews called the market “clearly struggling and highly volatile,” while Savills declared flatly, “Elevated availability may force landlords to pull back on face rental rates and increase concessions, as they seek to avoid vacancy-driven distress.” Thus a coming April 19 event from the Northwest chapter of the Urban Land Institute will be timely, if distressing. The title tells you everything you need to know, or already feel in your bones: “Adapting to an Uncertain Office Market.” The panel discussion will be at the downtown offices of MG2 (pictured). On hand will be Case Creal of Gensler, Kevin Eng of GLY Construction, Lori Hill of Unico Properties and Rico Quirindongo from the city's Office of Planning and Community Development. Details and registration: northwest.uli.org.

Tarragon signs big tenant in Sumner

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Down in Sumner, Tarragon's ongoing SeaPORT development could total some 2.7 million square feet in seven buildings. All of the fairly new Building 5 was recently claimed by Allen Distribution, which will have 293,000 square feet with 40-foot clear heights. The developer's Dennis Rattie said in a statement, “They are an industry leader in the food and beverage space, and we're honored to support Allen Distribution's future growth and development.” The family-owned distributor is based in Pennsylvania, and Sumner represents its entry to our market. Its brokers were Billy Moultrie and Kimberly Jacobsen at Lee &Associates. Representing Tarragon were CBRE's John Gilliland and John Sullivan. Nelson was the architect, and Sierra the builder.

McLennan joins Pierce County board

McLennan

The Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County has elected a new member. That would be industrial broker Matt McLennan of Kidder Mathews, the firm recently announced. He said in a statement, “I am honored and excited to begin this new journey. I've always held our EDB in high regard and applauded their spirit in attracting businesses to our local community. I look forward to lending my expertise from the real estate perspective to further advance the mission.”

Retail planned in Kitsap

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A little north of Kitsap Mall and Highway 3, Cascadia Senior Living recently developed the 189-unit Fieldstone senior community, which offers both assisted living and memory care. Cascadia is led by Justin Younker and Doug Ellison, who are now adding a retail component nearby: Cascadia Pointe. The four-building complex will be developed immediately south of Fieldstone. Steve Ruggiero of First American Properties is the broker, and he recently announced new tenants: Starbucks, Indigo Urgent Care and Dave's Hot Chicken, which is making its debut in our state. (It'll share a building with Starbucks.) Ruggiero said in a statement, “Not only are we bringing established brand names to the greater Kitsap marketplace, we also have the ability to accommodate a badly needed hotel or campus development.” Two buildings remain unclaimed, with 2,500 and 5,000 square feet. Completion is expected in the second quarter of next year.

Apr 06, 2023

New tenant for Panattoni

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Panattoni broke ground last summer on the 310-acre Fred310 industrial development near Frederickson, in Pierce County. That's on land acquired from Boeing, near 18001 Canyon Road E. Cushman & Wakefield is brokering the intial five buildings, and it recently announced a new tenant. Harbor Freight Tools is taking 782,875 square feet in a build-to-suit structure. C&W's Scott Alan, Patrick Mullin and Connor Cree represented the developer and financial partner Crow Holdings Capital. Alan said in a statement, “We are excited to add Harbor Freight as another significant and high-caliber brand to the project's growing roster of quality tenants.” The initial five buildings of Phase I will total some 3.1 million square feet. All will have lots of dock-high and grade-level doors, with clear heights ranging from 36 to 40 feet, plus lots of parking. Said Panattoni's Travis Hale, “We are thrilled at the level and quality of leasing activity and the rising interest we continue to attract at Fred310.”

Gantry secures $53M for Yesler Terrace units

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Up at Yesler Terrace, Vulcan Real Estate completed the 237-unit Cypress over three years ago. Now Gantry has announced a new a new permanent financing package for the apartments, worth about $53.5 million. The unnamed lender was BECU. Gantry's Michael Taylor and Alex Saunders secured the five-year, fixed-rate loan, working in conjunction with Russ Cree of Glacier Real Estate Finance. Taylor said in a statement, “In this financing, we reviewed the full spectrum of options, including other bank, life company and agency sources. Ultimately a credit union was able to provide a loan with the structure, pricing and flexibility that best met the borrower's needs.” Cypress was built by Exxel Pacific, and designed by Runberg Architecture Group. Vulcan is now underway on its 345-unit Cascara, its fourth project at Yesler Terrace.

CBRE sells Montana hotels

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Two hotels over in Missoula, Montana have changed hands. CBRE announced the related deals, with its Chris Burdett and Matthew Behrens having represented seller HomeBase Partners of Bozeman. Terms were not announced. The seller developed both the 105-room AC Hotel and 175-room Residence Inn in recent years; included in the latter's sale is a retail complex called The Mercantile. Both hotels carry the Marriott brand. The buyers were Evermore Partners and New Castle Hotels & Resorts. Burdett is based here in Seattle, and said in a statement, “We were thrilled to provide an attractive solution for both parties. Despite economic headwinds and a tight lending environment, we were able to work with the buyer, seller and Stockman Bank to help execute the sale.”

Kidder Mathews

Ksidakis

Kidder Mathews announced the recent hiring of retail specialist Parker Ksidakis. He makes the move from CBRE. He said in a statement, “My decision to join Kidder Mathews was strongly influenced by the entrepreneurial culture and ability to continue to reinvest into my business to achieve outstanding client results. That, paired with the opportunity to become a shareholder, made the decision easy.” Much of his recent work has been focused on single-tenant, net-leased properties and multi-tenant retail both in our state and in Oregon.

NAIOP previews The Lex

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The South Sound chapter of NAIOP will offer a tour of the brand-new Lex apartments in Tacoma, beginning at 4 p.m. April 27. The 247-unit, nine-story project at 415 St. Helens Ave., a little north of downtown, was developed by Commencement Bay Development, whose Eric Cederstrand, Lia Estigoy and Brad Nakamura will be on hand. Ferguson Architecture designed the Lex, and its Ben Ferguson, Steffany Tuohy and Jamie Sandberg will also attend. Pillar Properties was also a partner in the project. Details and registration: naiopwa.org.

Heartland

Tuesley

Bruce Tuesley has joined Heartland, that firm recently announced. He makes the move from BentallGreenOak. He'll be an asset manager in his new perch, working from Heartland's downtown Seattle offices. The firm praised his “strong asset management and transactional experience” and ability “to address complex real estate issues and achieve client objectives.”

CBB opens Mill Creek office

Late last month, Coldwell Banker Bain held a ribbon snipping ceremony for its new residential brokerage office up in Mill Creek. CBB President Robert Burns held the scissors, and said in a statement, “I know the addition of this office location will be an extraordinary place for them to collaborate, network and help their clients reach their home ownership goals.” Emma Nolan will run the office, and added, “We look forward to being the Snohomish County hub. We are excited to have a larger presence in the region to serve our clients and customers.”