Washington State Development Thread

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Last updated June 11, 2009 10:01 a.m. PT

Qwest Field north lot development deemed 'vital' to Pioneer Square
By AUBREY COHEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF / The Seattle Post Intelligencer

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AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


While Seattle City Council members may not be acting on a proposed development north of Qwest Field as quickly as some community members would like, they did express strong support for the project Wednesday.

"This project in the north lot is vital to the economic revitalization of Pioneer Square," Councilman Tim Burgess said during a meeting of the council's Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee. "I wouldn't want anything that hints at any hesitation or reluctance our our part."



The committee is scheduled to continue discussing the plan July 8 and may vote on a recommendation to the full council during that meeting.

Officials have been talking about how to get development on the north lot since its neighbor was the Kingdome. It's now the northern half of the parking lot between Qwest Field and King Street.

A partnership of Nitze-Stagen and Opus Northwest, and the Seattle Housing Authority has a deal to buy the 3.85 acres from King County and applied last year to increase maximum heights from 120 feet for a residential project or 85 feet for a commercial building to 240 feet. The proposed project would put 645 housing units above 12,055 square feet of retail and 450 above-ground parking stalls in towers of 10, 20 and 25 stories. A fourth, 20-story tower would have 480,000 square feet of offices above 6,966 square feet of retail and 500 above-ground parking spaces.

Pioneer Square business owners, residents and preservationists endorsed the plan at an initial hearing May 27, urging council members to approve it quickly. They said the project would provide needed residents, office workers and larger retail uses such as a grocery store.

The plan council members are considering would allow buildings up to 240 feet with conditions on such issues as building bulk, street-level uses, setbacks of upper floors, affordable housing and environmentally friendly construction.

On Tuesday, council members endorsed the idea of setting out development standards as part of the approval for higher buildings, rather than leaving such standard setting up to the Pioneer Square Preservation Board. The board still would review design of buildings on the site using guidelines it adopted in 2007.

Committee Chairwoman Sally Clark said she typically wouldn't want to take authority away from such a neighborhood board, "but this seems like it is an unusual case in that it is a pretty big piece of property, it is a single developer, it is a trade off of certainty for the community in return for that greater development capacity."

This would set a precedent for preempting local boards because it is such a unique project, Clark said. "But I think it is a good thing to watch out for."

Council staffer Michael Jenkins also suggested council members might want to set a date by which approval of the development standards would expire if the developer had not submitted a master-use permit application. This would give the council another chance to review, and possibly change, the standards if another developer took over the project.

But council members said the standards should not expire because they give community members assurance of what the project will look like.

"I want to lock in the certainty," Clark said.

A sunset provision would send the wrong signal, Burgess said. "We're either confident that the guidelines we're establishing are adequate or they're not. I think they are."

Finally, council members endorsed a proposal to let the city planning and development director approve master-use permits that would be good for up to 15 years. The director would set the term based on the complexity of the project, economic conditions in the area and the applicant's proposed construction schedule.

Master-use permits typically expire after three years, with one two-year extension allowed, plus an extension with filing of applications for building permits.

It was in endorsing the extended term that Burgess discussed the importance of the project and the need for city officials to show their clear support for it.

Aubrey Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8362 or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com.

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Jun. 12, 2009 at 2:16pm
Olympia celebrates its Kiplinger rating of sixth best in the nation

The Business Examiner
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AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

In a year that has caused more financial trouble for almost every business sector than many can remember, people in the greater Olympia area are enjoying the fact that they have something to celebrate.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has listed Olympia as the sixth best city in the nation in terms of job markets, growth potential, access to heath care and quality of life issues. This year, the magazine selected boomtowns that offer employment opportunities and the worker talent to create new and well-paying positions in future years.

"We often don't think of ourselves in a national context," said Jerry Farmer, sales manager for 94.5 ROXY radio, who was also one of the master of ceremonies for today's event. "We are a forward-looking, and forward-acting, community."

Business people, elected officials and community members gathered at the Olympia Farmers Market this morning to celebrate the area's national ranking, but to also encourage each other that there is room for growth and to reach the top spot.

"We are doing great things," said Olympia Mayor Doug Mah. "We are on the map in D.C. and across the country....With your assistance we are going to be number one."

Michael Motte, CEO of Capital Medical Center, said a rating like this will help him recruit physicians to the local hospitals because its speaks to the high quality of life the area provides those that live there.

Motte, who was another speaker at the event, got the audience fired up by tossing bags of candy into the crowd when people shouted out different local restaurants they like.

The Best Cities list appeared in the July issue of Kiplinger's, which hit newsstands June 9. Copies signed by local officials were available for the audience to purchase today.

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POSTED: Monday, Jun. 15, 2009

Bellingham considers letting developers pay to increase project density
SAM TAYLOR - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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(Downtown Bellingham, Washington.)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


BELLINGHAM - City Council members are being asked to approve a plan that would allow developers to pay for more density on housing projects, but the system appears to be far from a perfect solution.
On Monday, June 15, council members will consider a proposal that planning staff say is the first step in helping strengthen the city's program to protect Lake Whatcom water quality, the drinking water source of more than 91,000 Whatcom County residents, including the entire city.
Officials have been working to encourage developers to partake in programs that let them purchase the right to build from a property owner in the Lake Whatcom watershed and exchange it for allowing more housing units on projects in urban growth areas, where the city intends to annex land for future growth.

But the extra development rights don't have much or any value to developers, according to the city's report on the current transfer program, so they'd have to get a lot of building rights for the purchase of one valuable watershed development right, for example.
Current economic conditions are hurting the program even further, and it could be a decade before the situation changes, the report states.
In the interim, city staff members are recommending letting developers pay the city for more density on projects. The money would then go into a specific account that would let the government buy up watershed property. They've already purchased about 1,450 acres and own 700 development rights, according to a recent report.
But local developer Ralph Black said the program still might not be that attractive for builders. That's because the underlying density of property isn't the density they can build on, due to various restrictions, like wetlands, critical areas laws and parks mitigation. A property that might look like it could hold 100 housing units without those limitations might be able to take only 30 units after those mandates are considered.
Paying the city for more density, therefore, would be pointless if it was already impossible to add more housing on the property.
City officials say in council documents that though the program might not take off immediately, it's still an appropriate time to create the program's structure and work on more measures that will help protect water quality.
Black said there needs to be more "frank discussion" between officials and developers on where the density-receiving areas are located. One such area happens to be in the recently annexed King Mountain area, where Black owns property.
Black also pointed out that people looking to purchase housing are still interested in larger, less dense single-family lots. That's even more the case now that there is less pressure to provide more housing, because of the recession, he said.
"People are stepping back and it's more of a quality of life issue," Black said, adding that quality of life could be more open space and trails a homebuyer wants. And that, of course, means even less density.

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June 15, 2009
Everett may get historic district
By JOURNAL STAFF / The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

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EVERETT — The city of Everett is drawing up a downtown historic preservation plan, and wants input from the public.

The Everett Historical Commission will hold a public information meeting from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on June 23 in the Weyerhaeuser Room at Everett Station, at 3201 Smith Ave. The commission wants to hear from property owners, tenants, residents and public agencies.

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June 16, 2009
CWU gets ready for more students



By The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce JOURNAL STAFF
AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

ELLENSBURG - Student Village South at CWU consists of two residence halls with 480 beds.
Central Washington University will have two new buildings ready this fall to house an influx of students. Graham Construction & Management of Spokane is building Student Village South under a $25.9 million contract.

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POSTED: Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2009

Bellingham council questions disputed Dewey Valley annexation
SAM TAYLOR - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


BELLINGHAM - City Council members issued concerns about a proposed annexation that has raised emotions during several meetings.
The council was still debating late Monday, June 15, whether to annex 303 acres northwest of the Mount Baker Highway, including Dewey Valley.
Developers James Stanford and Scott Wesley and some other residents have asked for the land to be brought into city limits for a variety of reasons, and the developers have said that includes affordable housing. The two have argued that such affordable housing projects are difficult to build in Bellingham.

But council members were concerned about whether there was enough water infrastructure in place for the city to deal with house fires, the overall costs of the annexation and the impacts of bringing a largely rural area into the city.
Councilwoman Barbara Ryan asked council members to reject the annexation based on some of those concerns.
The city has grappled with bringing the land into the city for some time, and held off on a decision after hearing emotional testimony from members of the Breakey family, who spoke against bringing the land into city limits.
Though City Council members in August wanted to leave out Dewey Valley from the annexation after hearing from the Breakeys who live there, city legal staff determined much of the legal process for the proposal had already proceeded.
The Breakeys, who want to protect their rural way of life, say developers took advantage of the Trickle Creek subdivision. There is a legal agreement on the Trickle Creek land barring property owners there from opposing annexation, and about 54 percent of the annexation petition value came from those agreements, according to city documents. That gives Stanford and Wesley a huge chunk of the annexation approvals needed to meet the 75 percent threshold of land value required.
Approval of the annexation would allow new connections to city water and sewer, enabling development of at least 200 more housing units and nearly 40,000 square feet of retail, office and industrial /warehouse space.
The city previously projected it would be $6.7 million in the hole serving the area over the next 15 years.

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POSTED: Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2009

Cities to present growth plans to County Council, Planning Commission
JARED PABEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

All of the county's seven cities have proposed visions for their growth over the next two decades, and now they'll present their ideas to the County Council and county Planning Commission.
County leaders will hear presentations from the cities and from county staff Tuesday, June 16, before they hold a public hearing on the recommendations a week later.
The plans from each of the cities are recommendations to the County Council, which will make a final decision by Dec. 1 on whether and how to revise each of the urban growth areas. The county is under a state board order to update growth areas to accommodate the next 20 years of residential and business growth.

Following is a summary of growth area change proposals from each city (Birch Bay, Columbia Valley and Cherry Point proposals are from county planners):
- Bellingham: No change to its urban growth area, which totals 23,700 acres.
- Birch Bay: No change, 4,375 acres.
- Blaine: Subtract 2,622 acres of growth area, which currently totals 6,878 acres.
- Cherry Point: No change (this is industrial area only with no residents), 7,000 acres.
- Columbia Valley: Net decrease of 150 acres, currently 1,489 acres.
- Everson: Net decrease of 25 acres, currently 1,462 acres.
- Ferndale: Add 60 acres, currently 7,554 acres.
- Lynden: Add 326 acres, currently 3,805 acres.
- Nooksack: No change, 656 acres.
- Sumas: No change, 1,039 acres.
Note: For cities, acreages above include both inside city limits and unincorporated urban growth area.

[Phriggin' Ogre]

Great news for Bellingham, Everett and Elensburg! Hopefully CWU can get to 8,000 students at their main campus.

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Published: Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Lynnwood's new rec center to boast 'wow' factor

The greatly expanded Lynnwood facility will feature five pools and a partially retractable glass roof and wall

By Chris Fyall
The Everett Herald Writer



AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


LYNNWOOD -- It might sound over the top, but it is true: the swimming pool at Lynnwood's renovated Recreation Center would include a partially retractable glass roof.

That's not all.

Architects plan retractable glass walls, too.

Together, glass panels that slide away could give the indoor pool the ability to seemingly transport itself outside with the simple push of a button.

"There's a 'Wow' factor," said Lynn Sordel, the city's parks director. "It is something that will keep people coming back."

Architects plan a total of five different pools -- some very large, some quite small -- that will maintain five different water temperatures. One, a "lazy river" pool, will circle with a constant 2-3 mph current. There will also be two colorful water slides that will snake inside and outside the building.

The design of the $25.5 million recreation center renovation was released earlier this month. The current building was opened in 1977 and needs to be replaced, officials said.

Construction should begin this December, and continue through early 2011. The center will close during that time.

The gym and classes that take place in the center will be relocated, but all swimming and racquetball activities will be canceled.

The renovation will increase the size of the building from 28,570 square feet to 44,800 square feet.

The workout room will be three times larger and the locker rooms will be completely rebuilt.

Already, more people take swim lessons at the building than anywhere else in south Snohomish County, making the center a regional attraction, Sordel said.

Soon, it will be a destination, Mayor Don Gough said.

"We're really going to take it up a few notches," he said. "It will be the biggest (aquatics) facility in the area. We don't know any other projects like it."

The renovation will also be one of Lynnwood's most expensive projects in the last 30 years, Gough said. Increased user fees and a series of new taxes will pay for construction. The city will borrow the money to renovate the center and will repay the debt through raising utility taxes.

Entry fees will help pay about 80 percent of operations.

People are starting to get excited, Gough said. He understands why.

"It is totally cool," Gough said.

Even some people who will lose their jobs during the construction agree.

Swim instructors such as Selma Tanjo, 14, will be let go during construction since the pool will close. Tanjo says she has mixed emotions about that. She likes the plans for the new recreation center, though.

"It's going to be big," Tanjo said. "That's what I like best -- just how big it is going to be."

Missing a pool for a year and a half will be a blow, others said. George Quintana has come to the recreation center for four years, five days a week, working out in the gym and swimming, he said. He's coming back from a leg accident that almost robbed his ability to walk.

"I think I would still be using crutches if I weren't coming here," said Quintana, who said he'll search for an alternate pool. "But it will be back -- and I will be back when it opens up."



Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com.

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Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2009

Tri-Cities job growth continues onward

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center
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(Kennewick.)

By Pratik Joshi, Tri-City Herald staff writer
Federal stimulus money and a warm spring helped the Tri-Cities show some job growth at a time when other Washington communities are losing jobs.

Since May 2008, the Tri-Cities has gained 500 jobs in professional and business services, education and health services, leisure, hospitality and food services, said regional labor economist Dean Schau.

And since April, the local economy added 1,200 jobs -- some of them seasonal -- to bring the total nonfarm jobs to 95,200 in May.

That was thanks largely to Hanford and the construction, food processing, wholesale and retail trade areas, Schau said.

And though the number of workers in the community grew by 5,640 to a total of 128,600, the unemployment rate in Benton and Franklin counties dropped from 7.7 percent in April to 7.2 percent in May.

That's a testimony to the fact that the Tri-Cities is continuing to grow, Schau told the Herald. "If you create 1,000 jobs, you'll have 1,200 workers come in. That's been like that for years."

Several areas of the economy benefited from the federal stimulus money and the warmer weather that helped produce a good asparagus crop and drew tourists particularly from Western Washington.

Local employers including those in agriculture, food processing, retail and hospitality businesses, lately have come to WorkSource looking for employees for the season ahead, said Candice Bluechel, business services outreach manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin.

Many companies are even offering full-time, long-term jobs in security and transportation, she said, adding it could be a spin-off of stimulus projects.

"I'm feeling optimistic," she said.

In contrast, Washington's unemployment rate increased to 9.4 percent in May from the revised April unemployment rate of 9 percent, as the state lost 6,700 nonfarm jobs mostly in construction, information, financial and government areas last month.

In the Tri-Cities, the food services industry added about 100 last month, and about 300 jobs since last May, said Schau, who is staying on with the state Department of Employment Security indefinitely despite his recent announcement of plans to leave the agency.

He said he suspects people are spending their money locally instead of vacationing far from home. Warm temperatures, wineries and outdoor activities may have lured many of them to the Tri-Cities, Schau said.

Also, professional and business services, which includes engineering and wastes services, added 100 new jobs in May and about 400 for the year, Schau said.

For the next two to three years, Hanford cleanup will provide new jobs and save positions that were supposed to be eliminated, said Carl Adrian, president and CEO of Tri-City Development Council.

But the Tri-Cities is also being discovered by corporate America, which will help the area in the long run to diversify economically, Adrian said. For example, Cascade Natural Gas recently announced plans to move its main office to the Tri-Cities from Seattle.

Last month, the local government sector added 100 jobs as cities hired workers for summer recreational programs. But job growth in federal government has remained flat since April 2008, when it peaked at 1,300, Schau said.

The availability of a lot of fresh produce helped the warehousing sector gain of 300 positions in May, compared with April.

Growth in the financial services industry, which includes banking and real estate, remained stagnant. The May saw a loss of 200 jobs compared with May a year ago. The health services industry also lost 100 positions in May.

Good weather helped create seasonal agricultural jobs, pushing the number of hires from 8,500 in April to 11,800 in May, Schau said. He said he expects seasonal ag hiring to continue because the cherry crop is expected to be good.

In late June and early July, workers will be needed for taking care of onions, peaches, apricots, water melons and cantaloupe, said Bluechel of WorkSource.

But no one is yet talking about an immediate recovery from the recession.

The state lost 116,000 jobs in the last year, a 3.9 percent decrease. "We're still losing jobs, but at a lower rate than before," said Mary Ayala, chief economist for the state Employment Security Department.

Unemployment rates, not seasonally adjusted, as reported in other metropolitan areas around the state were: Bellingham, 8.4 percent; Bremerton, 8.1; Longview, 14.2; Mount Vernon-Anacortes, 10.1; Olympia, 8.0; Spokane, 9.1; Tacoma, 10.1; Wenatchee, 9.1; and Yakima, 9.3.

Other labor market areas also were reported: Aberdeen, 13.9 percent; Centralia, 13.5; Ellensburg, 8.7; Moses Lake, 9.4; Oak Harbor, 8.8; Port Angeles, 10.0; Pullman, 5.3; Shelton, 10.7; and Walla Walla, 6.9.

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Published: Thursday, June 18, 2009
Everett firm seeks patent for solar power-station technology

By Amy Rolph
The Everett Herald Writer

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AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


Everett-based PowerSat Corp. wants to harvest solar energy by putting satellites into space, and this week the company filed a patent for technologies that could put the long-pursued goal within reach.

For more than 30 years, scientists and entrepreneurs have toyed with the concept of generating energy directly from solar rays in space, where panels could be up to 25 percent more productive. Now, PowerSat Chief Executive William Maness thinks technologies developed by his company will solve some of the biggest obstacles delaying the quest to transmit solar power from space.

He says they've found a cheaper way to transport the devices into space. And PowerSat's plan would eliminate the need for a large spacecraft altogether.

PowerSat plans to use many smaller satellites to work as one in its now-patented "BrightStar" technology. And the company's "Solar Power Orbital Transfer" would use solar-powered electronic thrusters to power the space craft, instead of chemical propulsion typically used by satellites.

To the layman, it sounds like something from an episode of "Battlestar Gallactica." But Maness, who founded PowerSat in 2000 with capital from his own investments, said it's not a far-reaching idea.

"This sounds like science fiction, but so do cell phones, so do laptop computers," he said. "This is something that is going to happen."

A statement from PowerSat described the process this way: "Solar energy is captured via solar power satellites (known as powersats) and transmitted wirelessly to receiving stations at various points around the globe. Thousands of megawatts can be harnessed and shifted between receiving stations thousands of miles from each other -- all in a matter of seconds."

Maness wants to have prototype hardware by 2013 or 2014, and he's seeking a successful transmission in less than a decade.

The company received some private investor financing for the project, but has not raised the billions needed to pull the project off.

Maness said he's found a way to reduce the cost of launching a 2,500-megawatt power station by roughly $1 billion, Still, he says it will take time to raise enough capital.

"It's not something where you can just write a check today and make it happen tomorrow," he said.

Eight-year-old PowerSat weathered quieter times, when critics speculated that transmitting energy from space was neither economic nor physically prudent. But more recent awareness of a shift toward more solar-power research in Washington, D.C., has been a boon for the alternative energy industry.

A number of other companies are also in the race for space solar power, including Calif.-based Solaren and Switzerland-based Space Energy.

"Today, the convergence of technology and energy demand, combined with the political will to wean us off of fossil fuels, enables space solar power to fill a widening clean energy supply gap," Maness said.

Amy Rolph: 425-339-3029 or arolph@heraldnet.com. Read her small business blog at www.heraldnet.com/section/BLOG31.

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POSTED: Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2009

Alaska Airlines adds fourth weekly Bellingham-to-Vegas flight
JOHN STARK - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
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AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

BELLINGHAM - Alaska Airlines has announced the addition of a fourth weekly flight between Bellingham International Airport and Las Vegas, starting Monday, Aug. 3.
Thrice-weekly service between the two cities is scheduled to begin Thursday, June 25.
Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience, said the added service was in response to strong demand for the flights announced earlier.

The new 2-hour, 30-minute flight will operate between Bellingham International Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Mondays. Service between the two cities starting June 25 will operate on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Reach JOHN STARK at john.stark@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2274.

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POSTED: Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009

New Bellingham police camera scans, checks license plates by the thousands
PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD


AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


When drivers pass a Bellingham Police Department car with four boxes on its trunk, the officer's eyes won't be the only things scanning their license plates.
Those four boxes house eight cameras that capture images of license plates, scan the numbers and check databases to see if a vehicle has been reported stolen or is involved with an Amber Alert, Lt. Bill Slodysko said.
If they find a match, the cameras' computer will notify the officer via the laptop stationed in the front seat of the patrol car.

KATIE BARNES | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

A photograph of the car, its license plate number and the information culled from the database will pop up on the screen, Slodysko said.
The police department purchased the technology with a $29,000 grant, and has been training officers to use it since the system arrived last week.
The department is one of 500 nationwide to implement this technology, said Mark Young, public information officer.
"It's all upside for us," Slodysko said. "(Officers) can be doing their duties while this operates in the background."
In a day and a half of driving around town, the cameras captured and scanned 8,000 license plates, Slodysko said. The system has the ability to read 15 plates per second.
The technology will be used to check for stolen vehicles, to flag cars reported involved in a child abduction and to see if a car belonging to a registered sex offender may be in a school zone, Slodysko said.
The system also stores plates it scanned in a given shift, so if a car is reported stolen and the license plate has already been scanned, an officer can easily check where it was last seen, Slodysko said.
Each box contains two cameras, one that records color and another that is infrared and can still scan license plates in complete darkness, Slodysko said.
Young said the system doesn't violate privacy rights, as it scans things already available in the public domain.
"It can only display what's in the public view," Young said.
Reach PETER JENSEN at peter.jensen@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-715-2264.

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History News

The quirk of history that gave us Woodway
THURSDAY, 18 JUNE 2009 10:00
By John Owen

The Edmonds Beacon

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


We were walking the streets of Palm Springs, in our shirtsleeves, near New Year's Eve, 1996 when we happened to glance at a TV screen in a restaurant or hotel.

It flashed a news bulletin from Edmonds, Wa., where heavy snowfall had collapsed marina roofs, sinking a flotilla of pleasure boats.

A few days later the winter storm had eroded the land around an oceanside swimming pool with a sweeping view of Puget Sound, owned and used by Catholic nuns.

The people around us on the streets of Palm Springs probably didn't know whether they should pity or envy the residents of Edmonds.

After all the farmers around Mandan, N.D. also have winter storms, but precious few yachts or oceanside spas for the Sisters. And they are unaware of a quirk of history that granted us big-bucks neighbors on the bluffs adjoining the Edmonds City limits.

That history of Woodway was written in large part by David Whitcomb, who settled in Seattle near the turn of the century to oversee properties, owned by his family, of Amherst, Mass.

A sickly young man working for Whtcomb was advised by his doctor to seek outdoor employment.

Whitcomb gave the lad a horse, riding lessons and a mission, to find a site for a country estate outside Seattle, with views of mountains and seas.

The boy returned to suggest a site recently logged by A. M. Yost bordering the community of Edmonds.

"It's 320 acres and you must buy all or none of it," he reported.

Whitcomb negotiated for a price of $90,000 and established Woodway Park, setting restrictions to future owners including two-acre lots and prohibiting sub-divisions.

Whitcomb initially resided in the only structure on the property, known as Brown Owl Lodge. In 1927 he moved into an estate he called Westwold, which included farms, orchards, horses, cattle, goats, a private airport and polo grounds.

Instead of granting his son, David Jr., a weekly cash allowance, Whitcomb allowed him to run and pocket the profits from a cow barn and milk delivery route.

Tycoons like Pacific NW Bell President Walter Straley and Boeing honcho P.G. Johnson built estates in Woodway Park.

When Johnson died, his family donated the home and lands to the Dominican Sisters. The facility was once selected as the site of a Hollywood movie and the film’s producers added the swimming pool.

The sisters still own the facility, but have placed it up for sale. A bond issue on the August ballot would allow the community to acquire the estate for Woodway City offices, public reception areas and parklands.

My wife and I have often walked and biked the quiet streets of Woodway, past a sign posted on a quiet lane that reads, "Young Dog, Old Dog, Several Stupid Dogs. Please drive carefully."

As we stroll the streets and spot one of the new additions to the neighborhood like the natural stone structure at Woodway and Algonquin we nudge each other and remark, "Isn't that a beautiful estate and aren't you glad you don't have to pay the taxes?"

With the permission of the Dominican sisters we have also attended birding sessions on their property.

They didn't give me the name of the guy who drives the milk wagon through Woodway these days.

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Angelo building almost complete
Wednesday, June 17 | 9:36 p.m.
THE COLUMBIAN
AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


The new Angelo Building is nearing completion at 400 E. Mill Plain Blvd. in downtown Vancouver.

Crews are on track to finish work early next month on the first of two buildings in The Al Angelo Co.'s $57 million 400 Mill Plain Center in downtown Vancouver.

On the block between Mill Plain and 15th at D Street, the five-story, $18 million building greets Interstate 5 traffic exiting west into downtown. The revitalized location once was the site of a Denny's restaurant.

The Angelo Co. expects to move into the building's top floor in September and is working to lease the rest of the building to other office and retail users, said Craig Angelo, a principal in the family-controlled business.

The new building will eventually face a companion structure, planned to occupy the block directly to the west. No date has been set for construction to start on the second building, Angelo said.

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Seattle offers tax break to Russell Investments

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center
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The Tacoma Tribune
Published: 06/18/09 8:18 am | Updated: 06/18/09 8:19 am

SEATTLE --
The city of Seattle is offering Russell Investments a break on the business tax if the financial company moves its headquarters from Tacoma.

The Seattle Times reports the city council would have to approve the mayor's offer.

The city of Tacoma says it would phase out its business tax for Russell and offer other inducements worth millions of dollars to keep the company.

Russell had about 1,100 employees in four downtown Tacoma buildings last year, but has been cutting jobs in the recession.

Russell started in 1936 and grew into a global leader in managing pension funds. It's now owned by Milwaukee's Northwestern Mutual Life, which is expected to make a decision on the headquarters move by the end of September.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009

Tri-Cities great place for fresh start

By Pratik Joshi, Tri-City Herald staff writer

image hosted on flickr

(Fiesta Foods Grocery Store.)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


The Tri-Cities is ranked as the third best place in the U.S. to make a fresh start for people battered by the ongoing recession, says Business Week.

The recent article highlights Kennewick-Pasco-Richland as a place where jobs can be found and where homes are affordable.

Yakima came in at No. 4 on the list.

The Tri-Cities has a strong manufacturing, food processing, retail trade and services economy, and about 24 percent of companies plan to hire more employees from July through September, the article said.

Professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and government sectors also offer great job opportunities, said the story based on estimates from the employment services firm Manpower.

The write-up refers to the influx of federal money as an economy booster.

Carl Adrian, president and CEO of Tri-City Development Council, said besides helping clean up Hanford, the federal money is supporting the development of cutting edge technologies at Richland's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Local economy also has become diversified with the growth of the food processing and health care industries, he said.

And the increasing number of national chain retail stores in the Tri-Cities also suggests, "We are popping up on a lot of people's radar," he added.

A resilient economy doesn't mean everyone in town is doing well, he said. There are definitely many who are finding it hard to make ends meet, but there are fewer than in other communities, Adrian said.

A steady flow of federal money into the community has helped other sectors like retail and wholesale trade develop, too, said C. Mark Smith, Richland's former economic development manager. "We've reached a critical mass, and we are able to sustain it."

The Tri-Cities never had a housing bubble or a real credit crunch, he said. That's why new, diversified businesses have continued to grow despite the slow down, he said, adding he thinks new technology and clean energy will help bring more jobs to the community.

"This is a place for economic opportunities."

Anchorage, Alaska, and Provo-Orem, Utah, were the top two communities ahead of the Tri-Cities. Yakima was ranked fourth and Omaha, Neb./Council Bluffs, Iowa placed fifth in the Business Week list. You can read the article titled "Where Struggling Americans Can Find a Fresh Start" at www.businessweek.com.

[USAPatriot]

Recruiting Tenants for Lincoln Square 2

DowntownBellevue.com Staff.


(Video Link)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

A recent video created by the Bellevue Collection depicts the benefits of bringing businesses to the Eastside overall, and specifically the opportunity of occupying space at Lincoln Square 2 once it is complete.

There is no newinformation communicated in the video regarding features, time lines to build, companies occupying, etc. To our knowledge, this is the first external marketing that has been revealed for Lincoln Square 2.

Lincoln Square 2 has been been planned for some time now, but almost a year ago in July Kemper Development made an announcement that the project was delayed by “at least 15 months,” due to the downfall in the economy right before the building was slated to start. The project as planned would bring a 31-story office tower with over 500,000 sq. ft., a 42-story condo with 200 homes, as well as a hotel with 120 rooms. The end of October (15 months from the announcement) is coming quickly, and it’s likely that the project will still be on hold going into 2010.

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Seattle, Tacoma Mayors In War Of Words Over Company

PDT June 18, 2009
KIRO News Seattle Staff.
AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

image hosted on flickr

(Tacoma)

SEATTLE -- A war of words is building between the mayors of Seattle and Tacoma after a secret offer was made to lure away a major south sound business.

Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma is openly saying the move by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels was "poaching from a smaller neighbor."

The Russell Investment Group is important to Tacoma, employing about 1,000 people and bringing the reputation of an international investment firm to the downtown business core. The multibillion-dollar global financial firm has been headquartered in Tacoma since 1936, but officials there have recently indicated they may look for a new home.

Nickels is making a play for Russell, and Tacoma's mayor is not happy about it.

“If it's true what I read in the paper, it's regretful that the mayor is engaged in poaching,” Baarsma said.

“Obviously, we would welcome them,” Nickels said.

Baarsma, along with Rep. Norm Dicks of Bremerton and local business leaders, are working hard to convince the company to stay, including agreeing to phase out the business and occupation tax to make the deal more attractive.

Now Nickels is also making the same offer, and Baarsma is unhappy the move could come at the cost of a smaller neighboring city.

“I've had a good relationship with Greg. I'm disappointed, but I guess that's the way in which the game is played up north,” Baarsma said.

“We're not out trying to convince them that Tacoma is a bad place and they ought to move. They came to us; they said they were interested,” Nickels said.

Dicks said he spoke to Nickels and tried to convince him to back Tacoma and leave Russell where it is.

“Seattle is a huge city and having Russell there wouldn't make a great deal of difference, but having it in Tacoma is a big deal,” Dicks said.

Nickels said he didn't approach Russell Investments -- it came to him.

“If they stay in Tacoma that's just fine; if they wanna come to Seattle, that's great,” Nickels said. Baarsma said he has not had a chance to talk directly with Nickels about Seattle's offer to Russell.

The company is expected to make a decision to stay in Tacoma or relocate sometime in September.

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POSTED: Friday, Jun. 19, 2009

Hundreds more condos planned for Semiahmoo Spit
ZOE FRALEY - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD



BLAINE - The Semiahmoo Co. plans to build a mixed-use development with 325 condominiums and about 20,000 square feet of commercial space on the northern tip of Semiahmoo Spit.
The company submitted an application with the city of Blaine in late April for the Semiahmoo Resort Village development, which would span 25 acres of uplands and 12 acres of tidelands.
The project would include 10 resort condominium buildings with 366,000 square feet of residential space, a 1.2-acre public park, public and private courtyards, underground parking, and renovation of part of the Resort Semiahmoo hotel.
See a map of Semiahmoo Resort Village

Semiahmoo Co. is owned by Trillium Corp., whose founder David Syre helped develop Semiahmoo Spit as well as Bellis Fair mall and many other Whatcom County developments.
Semiahmoo Resort Village is a planned-unit development proposal arising from a Resort Semiahmoo master plan approved by Blaine in 1985. The village proposal has a few changes from the master plan that the city will have to approve, including an increase in condo units and a different layout for the buildings.
"The master plan already lays it out for a resort community, and this is a variation on that," said Blaine permit manager Michael Jones. "It's not between no development and this development; it's between this development and the original development."
Most of the land designated for new development is open space on the northern tip of the spit, which the National Audubon Society considers an important bird area. The developers have agreed to work with the city to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement, to be done by a consultant hired by the city.
"In Blaine, we have a really large over-wintering migratory bird population," Jones said. "Impacts on that population will be carefully evaluated."
Jones said the city also will look carefully at the project's impact on the marine environment, and that the new development fits aesthetically with the surroundings.
Pam Andrews of Trillium wrote in an e-mail that she hoped the city would approve the plan by early 2010. She said it was too early to estimate the project's price.
Jones said he wouldn't be surprised if it took about a year to get to the point of possibly approving the development. He wasn't sure what sort of reaction to expect from the public.
"It's been expected for a really long time," he said. "But people always have their reservations about change and development. I think it will be a mixed response."

MORE INFO:
http://www.semiahmoocompany.com/Home_Page.html