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Puget Sound Business Journal
New North Seattle College president already a familiar face on campus
Rachel Solemsaaswas announced on Tuesday as the new permanent president of North Seattle College, effective July 1.<\p> Since September she has been interim president of the college, which serves over 10,000 students a year.<\p>
Credit Union breaks ground on new Frederickson branch
TAPCO Credit Union broke ground on a planned 5,300-square-foot building in the Frederickson area earlier this month.<\p> The new branch at 5320 176th St. E. will replace the credit union’s existing Fredrickson branch, which is located in a smaller space adjacent to the Safeway on 176th Street East.<\p>
Piece of the former Northwest Motorsport portfolio gets snapped up
Another former Northwest Motorsport property sold last week, this time for 22% less it was acquired for in 2022. <\p> The transaction marks the second time this spring a property that had been part of the former dealership's Puyallup portfolio has traded.<\p>
Clay Siegall-led biotech inks lease for Bothell HQ
Biotech company Immunome Inc. (Nasdaq: IMNM) has signed a lease and is moving into a 29,344-square-foot headquarters at Bothell's Alloy Innovation Center.<\p> Commercial real estate firm Newmark Group Inc., which represented Immunome, on Monday announced the lease at the six-building campus. Newmark said Immunome has the option to more than double its space at Alloy through the lease.<\p>
Distillery to take over Pike Brewing production space on Post Alley
Pike Brewing Co.'s downtown Seattle brewery near Pike Place Market has a new tenant. <\p> Copperworks Distilling Co., which uses beer brewed without hops to make its single-malt whiskey, has leased the 12,000-square-foot brewery and warehouse below Pike Brewing's pub at 1415 First Ave. <\p>
Major landlords targeted by class-action lawsuits over pricing
Several major apartment landlords from across the country are under fire over rental rates — allegations that have spawned a wave of class-action lawsuits and garnered the attention of state and federal authorities. <\p> The lawsuits have high-stakes for the apartment market and beyond, with potential to shape how pricing software could be utilized in multiple industries. <\p>
Punk Rock Flea Market coming to development site on Capitol Hill
Seattle development company Hunters Capital is moving forward with its latest project, a mixed-use apartment building where a QFC operated on 15th Avenue East. And as Hunters waits to demolish the grocery, the Punk Rock Flea Market is set to move in temporarily.<\p> Construction is targeted to begin in 2025, "but we have to have the financing environment change a little bit before we have shovels in the ground," Michael Oaksmith, Hunters president of development, said Monday.<\p>
Opinion: How Washington schools can replenish the workforce pipeline
Washington is facing a workforce dilemma. We may offer a variety of exciting opportunities in high-growth sectors and one of the highest starting salaries in the country, but businesses in the Evergreen State still struggle to fill positions. In fact, there are just 77 workers for every 100 open jobs.<\p> For high school seniors with an eye on high-paying, long-lasting careers, the labor shortage is opening doors that had always remained locked unless they completed trade school or college. School districts across the state have launched successful workforce development programs, and students are building real-world job skills during the school day, while savvy business owners welcome a ready-made workforce.<\p>
Seattle University president's contract extended
Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver will be with the school through at least June 2029, thanks to a three-year contract extension.<\p> Peñalver, who replaced Stephen Sundborg in 2021, is the university's 22nd president and notably its first who isn't a Jesuit priest. He grew up in a Catholic family in Puyallup and attended his local parish school before attending public high school. <\p>
Interactive museum to open in former downtown Seattle retail space
A new immersive attraction called the Museum of Illusions is opening this month in downtown Seattle. <\p> The Croatia-based museum chain is filling more than 9,000 square feet in the Skinner Building at 1330 Fifth Ave., in a space most recently filled by Ben Bridge Jeweler. <\p>
Opinion: Seattle needs to take its Stadium District seriously
Cities across the country have discovered how to revitalize their downtowns by leveraging new stadiums to attract economic development and private investment. The results are dynamic, 24-hour mixed-use master-planned neighborhoods centered around sports, entertainment and culture. <\p> With uses that include restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, galleries and lofts, entertainment districts have taken off. The list of cities that have jumped on board includes a who’s who of sports-loving towns: Denver, San Diego, Milwaukee, Chicago, Tampa, Los Angeles and Kansas City, Missouri.<\p>
Homeowners continue to build equity, impacting future buying decisions
American homeowners continue to build significant equity even as the housing market has slowed and home prices aren't rising as rapidly as they did in recent years.<\p> U.S. homeowners with a mortgage pulled in $28,000 in equity gains on average year over year in the first quarter, the highest amount since late 2022, according to CoreLogic Inc. That average year-over-year increase of 9.6% translates to a collective gain of $1.5 trillion and means net homeowner equity totaled more than $17 trillion at the end of Q1.<\p>
As tech hiring hits lull, another sector appears poised to take off
Though some of the Seattle area’s largest tech companies have smaller workforces in the wake of industrywide layoffs, space companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin have been adding workers amid rapid growth.<\p> Microsoft, Google, T-Mobile, Expedia and DocuSign all had lower local headcounts this year compared with 2023, according to new research from the Business Journal. <\p>
Shoreline apartment project sees 'fantastic' lease-up, developer says
The new 476-unit Canopy Apartment project in Shoreline is harvesting rents "well north of the $3 a square foot," says Willis Chin, vice president of development at Shea Properties.<\p> "The lease-up is going fantastic," he said on June 11, when the project was nearly 60% leased nine months after it opened at 18815 Aurora Ave. N.<\p>
Microsoft delays rollout of AI feature over security concerns
When Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: MSFT) new Surface devices ship to customers on Tuesday, they'll be missing an artificial intelligence-powered feature that was a key selling point for the new personal computers.<\p> At Microsoft's Build conference in May the company unveiled Recall, a new tool that takes frequent screenshots of a user's activity that users can later search in order to "recall" a link, message or file, even if users don't remember where they saw it.<\p>
Zillow, home-listing services reach preliminary settlement in lawsuit
Seattle-based real estate tech company Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ZG) has reached a preliminary settlement in an antitrust suit it filed in December.<\p> Zillow filed the suit against two multiple listing services and an MLS consortium for removing a Zillow tool from their platforms. The preliminary settlement, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, didn't disclose terms but said paperwork for the final settlement should be complete within about a month.<\p>
Meet the person building Seattle's new public safety department
As the first head of Seattle’s new Community Assisted Response and Engagement Department, Amy Smith doesn’t have a moment to spare.<\p> She carries two phones and listens to the police radio around the clock while building a department that was born out of the social unrest after George Floyd’s murder.<\p>
Shake Shack sets opening date for Bellevue Square location
Welcome to The Digest, the Business Journal's weekly roundup of restaurant news. On Fridays, I chronicle openings, closings and other happenings in the culinary and beverage scenes across the Puget Sound region. I also check in on where the top chefs are expanding, where to grab a business lunch and what's new in the restaurant scene. And yes, I work for tips — contact me at jthompson@bizjournals.com or 206-876-5440.<\p> Cult burger chain Shake Shack is opening its sixth Seattle-area location next week.<\p>
Former Pike Place Market PDA director: 'This job has a shelf life'
Mary Bacarella said taking over the reins at Pike Place Market was like watching her life pass before her eyes.<\p> The Michigan native first set foot in the market 40 years ago, as the volunteer business manager for the improv company Unexpected Productions. She then spent time in executive positions for the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Seattle International Film Festival. She took over as executive director for the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority in 2018.<\p>
Branding guru lists North Seattle custom-built home (Photos)
Jack Anderson — known for creating branding strategies used by Starbucks, Microsoft and others — is selling his custom-designed Seattle home on the market for $11 million.<\p> A branding guru, Anderson recently retired as chairman of Sid Lee, formerly known as Hornall Anderson, which he co-founded.<\p>
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