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Puget Sound Business Journal
Cancer-fighting biotech startup InduPro raises $85M round
InduPro Inc., a biotech company dual-headquartered in Seattle and Cambridge, Massachusetts, has raised an $85 million Series A round.<\p> The company, which announced the round on Thursday, said it will use the funding to get its cancer treatment from preclinical to filing for phase 1 trials in the fourth quarter of 2025. <\p>
SLU asset the latest stop on multifamily's search for the bottom
When is it no longer news that a Seattle multifamily asset sells for less than it did five or 10 years earlier? It's becoming an almost daily occurrence in the Puget Sound region.<\p> The colorful Chroma building in the South Lake Union area is the newest on the list. It sold for $92 million, or $22 million less than what it traded for five years ago.<\p>
Bay Area robotics startup to open Seattle office after $100M round
Santa Clara, California-based robotics startup Collaborative Robotics, aka Cobot, is opening a new Seattle office this month.<\p> The company will have a 6,000-square-foot space at 100 NE Northlake Way, north of Lake Union, that houses 30 employees, a spokesperson said. <\p>
Downtown Seattle Hilton has a new owner and new name
The Hilton hotel in downtown Seattle has been sold to Japanese hotel company APA Group, which announced it will rebrand the property.<\p> The 256-room hotel at 1301 Sixth Ave. traded for $68.8 million, per an excise tax affidavit filed in King County Thursday. The sales price, which included $7.1 million for beds, furniture and equipment, was 25% less than the property's assessed value of $92.2 million.<\p>
Gourmondo names CEO following Angela Dunleavy's departure
Gourmondo founder Alissa Leinonen has returned as the Seattle catering company's CEO. <\p> In early 2023, Leinonen handed the reins of the company she founded nearly 30 years ago to former FareStart CEO Angela Dunleavy. Last month, Dunleavy left Gourmondo to start her own hospitality company and Leinonen returned to the helm. <\p>
Tax software company Avalara no longer calls Seattle home
Tax software company Avalara is no longer calling Seattle its headquarters.<\p> The company, which was ranked as the 19th-largest tech employer in Washington last year with 700 local employees, now hangs its hat in Durham, North Carolina. The company recently updated its LinkIn page to reflect the change.<\p>
Most Americans still struggle to get away from work while on vacation
Most Americans struggle to get away from work while on vacation, even as some progress is being seen in restoring work-life balance.<\p> About 59% of the 2,000 Americans surveyed by communications firm Movchan Agency said they struggled to switch off during their downtime and 63% said they felt anxious if they didn’t check work emails while away. Overall, 54% said they worked while on vacation, although that's a lower share than previous years. <\p>
Full-block South Lake Union property sells at 25% discount
A South Lake Union apartment and office property partially leased to Amazon has sold for $115 million in an off-market deal, buyer Timberlane Partners said Wednesday.<\p> The price is around a quarter less than the property's assessed value of nearly $154 million, and about $35 million less than what project developer Vulcan Real Estate sold the asset, Stack House apartments and the Supply Laundry Building, for nine years ago to institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives.<\p>
The Playbook: The common pay threads for high-performing companies
Editor's Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business and career. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. <\p> During a time when more workers expect transparency around pay, most top-performing companies are proving to be forthcoming — but that's not the only common thread. <\p>
Seattle accelerator Spectral to acquire Hong Kong cloud company
Seattle-based accelerator Spectral Capital Corp. is acquiring Node Nexus Network, a cloud computing company based in Hong Kong.<\p> Spectral expects the deal, which was announced Friday, to close by the end of July, according to a news release. <\p>
Industrial giant to redevelop Port of Tacoma property
Prologis Inc. is planning a $50 million redevelopment of one of its industrial buildings located in the heart of the Port of Tacoma, according to documents filed with the city of Tacoma.<\p> The San Francisco-based industrial real estate giant submitted pre-application documents for the project, called Building 9, earlier this month.<\p>
Bellevue mayor credits Amazon for city's affordable housing gains
Since Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) launched its Housing Equity Fund in 2021, the fund has helped Bellevue double its affordable housing stock, Mayor Lynne Robinson said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday.<\p> The fund — initially $2 billion and later upped to $2.2 billion — has contributed to the creation and preservation of 1,488 housing units in Bellevue for residents making up to 80% of the area median income (AMI). <\p>
Group of retailers shutter at Pioneer Square's RailSpur project
A restaurant, a coffee house, a corner market and a bike shop at the RailSpur development in Pioneer Square have closed. <\p> The four businesses opened on the ground floor of 115 S. Jackson St. starting in November 2022. They were part of a full-block development known as RailSpur from Denver-based Urban Villages meant to help revitalize the historic neighborhood with new retail, a hotel, housing and office space. <\p>
Kidder Mathews promotes longtime employee to lead division
Kidder Mathews on Tuesday announced the promotion of Erin French to president of asset services.<\p> French, who leads the division across the company's offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Nevada, was promoted from chief operating officer in recognition of her leadership, operational skills and business development success, Kidder Mathews Chairman and CEO Bill Frame said.<\p>
Bay Area corporate card unicorn to open Seattle office
San Francisco-based corporate card startup Brex is opening a downtown Seattle office.<\p> A Brex spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the move, adding that the company has more than 200 employees in the Pacific Northwest, including more than 60 in the Seattle area. The spokesperson didn't immediately provide details about the size or precise location of the office or when it will open. <\p>
Alaska Airlines partnership adds new way for flyers to cross the pond
Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK) is expanding its partnership with British Airways, allowing travelers to book direct flights from Seattle to London through Alaska's website.<\p> British Airways operates two daily direct flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and London Heathrow.<\p>
UW President Ana Mari Cauce to retire next year
University of Washington Ana Mari Cauce on Wednesday said she will step down from her leadership role next year and return to her faculty role.<\p> Cauce, who announced her plan to the campus via video, is among the longest-tenured presidents of the UW, which initially hired her in 1986 as an assistant psychology professor.<\p>
NAR settlement threw a wrench into VA loans but a fix is coming
The class-action lawsuits that rocked the residential real estate industry over the past year have resulted in nearly $1 billion in settlements so far — and also put in place changes that could have hurt veterans’ ability to shop for homes.<\p> The National Association of Realtors and big brokers such as RE/MAX Holdings Inc., Anywhere Real Estate Inc. and Keller Williams Realty Inc. agreed to prohibit mandatory so-called “cooperation agreements,” in which sellers pay both the selling agent and the buyers agent commission for a sale, in exchange for being allowed to list a home on a multiple listing service.<\p>
Editor's notebook: It takes a village, but an office might suffice
Child care is a quiet crisis in the Puget Sound region and throughout the U.S. The lack of accessible and affordable child care options has forced many families to appoint a primary earner and a primary caretaker.<\p> While these decisions don’t necessarily surface in unemployment statistics, which was 3.9% in Seattle last month, the lack of eligible workers weighs on the job market.<\p>
Constantine updates plan to remake 7 blocks in downtown Seattle
King County Executive Dow Constantine on Tuesday used his State of the County address to talk about his Civic Campus Initiative, which he introduced a year ago.<\p> Spanning seven blocks of obsolete buildings and other aged facilities, it could become one of the nation's largest urban redevelopments, with the potential for thousands of residential units in what Constantine described as a mixed-income community in a low-emission, clean energy district with affordable retail spaces and safe public places.<\p>
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