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Puget Sound Business Journal
Warehouse linked to Frye Museum foundation sells to national investor
A warehouse in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood owned by an entity linked to Frye Art Museum's foundation sold last week for $23 million, according to King County records.<\p> The buyer is an entity affiliated with New York-based private equity firm Fortress Investment Group.<\p>
California firm acquires another Seattle-area investment adviser
Redmond-based registered investment adviser Joslin Capital Advisors has been acquired by Beacon Pointe Advisors, which is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.<\p> The firms announced the deal Tuesday but said it closed at the end of May. According to a Beacon Pointe spokesperson, all six of Joslin Capital's employees are joining Beacon Pointe, which has 518 employees now.<\p>
Opinion: Gatekeepers are blocking our collective potential
In the vibrant landscapes of cities like Seattle, narratives around women, leadership and community engagement stand tall and fierce. Yet, beneath this vibrancy lies the shadow of gatekeeping, an unspoken reality that haunts many leaders, particularly women, as they navigate their ascent in business, the community and the workplace. <\p> Gatekeeping means using someone to block direct communication between an individual and a person in power. It’s designed to consolidate opportunity and power within the hands of a few, effectively sidelining promising leaders. This practice, deeply embedded in our organizations and communities, emerges as a formidable barrier to innovation, diversity and collective progress. <\p>
Biotech company Vilya lands cash for disease-fighting 'macrocycles'
Vilya Inc., a biotech startup based Seattle and with operations in South San Francisco, California, on Tuesday announced an expanded $71 million Series A round.<\p> David Baker, a University of Washington professor of biochemistry, co-founded the biotech, which launched in 2022 with $50 million in funding. Vilya is focused on macrocycles, ring-like molecules that can alter protein interactions and fight disease.<\p>
South Lake Union hotel to rebrand under new management
The Pan Pacific Hotel in South Lake Union will soon be under new management and have a new name.<\p> In 2025, the hotel at 2125 Terry Ave. will be known as 1 Hotel Seattle, with a focus on what the 1 Hotels group calls "sustainable luxury" and the "restorative power of nature." <\p>
Former KCTS building at Seattle Center now has a new use
With Cascade PBS having completed its move across town to First Hill, the nonprofit media company's former headquarters at Seattle Center is now the M5 Creative Building, at least for now.<\p> The Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED) and Seattle Center are partnering to temporarily repurpose the building at Fifth Avenue and Mercer Street to "attract, grow, and keep production teams in Seattle," the city announced on Tuesday.<\p>
Where typical home values have pushed higher than $1M
Nestled amid the palm trees of Jupiter Island, Florida, is a three-bedroom, five-bathroom house with a pool on a half-acre lot.<\p> The 2,798-square-foot house, only steps to the beach and offering ocean views, is currently listed on the market for $5.1 million. As of the time of publication, it's the cheapest house for sale on Jupiter Island, which boasts the highest median home value in America, according to Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ZG).<\p>
Opinion: Access to child care is a barrier to career building
When I think about leaders who have inspired me early in my career, I envision someone who fearlessly pursues their vision for the future, personally and professionally. In today’s landscape, that entails empowering others to do the same through their example. <\p> My life’s mission has always been to raise strong and capable daughters who also courageously trailblaze a path for a better world for all, one where women can claim their power and be their authentic selves without barriers and thrive. <\p>
Jeff Bezos closes on 'Billionaire Bunker' mansion for $87M
A trust controlled by billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder of Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., paid $87 million for a waterfront mansion in Indian Creek, Florida.<\p> The deal for the home in the village known as “Billionaire Bunker” for its many wealthy residents was expected since Bloomberg reported in April that Bezos had the home under contract.<\p>
Most top-performing companies take this position on pay transparency
Most top-performing companies are proving to be open and transparent about pay at a time when workers increasingly expect it.<\p> That finding comes from compensation data and software provider Payscale Inc., which recently analyzed companies that beat their own revenue goals to find what they had in common. <\p>
California investor acquires Tacoma apartment complex
A South Tacoma apartment complex has been acquired for $18.5 million, the seller's broker announced Thursday.<\p> The buyer of the 88-unit Bella Vista at 3502 S. Mason Ave. is Bella Vista Business LLC, a Fremont, California-based entity governed by Paul Lin. It was 97% occupied at the time of the sale.<\p>
Blink UX CEO retires 24 years after co-founding company
Blink UX CEO and co-founder Karen Clark Cole retired last week, 24 years after starting the user experience research and design firm that was eventually sold to an India-based IT giant.<\p> Cole, who used her art degree to break into the world of graphic design and the tech industry, said in a LinkedIn post in late May that she would hand off leadership of the company to Geoff Harrison, the chief of design. Cole's last day was May 31.<\p>
Business Journal announces 2024 Health Care Heroes honorees
Though they have grappled with unparalleled hardships in the wake of the pandemic and fentanyl crisis, front-line workers across the Puget Sound region have found new ways to improve their patients’ experiences. <\p> In recognition of those individuals who are going beyond their job descriptions to serve their communities, the Puget Sound Business Journal has named 14 Health Care Heroes for 2024. <\p>
Eastgate office-to-townhomes proposal clears hurdle
A proposal to demolish a 1980s-era office building off of Interstate 90 to make way for 67 townhomes received an environmental determination of non-significance May 30 from the the Bellevue Development Services Department.<\p> Homebuilder Intracorp bought the 3.7-acre property at 3190 160th Ave. SE a year ago for $18 million but didn't say what it was planning.<\p>
Jury awards failed WA electric aviation startup $72M from Boeing
A jury in federal court on Thursday awarded failed electric aviation startup Zunum Aero, which was headquartered in Redmond, $72 million after it agreed that Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) misappropriated Zunum's trade secrets and interfered with its business.<\p> Zunum, which was founded in 2013, first filed its complaint in King County in 2020 before the case was moved to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in 2021. The case centered on whether Boeing, as an investor in Zunum, had taken proprietary Zumum trade secrets to sabotage Zunum's search for more investors and partnerships.<\p>
New report ranks WA top state for women-owned small businesses
Washington is the best state for female small business owners, according to a new report.<\p> About 42% of businesses in the Evergreen State are women-owned, the largest share in the U.S., a study conducted by small business loan platform Lendio has found. Furthermore, 34% of those establishments generate more than $1 million in annual revenue.<\p>
Davis Wright Tremaine's new Seattle head welcomes future of AI in law
Wendy Kearns began her career as a programmer in Silicon Valley. The nascent tech industry of the late 1980s and early 1990s was an ideal setting for a self-described “computer goober” who had programming in her DNA.<\p> But as the industry evolved over the next decade, so did her ambitions. Having worked in tech since she was a teenager, Kearns decided to go back to school. Thanks to a “second job” dealing with contracts at one of the tech startups she was working at, she worked alongside a lawyer who would help her into Santa Clara University Law School.<\p>
Editor's notebook: Light rail will be a heavy lift in South Lake Union
Sound Transit’s decision to move ahead with the planned light rail stations around Amazon’s headquarters last week makes for great drama. Not that tired old “Seattle sticks it to Amazon” storyline that played on a loop for half a decade. No, this was not that.<\p> Sound Transit’s board had to move ahead with a decision that will likely be better in the long run — but it’s going to make a lot of people uncomfortable for the next eight years or so. Specifically, the 50,000 people who work for the city’s largest employer.<\p>
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