| Shopping
Center Proposed
August 08, 2003
Plans are moving ahead for a shopping
center along 116th Street NE, with WinCo Foods
as the probable anchor tenant.
White-Leasure Development Co. of Boise, Idaho,
recently bought land along the north side of
116th Street NE near the intersection with State
Avenue, according to county property records.
Plans filed with the city of Marysville call
for a shopping center, tentatively called Gateway
Center, on more than 13 acres there.
The center’s anchor store would be larger
than 92,000 square feet, according to site plans.
Two to three other retail spaces would range
in size up to 29,000 square feet.
While WinCo Foods, also based in Boise, is
a newcomer to the area, there are indications
that it is the planned anchor for Gateway Center,
as one of the recently purchased lots has the
taxpayer address listed on documents in the
Snohomish County Assessor’s Office as
WinCo’s corporate headquarters.
WinCo officials, however, declined to reveal
their specific plans.
Chris Holland, senior planner for the city
of Marysville, said the area along 116th Street
NE already is zoned for retail development.
As a result, no public hearing is required,
and approvals for the project could come within
the next several months.
Lake Stevens Marketplace
sold for $13.6 million
A group of investors from Eastern Washington
has purchased the Lake Stevens Marketplace on
Highway 9 for $13.6 million, according to county
property records.
Twin Falls Properties LLC, a partnership based
in Wenatchee, bought the shopping center at
303 91st Ave. NE from Wesbild Inc., a Canadian-owned
owner and manager of retail properties.
Terry Moss, president of Bellevue’s Commercial
Realty Group Inc., brokered the sale of the
10-year-old center. It sold before he even listed
it on the open market.
The busy area around Frontier Village, limited
land available for more commercial development
and continued residential growth in the Lake
Stevens area all make the Marketplace a desirable
development to own, Moss said. He added that
the center is fully leased.
In purchasing the shopping center, Twin Falls
Properties gets almost 100,000 square feet of
retail space on nearly 12 acres of land, according
to the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office.
Major tenants include Ace Hardware and Rite
Aid, though the deal does not include the Albertsons
store in the center, which is owned by the supermarket
chain, or a nearby bank building.
Magna Design garners
five-star Envirostars rating
Lynnwood-based Magna Design recently was given
the highest honor from Envirostars, a nationally
recognized program formed by Puget Sound counties
to certify and award businesses for their efforts
in preventing pollution and reducing hazardous
waste.
Magna, a producer of case goods, desking systems
and technology conference tables, was awarded
a five-star rating for its commitment to responsible
manufacturing, having over the past few years
implemented a “lean” manufacturing
program modeled after the program Toyota put
into practice to reduce waste and trim manufacturing
costs.
Some recent changes the company has implemented
include installing computerized optimizing and
cutting equipment in order to minimize wood
waste, sending wood waste out to be composted
for use in Northwest gardens and using water-based
products whenever possible.
Bothell biotech opens new lab
MDS Pharma Services officially opened its
new Canyon Park research facility July 17 with
a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a scientific symposium.
The company — a subsidiary of MDS Inc.
of Montreal, Canada — previously had local
offices divided between several locations in
Bothell. The new 58,000-square-foot space consolidates
those offices and includes state-of-the-art
laboratories, according to the company.
MDS Pharma Services offers a range of research
and development services for other pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies.
PSC Inc. to move headquarters
to Canyon Park campus
PSC Inc., a maker of bar-code scanners and
related equipment, is moving its corporate headquarters
from Portland, Ore., to the Canyon Park business
campus in south Snohomish County.
About 20 employees are expected to make the
move, which will happen in September. The headquarters
staff will eventually grow to include a customer
service team as well, according to the company.
PSC’s manufacturing facility will remain
in Eugene, Ore.
PSC is in the midst of a financial turnaround.
In June, the company announced that its reorganization
plan had been approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in New York, allowing it to take the final
actions necessary to emerge from Chapter 11.
Under the plan, creditor Littlejohn & Co.
will convert most of the debt it acquired from
PSC last November into ownership equity in the
company. The transaction will convert PSC from
a publicly traded company into a private firm,
while reducing its debt from $124 million to
less than $35 million.
ICOS expects drug approval
by end of year
ICOS Corp. said it has submitted updated information
about its anti-impotence drug to federal regulators,
furthering expectations that the drug will be
approved before 2003 ends.
Bothell-based ICOS and its development partner
for the drug, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly
& Co., revealed in July that they submitted
additional information about Cialis to the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration during the second
quarter of this year.
That step could be the last major one before
Cialis gains approval for use by patients in
this country. It would be ICOS’ first
drug to receive final approval for sale.
The companies’ recent submission was
meant to satisfy the FDA’s surprise request
in April 2002 for additional data on possible
side
effects of the drug. That required doing
more clinical studies over the past year.
“The FDA did tell us that the response
is complete,” said Lacy Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman
for ICOS. Assuming the FDA doesn’t come
back again and ask for additional data, it is
expected to take up to six months from the submission
date to review and approve Cialis, she added.
Cialis already is in approximately 35 countries,
including much of Europe. There, it has captured
20 to 30 percent of the anti-impotence market,
according to early sales figures.
Seattle Genetics approves
stock-placement deal
Shareholders in Seattle Genetics Inc. of Bothell
approved a plan to sell $41 million of stock
and warrants for future stock purchases to a
group of investors, doubling the biotechnology
firm’s cash reserves.
The stock-placement deal, first announced in
May, gives the investors, led by JP Morgan Partners
and Baker Brothers Investments of New York,
ownership of about one-third of the Bothell
company’s shares. The money will fund
ongoing clinical trials and research into antibody-based
therapies to treat cancer and other diseases.
Everett City Council approves
zoning measure for pier project
The Everett City Council unanimously changed
its shoreline zoning regulations in July to
allow construction of a new pier that city officials
say is needed to persuade the Boeing Co. to
build its proposed 7E7 Dreamliner jet in Everett.
Mayor Frank Anderson said after the council’s
unanimous vote July 16 that “Boeing has
a huge impact on our economy, and the pier will
help the economy of the whole region move into
the future.”
The move allows the Port of Everett to bypass
zoning changes needed to build the pier, which
would be linked by rail to Boeing’s south
Everett factory. The council also approved rezoning
areas adjoining the proposed pier to allow stores
and offices.
Several city, state and federal agencies must
still give their approval to the pier, which
would be built just outside the Mukilteo city
limits.
Fluke’s SureGrip line recognized
by Business Week
Everett-based Fluke Corp.’s SureGrip
accessory line recently won a Silver Award in
the annual ISDA/Business Week magazine industrial
design competition.
Introduced earlier this year, Fluke’s
SureGrip accessories include an eight-item line
of ergonomically designed test lead clips, hooks
and pincers for electronic test and measurement.
Contour Aerospace gets new parent
A merger involving the parent company of Contour
Aerospace in Everett was completed in July.
Vought Aircraft Industries of Dallas said it
now owns Aerostructures Corp., Contour’s
parent, which will operate as a subsidiary of
Vought. The combined company, which will design
and manufacture airframe structures, employs
6,000 employees in seven locations and forecasts
annual revenues of $1.4 billion.
Contour Aerospace’s Everett plant, which
machines small aircraft parts, employs about
100 people.
Port of Everett receives federal grant
to improve security
The Port of Everett has been awarded a $580,000
federal grant to improve security at its facilities
along the waterfront, officials said in July.
The money from the Transportation Security
Administration will primarily be used to install
fences and controlled access gates around the
port’s marine terminals, said Ed Paskovskis,
deputy port director.
The port, in conjunction with the ports of
Seattle and Tacoma, had earlier received a federal
grant to study its security. Based on the study,
the port had sought $1.5 million for completing
the work.
Paskovskis said the fences and security gates
were the most important items on the list. The
three ports had also sought money to establish
a common communications network that would link
the three ports with local law enforcement agencies
and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The grant doesn’t cover that project,
but Paskovskis said it’s possible more
money might be available for that later.
Safeway begins online shopping
services in region
Safeway Inc. has begun offering online grocery
shopping to residents in parts of Snohomish
County.
The company announced in July that it was taking
orders at www.safeway.com and would begin delivering
groceries to homes, from Bothell to Marysville,
on July 28.
The Bothell store is one of five around Puget
Sound to begin deliveries of items ordered online.
The others are in Issaquah, Puyallup, Redmond
and Renton. Service in central Seattle will
begin Aug. 11, after Safeway opens a new Seattle
store.
The company said it is adding 42 employees
at the stores to handle online orders.
To use the service, shoppers must register
at the Web site. After placing an order, they
can choose a two-hour window between 10 a.m.
and 8 p.m. for the delivery. Same-day delivery
is available for those who order before 10 a.m.
There is a $6.95 charge for each delivery.
Safeway Club Card holders will get the same
discounts they would receive shopping in person.
Albertsons has offered a similar service in
south Snohomish County through its Web site,
albertsons.com, since 2000.
Tourism Bureau recognized
for volunteer program
The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program recently
honored the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau
with the Teams Work Award in recognition of
its cooperative efforts in promoting volunteer
opportunities for retired and senior volunteers.
The Tourism Bureau coordinates the activities
for 150 volunteers and maintains one of Washington
state’s largest volunteer-operated visitor
information center programs.
Keller Williams breaks records
for profit sharing, new agents
Keller Williams Realty recently reported big
numbers for May: a company record for monthly
profit share — distributing $1.3 million
— and a monthly record for new agents
— 1,481.
The real estate company’s profit share,
which is distributed to qualifying agents and
employees at virtually every level, has totaled
$8.4 million during the past 12 months, and
$21.8 million during the past five years, the
company said.
The Northwest region of Austin-based Keller
Williams, which includes Washington, Idaho and
Oregon, is one of the fastest-growing regions
in the country, the company said, with 10 market
centers and more than 680 agents. Several of
those market centers already are sharing profits.
Coastal Community Bank
surpasses $100 million in assets
Everett-based Coastal Community Bank recently
surpassed the $100 million mark for assets.
“We are very proud of this milestone
accomplishment because it reflects the confidence
the community has placed in us and their appreciation
of our vision,” bank President Lee Pintar
said.
Since its founding six years ago, Coastal has
opened branches in Monroe and Sultan, and started
an employee giving fund.
New businesses, locations
In Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union has opened
its newest branch at 3925 196th St. SW in Lynnwood.
The 70-year-old credit union, which is open
to anyone who lives or works in Snohomish, King
and Pierce counties, also operates branches
in Seattle, Northgate, Tukwila and Kirkland.
For more information, call 800-334-2489.
In Lipstick Junkie — A Mini Spa &
Beauty Boutique, located at 2610 Colby Ave.,
in Everett, is holding a grand opening Aug.
2. The boutique, which will offer airbrush tanning,
facials, waxing, manicures and pedicures, and
makeovers, also will carry a number of European
bath and body products. For more information
or to make an appointment, call 425-339-8560
or visit Lipstick Junkie’s Web site, www.lipstickjunkie.com.
© 2003 The Daily Herald Co., Everett,
WA
source:-http://www.heraldbusinessjournal.com
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