Developer Rob Aigner Inducted into NAIOPWA Hall of Fame; Vulcan Real Estate Takes Home Developer of the Year Trophy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Warnberg, [email protected]
 
BELLEVUE—Announced Friday evening at the Night of the Stars Gala, the Night of the Stars winners feature a premier slate of development projects and top brokers in the Puget Sound region.  Winners represented widespread innovation and excellence across office, retail, industrial, hospitality, and multifamily development.

Notable winning projects include a massive Microsoft modernization project, East Campus Modernization Project; dedicated practice facility for Seattle’s WNBA team, the Seattle Storm; and Holland Partner Group’s newest high-rise residential tower, The Ayer, among others.  Vulcan Real Estate was named the Developer of the Year for their expansive portfolio, market leadership in sustainability and diversity, and nimbleness in changing market conditions.  The full list of winners is below.

NAIOPWA Announces 2024 Night of the Stars Finalists & First Winners: Historic Renovation, Local Taproom, & Tenant-Focused Industrial Project Ushering Community Renaissance

People’s Choice Award with Daily Voting on the NAIOPWA website begins Wednesday, September 18

SEATTLE – Announced today at the “Women Who Build Seattle” breakfast panel, finalists for NAIOP Washington State’s 2024 Night of the Stars Awards showcased the premier commercial real estate developments that are revitalizing the Puget Sound region, from office and residential towers to well-positioned industrial and biotech campuses.  

This year, finalists include six candidates for Developer of the Year, representing a mix of industrial, multifamily, mixed use and office developers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Sarah Warnberg, [email protected]

NAIOPWA to Partner with Commercial Brokers Association on Industry Awards

Commercial real estate association now soliciting nominations for 2024 awards cycle recognizing leading brokers in Washington State.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Warnberg, [email protected]

The Seattle City Council recently rejected a proposal to move forward with a comprehensive plan amendment that would pave the way for Transportation Impact Fees in the City. As a commercial real estate association that advocates on behalf of our members, NAIOP Washington State opposed this effort to add unnecessary and harmful fees to the already costly development process. Though the City made the right decision, other municipalities continue to consider impact fees or fee increases, and the proposal could come forward again in Seattle in the future.

In 2023, NAIOP Washington State successfully defeated a bill during the legislative session that would have increased the real estate excise tax (REET). We anticipate similar legislation during the 2024 Washington State Legislative Session. During this session, REET may be rebranded as a “transfer tax.”  While we were previously successful in our efforts to stop a REET increase from moving forward, NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs team is actively engaged to defeat its passage once again.

With the start of the 2024 Washington State legislative session, bills overturning the current state pre-emption to rent control have been brought forward, as well as proposals which would implement state-wide rent control measures.  We strongly oppose any efforts to implement rent control, as well as efforts to overturn the state’s pre-emption.  It is important to take a sober look at why rent control is bad policy.

The latest results of the 2023 Seattle City Council election indicate a new phase for NAIOPWA’s local advocacy.  Through a substantial fundraising effort, we were able to support candidates in key races who offer a change in direction for many important issues our industry faces.

SEATTLE – NAIOP Washington State is proud to announce the SIOR Broker of the Year Finalists.  These finalists are recognized for their outstanding achievements in office, industrial and investment brokerage.  SIOR, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, is the leading global professional office and industrial real estate association.  The winners of the following SIOR Broker of the Year categories will be announced alongside this year's outstanding development projects at the 2023 Night of the Stars gala and awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue on Friday, November 3, 2023. 

Tom Parsons, prominent figure of the Puget Sound commercial real estate community, will be inducted into the NAIOP Washington State Hall of Fame on Nov. 3 at the annual Night of the Stars awards ceremony and gala. The honoree is well-known for his time at Holland Partner Group, where he served as Executive Managing Director. Parsons was responsible for all development operations and strategic planning, including site acquisition and project entitlement, design, and execution. He oversaw the development of over 5,000 apartment units while at the company.

The 2023 inductee previously held roles at Opus Northwest, Fisher Properties, and Bircher McDonald Frank before joining Holland. He has taken many leadership roles throughout his professional career, including serving as President of NAIOP Washington State in 2001. His professional affiliations include 20+ years as a member of NAIOPWA and extend to NMHC, ULI, DSA, and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Parsons has been a longtime volunteer with the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County on the organization's Champions Council. 

2023 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars Finalists & First Winners Announced | Annual People’s Choice Award with Daily Voting Runs Sept 20 – Oct 6

SEATTLE – Announced at NAIOP Washington State’s September Breakfast, the slate of competitors for the association’s annual Night of the Stars Awards once again showcases the best commercial real estate development projects across the state completed in the past year. With the announcement, People's Choice voting begins online and runs through Weds., Oct. 6. 

Vote for People's Choice!

The 2023 legislative session drew to a close in April, marking the end of a session that has been billed by some as the ‘Year of Housing’ for Washington State. A remarkable 1,776 bills were introduced, and a staggering number of those bills pertained to housing, development, and commercial real estate.

NAIOP Washington State, a nonpartisan organization committed to creating a favorable political and regulatory environment for the commercial real estate industry, engaged deeply with lawmakers to advise on these bills and advocate for our industry. Lawmakers engaged NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs Committee leadership before session, requesting input on proposed bills and assistance in authoring bills, and continued to engage with NAIOPWA throughout the legislative session.

Ballots are now in the mail for the August 1st Primary Election, and to help NAIOP members support business-friendly candidates in key local races. Please see our Primary Election Voting Guide for voting insights. It recommends the top two most business-friendly candidates in important local races. 

On Monday, April 17, the legislature enters the final week of the 2023 legislative session.  Next week will focus on reconciliation of changes to bills from the opposite house.  The main priority will be passage of the two-year operating budget. To read more, click below. You must be logged in to your NAIOPWA member profile to access the full report. For more details about membership, email Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Read the full report

The Washington State legislature is moving into the final two weeks of session.  Adjournment is scheduled on April 23. Full legislative reports are available exclusively to our NAIOPWA chapter members. To learn more about the benefits of membership, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Read the full report

The Washington State legislature has completed work in policy committees for this session. Fiscal committees meet over the weekend and have a deadline of Tuesday, April 4 to complete their work.  Other than bills that are part of the budget, committee consideration will end, and the focus for the remainder of the session will be floor consideration of the bills that remain.

Log in to your NAIOPWA member profile to access the complete report. To join, please reach out to Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Read the full report

Today is day 75 of the 105-day legislative session.  Hearings in policy committees will be held Monday to Wednesday of next week, ending on March 29.  Fiscal committees will then meet until April 4.

Read the rest of the report, including exclusive bill tracking, using your NAIOPWA member profile. For more information about joining, email Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Read the full report

Wednesday, March 8 was the last day for bills to pass out of the House of origin, unless they are necessary to implement the budget.  You will see on the report that a number of bills did not survive the cut off and are now in the dead bill file. You may also see bills that appear to have not moved out of various committees that are still part of the active list.

To access the full report, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile. Now is a great time to join the association and get access to exclusive legislative updates like this one. For more information, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Click here to read the full report.

Today is day 54 of the 105 day legislative session.  We are past the halfway mark. The focus this week has been on floor action and the legislature has been working long hours to act on bills prior to the March 8 deadline for bills to pass out of the Houses of Origin. 

NAIOP Washington State members have full access to our state legislative reports. For more information about joining, please contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected]. 

Click here to read the full report.

The legislature is now focused on the policy committees considering bills from the opposite house.  The next deadline is March 29 when bills from the opposite house need to be passed from the policy committee.  Next week the focus will be on committee hearings, and you will see that reflected in the upcoming events section of the report.

On Monday at 2:00 the State Economic Forecast Council will release the final economic forecast that the biennial budget will be based upon.  The Senate is expected to make their budget public sometime next week, and on Friday the Senate Ways and Means committee will hold a marathon public hearing on the budget.

Join now to read the full report. For more information, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Click here to read the full report.