It's an all-hands-on-deck race to the deadline in this short session! Legislators (and NAIOPWA's Government Affairs team) are working around the clock, every day of the week, to make amendments, address suggested amendments, and pass the bills! NAIOPWA's team focuses on bills and issues that will support a positive business environment for commercial real estate in Washington state. 

Click here for this week's update (members-only content; login required) including information on bills related to CRE with updates on key issues for NAIOPWA members this session. 

The 2022 session of the Washington State Legislature is reaching its midpoint.  On February 3, bills needed to pass out of policy committees.  On February 7, all bills must pass out of fiscal committees.  And all bills, unless needed to implement the budget, must pass out of the house of origin by February 15.

The legislative session continues to operate remotely, with all committee hearings entirely remote and floor action mostly remote, with a few legislators in person.

Week three is behind us, with this Thursday being the cut-off for all bills to pass out of their committees of origin; after that, the slate will focus on "live" bills of concern to the CRE community.

Click here for this week's update (members-only content; login required) including information on bills related to CRE including possible green roof requirements, rent control, SEPA reform, middle housing and more. 

The Washington State Legislature has completed its second week of the 2022 session. The first of several self-imposed deadlines is February 3; any bill that hasn’t passed out of policy committee and advanced to the Rules or Fiscal Committee by then will be considered dead for the session.

Click here to read a week 3 preview (members-only content; login required) including updates on bills related to CRE including possible green roof requirements, rent control, SEPA reform, middle housing and more. 

The 2022 Washington State Legislature convened on January 11 for a 60-day legislative session. In the first week, over 800 new legislative proposals have been introduced, several of interest to NAIOPWA members. Governor Inslee, in his state address, outlined a variety of issues related to increasing housing options and addressing homelessness, as well as a broad suite of programs aimed at reducing the state’s carbon emissions. Some of the most notable bills for NAIOPWA are summarized below. As happens each year, all bills and issues noted will evolve through the course of the session via both public hearings and other negotiations. 

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2021 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars Winners Announced
Winners highlight creative approaches to land use, community support and more

SEATTLE – Presented on Friday night at the NAIOPWA 2021 Night of the Stars Gala, the awards honored an impressive slate of commercial real estate projects that serve the community with innovations in retail, office, industrial and multi-family development.

NAIOP Washington State would like to thank all the financial and in-kind sponsors who made 2021 Community Enhancement at Auburn Valley YMCA possible, as well as the Community Enhancement Committee members who supported this project for over the last two years.

Ballots for the 2021 General Election will be mailed on Wednesday, Oct. 13, to registered voters in Washington state. Ballots must be completed and returned via U.S. Mail, a local dropbox or election center by 8pm on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

The NAIOPWA PAC contributes support to candidates and campaigns that work to create a business-friendly environment in the state. Key races in Seattle & Bellevue are highlighted below. 

2021 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars Finalists & First Winners Announced
Annual People’s Choice Award with Daily Voting Runs Sep. 22 – 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.

This year, the CRE industry faced continuing pandemic-related disruptions—from construction challenges including labor shortages, rising costs and global supply chain delays, to lower occupancy in office, multi-family and retail. Yet the developments honored for 2021 as finalists and winners continue to not only reshape the built environment in the Puget Sound region—but also to lead innovation across the nation.

Alongside our efforts at the state level to ensure the continuity of MFTE, the NAIOPWA government affairs/advocacy team continues to work in Seattle and on the Eastside on MFTE program implementation. Over the past year, our East Side Task Force in particular has worked with Bellevue city staff and council members on program amendments that would ensure the program operates more successfully going forward.

Based on feedback from many of our members, our primary areas of focus were:

NAIOPWA has been involved with the state legislative process for more than four decades. It’s with this depth of experience that we report both that the 2021 session was one of the more challenging for our industry in recent years, and how we managed to come out with three significant wins this year.

During the session, dozens of bills were introduced that, if passed, would have had a devastating impact on the commercial real estate development community. While in the end, some of these were favorably amended and several others failed, many of the same issues are expected to return in 2022.

The past year’s COVID shutdown and restrictions were especially hard on the restaurant and entertainment industries. Despite the tough times, there have been some positives that have come from the pandemic. There have been many new restaurants, bars and businesses that have opened up over the past year in Washington’s South Sound. To celebrate the innovation that has resulted from challenging circumstances, we are going to share a few uplifting success stories. Many of these places have creatively adapted their business models to government orders or designed a space that allows for optimal ventilation and spread-out seating to keep the public safe and remain compliant with COVID opening regulations.

Below are just a couple of the South Sound eateries that have opened up over the past year, highlighted and shared by our NAIOP South Sound Committee Members.

The University of British Columbia bested both Portland State University and the University of Washington to emerge as the victor of the 18^th Annual NAIOP Washington State Real Estate Challenge!

Teams evaluated the highest and best use for the Alexandria Real Estate-owned site at 1600 Eastlake, which sits at the center of Alexandria’s Eastlake biotech campus. As the site sponsor for the Challenge, Alexandria tasked students with creating a feasible development proposal that would enhance the surrounding biotech campus, enliven the neighborhood, and adhere to Alexandria’s commitment to sustainability.

Did you notice that we skipped a week of reporting? Greg Hanon was busily attending sessions, advocating for legislation that supports the CRE industry. One example: this week, an amendment was added to the proposed capital gains tax that exempts real estate. The session is scheduled to end on Sunday, April 26. Click here to continue reading this post (login required). 

NAIOPWA's state lobbyist, Greg Hanon, sends weekly reports for NAIOPWA members during the legislative session. These include a brief overview of session activity and highlights of the most pertinent issues for our industry. Additionally, Greg includes a complete list of bills and hearings that inform how we do business in Washington State. You'll see a link to download that list at the end of each short weekly update. Member login is required to view the full update.

In 2020, NAIOP Washington State was honored as NAIOP Chapter of the Year. This year, despite COVID-19, we have continued that success by becoming NAIOP’s third-largest chapter in North America.

This achievement is in large part thanks to the commitment of our corporate members and member companies who expanded their memberships. These companies recognize the value of building connections and relationships with industry partners; participating in exclusive professional development opportunities crucial to keeping a competitive edge; and putting their voices together with other CRE leaders to inform legislation that affects our region.

As of Saturday, April 3, there were 22 days left in the 2021 Legislative Session as scheduled. We anticipate our legislators will be working long hours every day until the clock runs out - will they finish in time? Greg doesn't have a crystal ball (yet), but he can tell us the highlights for NAIOPWA and the CRE community. Click here to continue reading this post (login required). 

NAIOPWA's state lobbyist, Greg Hanon, sends weekly reports for NAIOPWA members during the legislative session. These include a brief overview of session activity and highlights of the most pertinent issues for our industry. Additionally, Greg includes a complete list of bills and hearings that inform how we do business in Washington State. You'll see a link to download that list at the end of each short weekly update. Member login is required to view the full update.

Violent hate crimes perpetrated in Atlanta this month have brought national attention to racism against the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The AAPI community has faced racist attacks for far longer, and has struggled to have their voices heard by those outside their community. 

There have been nearly 3,800 recorded instances of hate crimes against the AAPI community in the past year.

Last June, NAIOPWA publicly committed to doing the work to address racism head-on by bringing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) topics and education to the forefront for the professional CRE community throughout our region. It is incumbent upon every single one of us to bring attention to these injustices now and always.

NAIOPWA stands in support of the AAPI community and all those who fall victim to racist attacks and hate crimes.  We encourage all our members, friends and colleagues to join us in a stand against racism, terrorism and violence.

Click here to learn more about our DEI program and how we're collaboratively working to diversify our membership and the CRE industry.   

Friday, March 26, was the 75th day of the Washington State Legislative Session, leaving 30 days to go with a number of major issues to try and resolve in that time.Click here to continue reading this post (login required).

NAIOPWA's state lobbyist, Greg Hanon, sends weekly reports for NAIOPWA members during the legislative session. These include a brief overview of session activity and highlights of the most pertinent issues for our industry. Additionally, Greg includes a complete list of bills and hearings that inform how we do business in Washington State. You'll see a link to download that list at the end of each short weekly update. Member login is required to view the full update. 

We need housing near jobs, transit, and opportunity. The Housing Supply and Affordability Act (HSAA) creates a new Local Housing Policy Grant (LHPG) program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The proposed program would provide grants to states, localities, tribes, and regional municipal and county coalitions to support local efforts to expand housing supply.

The HSAA complements legislation such as the bipartisan Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) Act, which encourages local governments to eliminate exclusionary zoning and discriminatory land-use policies by providing the resources and capacity to enable entities to enact said policies.