Honoring Excellence: NAIOPWA’s Night of the Stars 2020 

Honorees showcase the best regional commercial real estate development in 2020 with an emphasis on creative multifamily mixed-use, sustainability and last-mile delivery 

SEATTLE – At today’s first-ever virtual NAIOPWA Night of the Stars, the commercial real estate community honored the year’s most innovative, creative and inspiring CRE projects in Washington state. Completed between July 1, 2019, and August 1, 2020, these projects particularly demonstrate the flexibility and strength of the local CRE industry in the face of a global pandemic. 

The 2020 winners and finalists reflect major shifts in our region toward affordable, multifamily housing that creatively supports communities, as well as the rapid increase in industrial real estate supporting last-mile delivery. This year, as always, judges used a rubric to evaluate and score projects according to defined criteria and made category adjustments reflecting the unique nature of projects, such as dividing industrial projects into those built on spec and those built to suit. This year, too, the full immersion of sustainable practices in the region’s development projects lead to multiple honorees in different market categories. 

NAIOPWA's Night of the Stars identifies outstanding real estate developments and activities in a variety of market types and the individuals who made the projects happen. The awards aim to honor the teams who build our landscape in this annual celebration of the industry. Each finalist project was evaluated for impact on the community, market adaptability, ingenuity and local contributions. 

Poll Results: As Tenants Struggle, Property Owners Reach Out in Support 
"We will do what it takes for the tenants to survive. Their success is our success."

SEATTLE - On April 16 and 17, NAIOPWA circulated our first “flash poll” to the region’s commercial real estate community, including members and the community at large. Over two days, 54 professionals representing property owners and developers responded to the survey, providing 119 total responses across seven asset types: office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, mixed-use, and healthcare. 

Poll results represent a snapshot of the current state of the industry, which relies on a diverse business environment that abruptly narrowed in early March. As we might expect, rent/lease payments were down in April and are expected to drop further next month. But regional CRE owners and property managers are clearly united in creative and proactive solutions to keep tenants in their properties.

John Torrance inducted to the NAIOP Washington State Hall of Fame in recognition of his visionary work and its impact on the industry and the Seattle community | Double honors laud Microsoft’s Building 121 + 122, which won Redevelopment/Renovation Project of the Year & People’s Choice 2019
 
SEATTLE – Announced on Friday, November 8, at the annual gala event, NAIOP Washington State’s 2019 Night of the Stars Awards highlight how the development community continues to find creative solutions to support the Puget Sound market. For 2019, new categories this year in particular acknowledge growth in multi-family and affordable housing development to serve the fast-growing population and to address housing needs for families at all income levels.
 
Each year, Night of the Stars also honors an individual whose outstanding contributions in the CRE industry have changed the field and the region we call home. Best known for conceiving and promoting the “StarDome” retractable roof stadium concept for the Mariners’ home field, John Torrance, Principal of J.R. Torrance Properties, is this year’s honoree and the newest member of the Hall of Fame. In addition to the development of T-Mobile Park (then Safeco Field), Torrance has been involved in dozens of significant projects over the years, including Microsoft Headquarters, Washington Park Tower, and Insignia Towers, and helped create and build the company now known as CBRE. Click here to watch a video interview with John Torrance. 
 
Finally, each year, our judges recognize projects that make a special impact with the Judges’ Innovation Awards. These honors go to projects that stand out for criteria not strictly required for their category. They are projects make a strong impression on the judges, often transcending categorization. This year, the Judges’ Innovation Award for Regional Impact honors Propeller Airports Paine Field Passenger Terminal, which is enhancing traveler experiences at Paine Field as well as alleviating congestion at Sea-Tac Airport. And the Judges’ Impact Award for Innovation went to 621 Woodland Square Loop SE. The judges appreciated the risks undertaken to revitalize and redevelop a former utility office building into a Class A campus in Lacey, especially in consideration of the potential long-term positive impact on the city.
 
NAIOP Washington State congratulations all nominees, finalists and winners of the 2019 Night of the Stars for achieving tremendous success this year. The association also offers appreciation for the dozens of commercial real estate professionals and firms that participate as sponsors, judges, volunteers, and committee members to make NAIOPWA’s Night of the Stars awards and gala possible each year. Thank you.
 
Visit the Night of the Stars 2019 Project Gallery for project information and photos.
 
Night of the Stars 2019 Winners

Special Honors

The predictions for the year ahead at the annual Broker Forecast were as sunny as the morning itself. The words butterflies and pots of gold, and phrases like riding the top of the wave, were used amid the rising lines of the charts and statistics shared as the three key real estate professionals talked about the aspects driving tenant decisions today and for the year ahead, as well as trends driving the industrial market.

At the March breakfast, we joined the Real Estate Challenge Committee for the culmination of the 16th Annual Challenge with three university teams presenting their proposals for Merlino Properties’ 5th and Bell site, and we heard from four Belltown neighborhood experts on the area’s future growth.