Published April 2002

Business Briefs

Economic summit set for north county
The North Snohomish County Economic Summit 2002 will be held April 30 at the River City Grill at the Best Western Tulalip Inn in Marysville. Denny Heck, President of TVW, Washington’s public affairs cable network, will be the moderator for the day’s program.

Co-sponsored by the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce and the Tulalip Tribes, with support from Everett Community College and The Herald, the event will be attended by leaders of north county’s communities, school districts and businesses, coming together to explore economic issues and develop common solutions. This year, the event is open to the entire community.

Twice before, in 1997 and 2000, the chamber has partnered with the Tulalip Tribes to co-sponsor an economic summit, resulting in a better understanding of how the rapidly growing north county area is developing and the issues involved in that growth.

Registrations for the summit meeting can be made at the chamber office by calling 360-659-7700.

Washington Mutual leases space
in Quadrant I-5 Center
Washington Mutual Inc. recently leased a building in the Quadrant I-5 Center in Lynnwood to be used for consumer lending operations, according to the company.

The 59,000-square-foot Building B, at 20816 44th Ave. W., will provide space for about 300 employees, with the move-in date set for May or June, the company said.

The building has been vacant since the Boeing Co. moved its material services division out of the 295,000-square-foot business center in late 2000. The other two buildings that make up the complex remain vacant.

Merger may halt Immunex projects
Immunex Corp. may not proceed with renovation work at its microbial laboratories in Bothell, according to a statement issued in March. The company also is scaling back its new Helix Project lab facilities and corporate offices in Seattle, a $750 million project already under construction on the waterfront.

The announcement, contained in a memo filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, comes as Immunex is being bought by Amgen Inc. in a $16 billion deal.

Spokeswoman Robin Shapiro said only minor work on the company's microbial facility there had been finished so far. Shapiro declined to comment on the possible future for the rest of Immunex’s center at Canyon Park, which employs about 200.

Silver Cup Coffee wins big
at regional contest
Silver Cup Coffee of Everett recently won top honors at the 2002 McCormick & Schmick’s Cup, a contest for the Puget Sound region’s top small coffee-roasting companies.

The company, which roasts its beans in a small industrial park off Highway 99 in south Everett took top honors for the best morning coffee and best espresso, as well as the sweepstakes award.

Fidalgo Bay Roasting Co. of Anacortes won the other prize, for best Irish coffee.

Workshop to focus
on stock-investing strategies
Everett Community College is offering a workshop titled “Strategies for Serious Stock Investors” on four consecutive Thursdays from 7 to 9:30 p.m. beginning May 2.

Workshop topics include common-sense rules for choosing stocks, ways to analyze stock research and how to properly build an equity portfolio.

The price is $39 per individual. Pre-registration is required. For information or to register, call Continuing Education at 425-388-9214.

Verizon plans to cut payroll by 10,000 jobs
Telecom provider Verizon Communications Inc. is planning to cut its employment rolls — eliminating the budgetary equivalent of 10,000 jobs.

The effects in Everett, where the company’s Northwest operations are based, will be felt, but shouldn’t be severe, said Melissa Barran, local spokeswoman.

Barran noted that the company has some 247,000 employees.

She said no one region will bear the brunt of the cutbacks, but rather the company will continue to do such things as cut overtime and subcontractor use as well as lay off workers in areas that are being pared back due to business slowdowns.

Dykeman Architects wins county contract
Dykeman Architects of Everett has been awarded a $492,550 contract by Snohomish County to design and construct a records storage building for the Sheriff’s Office and the county’s record storage division of the Department of Information Services, according to the county. The building is part of the county’s Campus Redevelopment Initiative.

The contract includes the programming, design and construction of a 40,000-square-foot building at the corner of California Avenue and Federal Street in Everett.

Walgreens to join new
senior housing complex
A new 14,000-square-foot Walgreens drug store will be added to the large senior housing complex going up at the south Everett intersection of Fourth Avenue W. and 112th Street SW.

The new store at 11216 Fourth Ave. W. will replace the Exxon gas station and Liberty convenience store occupying the property, according to plans on file with Snohomish County.

Scott Grainger and his company, SE Grainger Development, is the developer of the $1.25 million store, which will be Walgreens’ sixth in Snohomish County. It will be strategically placed: The new Garden Court condominium and retirement complex for senior citizens is adjacent to the 1.5-acre property.

Garden Court is scheduled to open this summer. A new mini-storage business also is being built near the condominiums.

Quinton plans to go public
Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. plans an initial public offering that could raise an estimated $57 million for the maker of heart monitoring, diagnostic and rehabilitation equipment.

The Bothell-based company recently filed its public offering proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Quinton President John Hinson. A specific date for the offering has not been set.

Kidder Mathews, Insignia
join forces in Puget Sound
Seattle-based Kidder, Mathews & Segner has joined Insignia/ESG, an international provider of commercial real estate services, as the company’s first Strategic Services Provider on the West Coast.

Kidder, Mathews & Segner now will operate as Insignia Kidder Mathews and will act as Insignia’s exclusive representative in the Puget Sound region, according to Insignia Kidder Mathews.

In addition, Insignia/ESG has combined its regional property management portfolio of 3 million square feet with Kidder Mathews’ 5.5 million-square-foot portfolio.

NextRx lays off 40
NextRx Corp., a developer of medication delivery systems, has reduced its staff by more than half as it looks to attract investors.

The privately held company laid off 40 employees Feb. 15, said Tim McMenamin, Marketing Director. Some contract workers also were dismissed.

Based in Bothell’s Canyon Park area, the company now employs 28 people.

Chief executive Bob George said the staff reduction should make the company more attractive to venture capitalists.

Mukilteo complex, land get new owner
A 420-unit apartment complex and nearby developable land in Mukilteo have changed hands, selling for almost $35 million.

Bay Court at Harbour Pointe, 11108 Chennault Beach Road, recently was sold to RREEF Funds, a San Francisco group affiliated with one of the nation’s largest investment property owners.

The seller was the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, a New York-based life insurance company, according to the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office. The company is better known with its partner corporation as TIAA-CREF.

In addition to the complex and 16.5 acres on which it sits, RREEF received an 11.3-acre lot of developable land in the deal. That land, now vacant, is located near the intersection of Chennault Beach Road and Harbour Beach Drive.

Vectrad Networks cuts staff
Vectrad Networks Corp. of Bothell has laid off nearly everyone but its management team. The company, which had 32 employees before the Feb. 22 reductions, is down to six after failing to secure more financing.

But Vectrad is not shutting down, said Richard Shields, president and chief operating officer. He said those who are left will be courting customers and more financing and continuing to field-test its products.

Founded in early 2000, Vectrad has designed systems to provide businesses with high-speed Internet access over wireless networks.

Tourism Bureau offers new brochures
The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau has produced three new brochures for tourists and residents alike: “The Farm Trail Guide and Map,” “Museum Tours and Historic Transportation Routes” and “Paddle, Hike and View Wildlife in the Snohomish River Estuary.”

Free copies of the brochures can be picked up at Snohomish County Visitor Information Centers at Exit 186 on I-5 and 128th Street in south Everett, at Exit 199 near the Best Western Tulalip in Marysville and at 127 Ave. A in Snohomish.

For more information, call 425-348-5802 or go online to www.snohomish.org.

Bothell firm wins OK for clinical trials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc. of Bothell to begin clinical trials to evaluate the safety of a potential lung-cancer treatment.

The company announced Feb. 28 that the FDA had accepted its application for DCVax-Lung, a dendritic cell-based immunotherapy. Testing on patients should start later this year.

The treatment is aimed at non-small cell lung cancer, which represents approximately 70 percent of the lung cancer diagnosed in the United States each year and is often fatal, according to the company.

Grocery stores raise funds for charity
For the third year in a row Everett Cost Cutter and Thrifty Food Pavilion stores in Arlington, Smokey Point and Stanwood participated in the national Food For All campaign, raising more than $700 for local food charities.

The Arlington Food Bank, the Stanwood-Camano Food Bank, the Smokey Point Community Church and Salt of the Earth were the beneficiaries of the local campaign.

PUD named a ‘Tree Line USA utility’
The Snohomish County PUD has been named a “Tree Line USA utility” by the National Arbor Foundation.

To receive the award, the PUD had to submit an application documenting tree-trimming and planting practices as well as the utility’s commitment to educating customers, sponsorship of annual tree-planting activities, reliability records and training methods and other vegetation management materials.

New businesses, locations
n Sound Espresso Co. has opened at 2821 W. Marine View Drive in Everett. It is owned and operated by Janelle Beltjens. Along with locally roasted Silver Cup Coffee, the espresso stand will offer tea and baked goods.

n American Quilt Works has opened in Marysville. Operated by Catherine Kessel, the company provides machine quilting, quilting services and produces family-heirloom quilts. Quilting classes and private lessons are also available. For more information, call 360-658-1086.

n Brad Richards of Snohomish has opened a Budget Blinds franchise in Issaquah intended to serve east King County and the Bothell and Snohomish areas of Snohomish County. The company serves walk-in customers, but also specializes in visiting homes and businesses to show off its window treatments. It also provides installation. The company can be reached at 800-436-8610.

n Guardian Records Management is a new company offering business record storage and management. The principal shareholders are Lynn Prather and Dean Nichols. The company, which opened earlier this year, is at 2912 Cedar St. in Everett and can be reached at 425-259-9882.

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