Published April 2004

Business Briefs

Tulalip foundation awards
$300,600 in grants
The Tulalip Tribes’ Charitable Foundation recently announced more than $300,600 in grants to local charities. Each quarter, the Tulalips disperse grants under its gambling compact with the state.

The grants and the recipients are: $50,000, Washington State Council on Problem Gambling; $35,000, Evergreen Manor; $20,000, South County Senior Center; $20,000, Burn Children Recovery Foundation; $10,000, Terry Home; $10,000, American Red Cross Snohomish County Chapter; $10,000, Islandwood; $10,000, Center for Natural Resource Policy; $10,000, Washington Public Affairs Network; $10,000, Senior Services of Snohomish County; and $10,000, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Youth Meth Summit.

Also, $6,000, Interfaith Association of Snohomish County; $5,000, Christmas House; $4,600, Lake Stevens High School; $3,000, Open Door Theatre; $2,000, First Nations at University of Washington; $2,000, Everett School District middle schools arts and science programs; $2,000, Cascade Land Conservancy; and $1,000, Stanwood Area Historical Society.

The total also includes $10,000 to the Snohomish County Food Bank, $10,000 to the Tulalip Church of God (food bank) and $60,000 to the Washington Indian Gaming Association, all of which were distributed in December.

Three chambers of commerce
to study merger options
Board members for the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Arlington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Smokey Point Area Chamber of Commerce have agreed to begin merger talks.

Caldie Rogers, president and chief executive of the Marysville Tulalip chamber, said discussion is in the early stages and estimated it would take at least a year before any merger, if approved, could be completed.

There would be benefits, she said.

“This would position us among the largest chambers in the county,” Rogers said.

The combined chambers would boast nearly 600 members. In comparison, the South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce has about 650 members, while the Everett Area chamber has about 750 members.

Stanwood City Council members
list priorities
Stanwood City Council members made public a list of the goals each planned to bring to the city retreat March 26 and 27 in Bellingham.

Shelley Klasse’s priorities include economic development, parks, determining future facility needs for City Hall, discussing the fire department’s future, Design Stanwood’s ideas for downtown, and annexation.

Cheryl Baker listed the same priorities, with an emphasis on parks.

Gil Powell listed the fire department issue, and he hoped the retreat would help the council learn to work together.

Andy Chappel also listed the fire department issue, as well as finding ways to generate sales-tax revenue. Parks were also a priority for him.

Mayor Herb Kuhnly wants to discuss a park committee and get residents more involved. The mayor also placed economic development as a priority.

Integrex closing Bothell facility
Bothell-based Integrex Inc., a maker of electronic components for other firms, will wind down operations and close over the next month after an Arizona company’s purchase of many of its assets.

Three-Five Systems Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., said in late February that it had hired about 40 employees from Integrex and bought its roster of customers.

Three-Five planned to begin transferring work from Bothell to its Redmond manufacturing facility, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Sharp. Another 20 to 25 Integrex employees, as well as some temporary workers, were to lose their jobs.

Terms of the deal were not released, but Three-Five said it gave Integrex a one-time payment and agreed to make future payments based on sales revenue. The fact that a majority of the employees in Bothell were able to join Three-Five was an important consideration in the acquisition.

Three-Five will not take over Integrex’s leased facility in Canyon Park. Integrex President Alan Fuhrman said much of the equipment there is leased, while what remains of Integrex’s assets will be sold.

Footaction closing its doors
at Alderwood Mall
The parent company of Footaction, a national retailer of athletic shoes, is closing its store in Lynnwood’s Alderwood Mall.

Footstar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in March before announcing the closure of 77 of its 429 Footaction stores, including two others in this state. The company also is closing all 88 of its Just For Feet stores, none of which are in Washington.

Alderwood Borders store to open this fall
Borders Books & Music said its new store at Lynnwood’s Alderwood Mall is scheduled to open in August. The Michigan-based bookstore chain’s new 25,000-square-foot store will be located in an open-air shopping area being built at the mall. It will be the seventh Borders store in the Puget Sound area, according to the company.

Nastech’s nasal spray
for obesity shows promise
Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. said in March that its experimental nasal spray for obesity noticeably reduced the appetites in nine out of 11 patients during a recently completed test.

The Bothell company said the promising results will spur further tests of PYY, which is a hormone naturally produced by the body. As calories are consumed, the hormone is released to produce the “full” feeling most people experience after eating.

Studies have suggested that obese people may produce less PYY than others.

In the latest test, the nine patients who showed reduced appetites from PYY consumed an average of 23 percent fewer calories when they ate lunch an hour after taking the nasal spray.

Industrial-office group
honored by Girl Scouts
The National Association of Industrial Office Properties, based in Edmonds, has received a Totem Sculpture Award from the Girl Scouts Totem Council.

The association raised $60,000 in cash and in-kind donations for construction and design of wagons for a new wagon village at Camp River Ranch at Carnation.

Bon-Macy’s shoots commercial in Everett
Everett’s historic Monte Cristo Hotel and Legion Park will have a starring role in an upcoming Bon-Macy’s television commercial.

The department-store chain shot a commercial in Everett in March for an advertising campaign set to begin this spring, company spokeswoman Kimberly Reason said.

Bon-Macy’s liked the backdrop of the Monte Cristo with the modern-art piece in front of it, Reason said. It sends home the message that Bon-Macy’s carries both classic and cutting-edge fashion, she said.

Bon-Macy’s also liked how accommodating Everett’s film office was, she said.

Naval Station Everett turns 10,
celebration scheduled
Naval Station Everett celebrates its 10th anniversary April 8 with a luncheon at the Everett Events Center’s Conference Center Ballroom from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., honoring the Navy base, sailors and the community.

Sponsored by the city of Everett, Snohomish County and the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce, the program will feature the Honorable Gordon R. England, secretary of the Navy, as the keynote speaker.

Comcast buys naming rights
to community ice rink
The Everett Public Facilities District recently approved giving Comcast Cable exclusive naming rights to the Everett Events Center Community Ice Rink — now the Comcast Community Ice Rink.

The one-year agreement, with an option for another two years, could be worth up to $1.5 million over three years, according to Global Spectrum, which operates the Everett Events Center and is also a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor.

If Comcast chooses to renew the sponsorship agreement following the first year, the total value of the sponsorship would include $300,000 in cash and up to $1.2 million worth of cable television advertising, production and services.

Everett-area shopping plaza
sold for $13.9 million
Bellevue-based Bloch Properties LLC recently bought the Greentree Plaza Shopping Center, located along Everett Mall Way at Third Avenue Southeast, for $13.9 million. The seller was P.O’B. Montgomery & Co. of Dallas, Texas.

Bloch Properties’ portion of the strip mall includes the Gart Sports’ building and 20 small shop spaces, for a total of about 80,000 square feet. The larger space occupied by Target was not part of the deal, as that retailer owns its own building.

Already under construction is a new building that will house a Starbucks Coffee outlet with a drive-through window and a Baja Fresh Mexican restaurant. Those will open in the summer, said Darren Bloch, manager for Bloch Properties.

The rest of the shopping center is almost fully leased, with one 4,000-square-foot space available.

EvCC, Everett Parks partner
for welding project
Everett Community College and the Everett Parks and Recreation Department recently teamed up for a community service project that gave welding students hands-on experience.

The project required students to build two gates for the parks department, one for the Silver Lake parking lot at Thornton A. Sullivan Park and the other at the Kasch Park maintenance road. The opportunity enabled students to test new skills learned in their pipe fittings and systems class, according to a news release issued by the city.

AquaSox donate $3,000
to local nonprofits
The Everett AquaSox donated a total of $3,000 in March to four area nonprofits, including the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Snohomish County ($500), the Mount Baker Council of the Boy Scouts of America ($500), the Brooklyn Baseball Club in Lynnwood ($1,000) and the Riverside Neighborhood Association in Everett ($1,000).

County opens parking garage
Snohomish County’s new underground parking garage opened to the public March 1.

The $29 million structure is the first major component to be open as part of the county government campus renovation in downtown Everett. The$170 million makeover includes an expansion of the county jail, a new administration building and a public plaza.

Larry Van Horn, director of facilities management for the county and head of the county campus redevelopment project, said the new parking garage at Oakes Avenue and Wall Street should have a life span of at least 50 years.

The 1,200-plus-stall garage, which stretches down six floors and is 90 feet deep on the corner by the courthouse, replaces the county’s original 503-stall garage. That garage was torn down to make room for the new one and the new county administration building, which should be finished by February 2005. Work on the new structure began in October 2002.

So far, 624 parking stalls have been claimed for use by the county and its employees. Workers will use a card-key system to get in and out, while the public will take tickets and pay on the way out.

Republic Parking Northwest Inc. will manage the garage, as well as the county’s 100-stall parking lot at the corner of Wall Street and Oakes Avenue.

Drivers may park free for 30 minutes in the underground garage and the surface lot.

New businesses, locations
n The Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle recently opened at 20115 44th Ave. W. in Lynnwood, offering 24-hour emergency and critical-care services with on-site veterinary specialists in behavior, exotic pet care, internal medicine, neurology/neurosurgery, radiology and surgery. To learn more, call 425-697-6106 or visit online at www.seattleveterinaryspecialists.com.

n Stage Works has opened at 7024 Evergreen Way, Suite A, in Everett, offering dance wear, costumes, skate dresses, new and consignment active wear and formal wear, and video rentals. The shop also has available dance-studio space for rent. Desiree Wimpy is the owner. For more information, contact Wimpy at 425-348-4455.

n Carlson Wagonlit Travel has relocated from its longtime location in the Safeway Plaza on State Avenue in Marysville to 1410-C Seventh St., behind Bundy’s Carpet in Marysville.

n Arlington-Smokey Point Auto Glass and Upholstery recently moved to a new location, 6121 172nd St. NE in Smokey Point. The company’s phone number is 360-403-4778.

n A Comfort Inn hotel recently opened at 4117 196th St. SW in Lynnwood. Owned and operated by Ephrathan Inc. of Lynnwood, the former Holiday Inn Express underwent $200,000 in renovations to all 46 rooms, including new furniture and decor and the addition of wireless Internet access.

n Get Up and Go! is a new fitness training business started by Chris Ann Scott, a certified personal trainer. Scott, who also is a part-time fitness instructor at the Mukilteo Family YMCA, works with people over the age of 50 in their homes. In addition to one-on-one training, she offers lessons for small groups and walking groups. For details, call 425-772-3805.

n Euphoria, a business that offers massage, waxing, facials, tanning and body wraps, has opened at 1901 Wetmore Ave. in Everett. The owners are Mary Amos and Desiree Roberts.

n Home Helpers has opened at 19707 44th Ave. W., Suite 202, in Lynnwood. The business offers services to assist adults who care for their children and aging parents. The business is run by Mike Racelis and can be reached at 425-673-5082 or by e-mail to siyayo@aol.com.

n NuTek Wireless has opened at 1227 State Ave., Suite C, in Marysville. The company provides high-speed Internet access, custom-built computers and networking. Its Web address is www.nutekwireless.com.

n Practical Dreamer, a new- and used-book store, has opened at 2829 Wetmore Ave. in Everett. The store is owned by Betsy DeSalvo.

n Pacific PolySteel has opened in Mukilteo as a Western Washington distributor of American PolySteel products — steel and polystyrene forms used in the construction of insulated concrete buildings. The owner is Chuck Wilson. For details, go online to www.wilson3.com.

n Silver and Lace has opened at 2213 Everett Ave. The business offers wedding planning and related services and products, including flowers, wedding gowns, tuxedo rentals, photography, limousine and disc jockey services. The owner is Paul Lindsley. Go to www.silverandlaceinc.com or call 425-252-4570 for details.

n Bonefish Grill, a Florida-based restaurant chain, opened its second Puget Sound location in Bothell in March, at 22616 Bothell-Everett Highway.

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