Around the County

StockPot to build
new Everett plant
By SCBJ Staff
Campbell Soup Co. plans to build an $80 million, 220-square-foot on an 18-acre culinary campus in Everett’s Seaway Business Center for StockPot products, part of the company’s fast-growing premium refrigerated soup business.
The new facility will increase the firm’s production capacity by 50 percent compared to its present location in Snohomish County north of Woodinville, on a site chosen for King County’s new Brightwater sewage plant.
The Seaway Center Stockpot production facility will provide restaurant-quality soups and sauces for the food service industry and in retail super-markets, a niche that has shown double-digit growth over the past four years for Campbell.
A sizable part of the company’s $80 million investment will be paid for by a $23.45 million relocation benefits package provided by King County to encourage the company to keep its plant’s 400 jobs and $21 million in annual purchases located within either King, Snohomish or Pierce counties.

Nova-Tech Engineering
moves to CRS Center
By SCBJ Staff
Nova-Tech Engineering Inc. in Mountlake Terrace has purchased the last empty building in the Quadrant I-5 Center in Lynnwood for $4.6 million, ending three years of attempting to find tenants for the three buildings once occupied entirely by the Boeing Co. until the spring of 2000. In 2002, Washington Mutual leased one building. Then, last April, the six-story building on the site at the edge of I-5 near downtown Lynnwood was bought by Layne Sapp, CEO of Mortgage Investment Lending Associates Inc. (MILA) in Mountlake Terrace, which led to renaming the complex the CRS Corporate Center, after Sapp’s real estate holding company. Now, Nova-Tech will occupy most of the third building, moving in later this year and then marketing the excess space to other tenants. William Teal, president of Nova-Tech, said the purchase was attractive for several reasons, including the price — far below the county assessor’s valuation of $6.3 million, the location south of the Embassy Suite Hotel with close access to both I-5 and I-405, and the “quality of the building.” He said the building gives his company more room that its existing location, on 220th St. in Mountlake Terrace. He plans to move into the building later this year. The company, with 40 employees, specializes in creating aerospace industry-related tooling and manufacturing systems.The Boeing Co. is one of its largest customers, he said.

Lynnwood Convention
Center exceeds expectations
By SCBJ Staff
In its first month of operation, the Lynnwood Convention Center more than exceeded expectations, officials announced in July. Fifty-nine meetings and events occurred at the new Convention Center in its first 30 days of operation.
The new center celebrated its grand opening with an invitation-only Black Tie Gala attended by more than 400 dignitaries from throughout Snohomish and King Counties last April 1. Then, on Saturday April 2, the Convention Center opened its doors to the public with the Lynnwood Multi- cultural fair. More than 2,000 local residents had an opportunity to tour the facility, engage in interactive cultural arts and enjoy traditional musical and dance performances.
Opening day concluded with the first official booking for the Convention Center — the 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration of Gerald and Donna Camandona, including a dinner with 150 friends and relatives. Since then, the Lynnwood Convention Center has hosted groups from throughout the region.
Examples include the Master Builders of King and Snohomish Counties, Lockheed Martin, and the Washington State Medical Association. Revenues during the first 90 days of business have already reached 75 percent of first-year projections and events are booked into 2008. In addition, the Lynnwood Convention Center was named Best New Facility in a poll of Western Washington television.
The new convention center, an SMG managed facility, is located at the intersection of 196th St. SW and 37th Ave. W., just off Interstate 5. The facility has a total of 55,000 square feet, with 34,000 square feet dedicated to meeting and exhibition space. The center features modular spaces that can be customized to meet clients’ specific needs, plus 600 free parking spaces, high-tech features and its own chef and banquet facilities.

Lynnwood’s city center,
local economy on the move
By SCBJ Staff
Zoning changes are moving forward that will begin creating Lynnwood’s new “city center,” due to take effect Dec. 12. Environmental reviews of the site are underway. The multi-block “center” zone includes mostly one-story buildings close to I-5. The area is expected to develop into multi-story, high-rise residential and office buildings. A downtown pedestrian-friendly shopping center and other attractions will help to redevelop the commercial area core. Signs of the growing economy in Lynnwood include the opened of the new Lexus of Seattle dealership on Highway 99, double the size of the previous Lynnwood facility. Phil Smart Mercedes-Benz will open in the former Lexus site.