Published December 2003

Business Briefs

Marysville, Arlington
eye NASCAR opportunity
Marysville and Arlington city officials acknowledged meeting with Snohomish County Economic Development Council representatives recently about the county’s overtures to the International Speedway Corp. to build a NASCAR racetrack in the area.

The proposed site, between Marysville and the Arlington airport, would be the third county officials have pitched to the racing company, which has expressed building a track somewhere in Washington or Oregon.

In October, Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser, county Councilman Jeff Sax and Michael Cade of the Economic Development Council flew to an International Speedway racetrack in Kansas City to talk with company officials about the possibility of opening a track in Monroe. Before that, city officials in Darrington had hoped to lure racetrack officials to visit a potential site there.

Mary Swenson, chief administrative officer for Marysville, said her city expressed an interest to the county’s economic development officials to include Marysville on the NASCAR site list. Swenson recently met with representatives of the development council as well as Arlington city administrator Kristin Banfield to discuss the issue.

According to promotional materials that International Speedway provided to Darrington officials, the 70,000-spectator track could cost $150 million to build, employ 2,200 people, and generate $87 million in annual revenues and $58 million in state and local taxes.

QFC opens in Stanwood
Less than five months after earthmoving equipment began clearing the site, a 50,000-square-foot QFC supermarket at 27008 92nd Ave. NW in Stanwood opened in November.

The store, located on Highway 532, is the northernmost location for QFC. The chain, owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., has said it has plans to expand further in Snohomish County.

“We’re a real good fit for the kind of market and customers that are up there,” Jeff Burt, group vice president for sales and marketing, said from QFC’s headquarters in Bellevue.

The new store carries QFC’s “fresh fare” theme, which includes an expanded produce department with special sections for organically grown and gourmet items. Other features include a deli and sushi counter, a Seattle’s Best Coffee outlet with a fireplace and wireless Internet access, and store experts in cheese and wine, Burt said. The pharmacy includes a drive-up window on the building’s north side.

QFC’s new Stanwood store also has a fuel station. It’s only one of three service stations operated by QFC, with the others in Lynnwood and Sequim, according to company officials.

In addition to hiring local residents for the Stanwood staff, which numbers between 100 and 200, some employees from other QFC stores transferred to work closer to home.

Lexus dealership to build
$10.5 million facility
Lexus of Seattle plans to build a new $10.5 million dealership with a greatly expanded service department and showroom just a few blocks north of its existing business on Highway 99 in Lynnwood.

Brad Castonguay, Lexus of Seattle’s president, said the dealership at 20515 Highway 99 was one of the first 100 Lexus outlets in the country when it opened in 1989.

At that time, selling 35 to 40 new cars a month was the expectation for the new brand.

The dealership is now averaging close to 80 new car sales a month, and Lexus estimates sales could double again by 2007, Castonguay said. Compared to newer Lexus dealerships, the Lynnwood business is now considered average to small, he added.

Lexus of Seattle will build the new dealership on a 5-acre site on the west side of Highway 99 between 202nd Street SW and 204th Street SW. Construction is expected to begin in the spring, and the new dealership is projected to be open a year from now.

The 22,000-square-foot showroom and service building at the existing business will be replaced by a 35,000-square-foot structure that will include more than 30 service bays, compared with 14 now.

ICOS lays off 10 employees
Bothell-based ICOS Corp. has laid off 10 people, the first such layoffs in its 13-year history, the company confirmed in late October.

This isn’t the start of a trend, however, ICOS spokeswoman Lacy Fitzpatrick said.

In fact, ICOS still has dozens more employees than it had at the start of the year. Fitzpatrick said the company has hired 165 sales and marketing representatives in recent months, bringing the overall work force to just below 700 people. It still has more than a dozen openings as well.

She said the job cuts were spread across several departments in areas where not as many employees were needed.

While ICOS has yet to make a profit, the company has grown to become the largest biotech firm based in Washington state. That’s largely due to the potential of the company’s lead drug, Cialis, which it has developed with Eli Lilly & Co. The erectile dysfunction drug, which won final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November, already has exceeded $100 million in sales in other parts of the world this year.

Sonus’ experimental
cancer treatment on ‘fast track’
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Sonus Pharmaceuticals’ experimental cancer treatment a fast-track designation after the drug showed effectiveness against bladder cancer.

The FDA’s fast-track program was started in 1997 to allow speedier development and review of new drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions for which another viable treatment doesn’t exist.

The FDA’s designation for Tocosol paclitaxel could speed up overall approval of Sonus’ lead drug, although it doesn’t assure that. The Bothell-based company has previously estimated it would take until early 2006 to gain federal approval.

Michael Martino, president and chief executive of Sonus, said the fast-track designation was granted after a phase 2 study involving Tocosol showed partial or complete tumor reductions in about 30 percent of patients with bladder cancer.

Eddie Bauer Home Store
planned for Alderwood Mall
Eddie Bauer’s parent company plans to open a new home store in the expanded Alderwood Mall, following a series of store closings as part of a bankruptcy reorganization.

The Spiegel Group, based in Downers Grove, Ill., said it has agreed on terms with the mall to open an Eddie Bauer Home Store, featuring gifts, bedding and other home decor items. There already is an Eddie Bauer clothing store in the Lynnwood mall.

The new store is proposed for The Village, a new outdoor section to be built on the mall’s north end, about where the old Nordstrom store is located.

Debbie Koopman, a Spiegel spokeswoman, said the Alderwood Mall store is one of seven new Eddie Bauer outlets Spiegel plans to open around the country. In its bankruptcy court filings, the company said it also would like to add another 10 stores in still unidentified locations.

Spiegel, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, has cut costs this year by closing a customer service call center in Bothell that employed 365 people and closing five dozen stores, including the Eddie Bauer at Everett Mall.

Also: Parking garage opens: Alderwood Mall made nearly 1,000 new parking spaces available in November with the opening of the mall’s second parking garage, located near JC Penney.

Triad has plans for $65 million
condo project in Edmonds
Seattle-based Triad Development Inc. has plans for a $65 million condominium project at the former Unocal oil tank farm site in Edmonds.

The development, called Point Edwards, will include 298 units when all phases are built. Individual condos will range in price from slightly under $200,000 to above $1 million.

Triad’s purchase of the 23-acre property overlooking Puget Sound, for a recorded price of $9.4 million, closed in early October. In September, the state Department of Ecology declared that Unocal’s cleanup of the property was complete after the removal of soil contaminated with petroleum, arsenic and lead.

Duane Bowman, Edmonds’ development services director, said Triad already has begun rough grading on the site. The developer has filed permit applications for a total of five buildings — four residential complexes with a total of 99 units and a community building for the residents.

Those won’t all be built at once, said Ross Woods, executive vice president of Triad. First will come the community building and two of the residential structures. The other two condo buildings in the first phase could be built soon afterward.

The first phase is expected to be completed by spring 2005, with more buildings to be added as the market demands, he said.

Marina project progresses
Port of Everett engineer John Klekotka told the port’s three commissioners in November that he had applied for permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Everett and hoped to start dredging next fall as part of the redevelopment of the north marina.

The port wants to add 150 permanent moorage slips for larger vessels 40 to 70 feet long. There will also be slips for temporary moorage. A 75-space parking lot also would be added nearby.

The project is part of the port’s plan for redeveloping the north marina by adding the new marina, condos, shops, restaurants, offices and space for marine-related businesses.

That project has received some preliminary approvals from the city, but the port and Maritime Trust are still negotiating a specific development agreement. Many details of the development itself have yet to be worked out.

Most of the $200 million redevelopment is being handled by a private corporation, Maritime Trust of Chicago, in partnership with the port. But the port decided to pursue the marina project by itself.

The port already has a much larger existing marina, but the new one will be specifically designed for larger boats.

If all goes as planned, the marina would be completed in June 2006.

Rodeo Fever looking for new site
A new location for the Rodeo Fever Grill & Steakhouse is being sought after it was discovered the venture couldn’t operate with a liquor license in the former Crown Distributing building at 3409 McDougall Ave.

Earlier this year, Kody Johnson of Lynnwood presented plans to the city of Everett for a western-themed establishment that would hold 1,000 customers and include an entertainment stage, bar and dance floor. The centerpiece to Rodeo Fever would be an arena featuring bull riding, with real animals and professional riders.

The bulls, which would not be kept overnight on the restaurant property, and the riders would come from Rockin’ J Rodeo Co. in Silvana, which is owned by Johnson’s brother, Kory.

But the former Crown building, located in a largely industrial area of Everett, is owned by Peter Brodie of Olympia. Because Brodie has relatives who own parts of two local beer distributing companies, Johnson found out that he wouldn’t be able to obtain a liquor license for Rodeo Fever.

The hitch is a state law called the Tied House Law that prohibits alcohol manufacturers and distributors from having even an indirect financial interest in a retail establishment that serves alcohol.

Johnson said he is now scouting new locations around the county.

Everett Clinic moving to self-insurance
With malpractice insurance rates hitting $3.9 million this year, The Everett Clinic is moving to self-insurance next year. It is believed to be the first such move by a medical group practice in Snohomish County.

When The Everett Clinic’s overall malpractice rates doubled last year, “that’s when we really got serious about an alternative,” said Rick Cooper, chief executive of the largest non-HMO medical clinic group in Snohomish County, with 215 physicians.

If a medical group has an annual malpractice premium of $1 million to $1.5 million annually, “you’re of sufficient size to consider self-insuring,” Cooper said.

Even after taking the step, malpractice rates are expected to increase 25 percent to 50 percent next year, costing at least $5 million.

Self-insurance will allow the organization to manage its costs better over time, Cooper said.

Regence BlueShield pulls coverage
for Basic Health Plan
Effective Jan. 1, Regence BlueShield will no longer provide health insurance for nearly 3,400 low-income Basic Health Plan patients in Snohomish County.

Many current Regence patients likely will switch their medical care to nonprofit clinics, either the Community Health Center of Snohomish County, with offices in Everett and Lynnwood, or SeaMar in Marysville.

“We’ll do whatever we can to make sure people looking for a medical home can find one,” said Ken Green, executive director of the Community Health Center of Snohomish County.

However, Medalia Medical Group is trying to find a way to contract to continue to care for its own nearly 1,000 Basic Health Plan patients, said Caroline Bodeen, director of operations.

“For us, I don’t think it will be an issue,” she said. “It’s just confusing for the patients.”

Basic Health Plan patients who get their care at Group Health Cooperative will not be affected.

Regence now provides health care to Basic Health Plan patients in Snohomish County through a network of 400 physicians, spokeswoman Jodi Coffey said. Regence and the physicians weren’t able to agree on how much they would be paid to care for Basic Health Plan patients next year.

New businesses, locations
n Yoga Circle Studio has opened at 707 Pine Ave., Unit A103, in Snohomish. The new business will offer daily classes in yoga, Pilates and meditation styles. Call the studio at 360-568-8595 or go to www.yogacirclestudio.com.

n Kirtley-Cole Associates Inc., a general contracting and commercial construction company based in Snohomish, has moved its main office to 1010 Everett Mall Way SE, Suite 102, in Everett. The new phone number is 425-609-0400.

n The new Community Transit RideStore has opened at the renovated Lynnwood Transit Center on 44th Avenue W. near I-5. Previously, the store was on 128th Street SW in south Everett. The store can be reached at 425-348-2350.

n Olympic Security & Communications Systems recently relocated to 19127 Smokey Point Blvd. in Arlington, about a mile north of its previous location.

n Washington State Employees Credit Union has moved to a new Everett location, 404 128th St. SW. The old Everett branch, at 620 SE Everett Mall Way, closed in November.

n Granite Falls Physical Therapy is moving to a new, larger facility at 403 W. Stanley St. Clinic Manager Robin Ingraham said that with the extra space, a wellness program is in the works for patients whose formal physical therapy treatment is complete, but need to keep up a regular therapy routine.

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