Published November 2003

Business Briefs

Wal-Mart Supercenter
coming to Quil Ceda Village
The first Wal-Mart Supercenter in Snohomish County will open next spring in Quil Ceda Village west of Marysville.

Construction crews have begun digging up ground on the north side of the existing Wal-Mart there to make way for a nearly 77,000-square-foot addition to the store. The added space will allow the store to carry a full range of grocery items, in addition to the merchandise it already sells.

John McCoy, general manager of Quil Ceda Village, said the bigger store should be open after mid-April of next year.

When finished, the Supercenter will encompass more than 226,000 square feet. It will be the one of the closest such stores to the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area; the next closest are in Shelton and Chehalis, according to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

Across the nation, there are 1,397 Supercenters, with 11 of those bigger stores in Washington state, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said. The bigger stores each employ an average of 350 people.

Index Sensors launches
after-market sales team
Index Sensors & Controls Inc. of Stanwood recently named eight professional sales organizations as after-market manufacturer representatives to drive sales of its sensor and control products, the company announced in October.

The new sales team will market the Index line of products — switches, sensors and monitoring and control products for engines, heavy vehicles and industrial equipment — to repair shops in the United States and Canada, increase market penetration and recruit master and warehouse distributors, the company said.

The new representatives include Missouri-based Central States Sales, Illinois-based CPS Sales, Alabama-based Heavy Duty Resources, South Dakota-based Netco Sales & Marketing, Nevada-based Robinson Sales Agency, Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Heavy Duty Marketing Inc., Texas-based Southern Sales & Marketing Inc. and Wesrep Sales Co. Inc. of Gig Harbor.

Developer plans for houses
on former Agilent campus
A Bellevue developer is drafting plans to build houses in the former Agilent Technologies business park near Lake Stevens following a change in zoning rules to allow the development.

The Snohomish County Planning Commission recently approved a revision to the portion of the county’s zoning ordinance that deals with business parks, said Erik Olson, one of the county’s senior planners. The change allows for hundreds of homes to be built on land zoned for business park use, subject to several conditions.

The amendment was crafted so that, at present, it pertains only to the former Agilent property near the intersection of Soper Hill Road and Highway 9.

An investment group affiliated with Bellevue-based Polygon Northwest bought the acreage from Agilent in April. While Polygon doesn’t intend to add more office space to the site, it plans to keep the existing building. That structure and surrounding facilities take up about 17 acres of the property.

Though Polygon has had preliminary talks with planning officials, it has not submitted a development application yet, said planner Clarissa Stenstrom. The company said its first priority is to lease the office building at the Agilent site to a suitable tenant or group of tenants.

Public, private deal protects
8,000 acres of forest
Nearly 8,000 acres of forest near the Skykomish River will be protected from development, thanks to cooperation among public entities, a timber company and a regional land conservation group.

The Cascade Land Conservancy announced in October that a deal had been struck that will prevent development and at the same time maintain timber harvesting rights.

Under the agreement, which involved Hancock Timber Resource Group, the state Department of Natural Resources and the conservancy, Hancock will sell 7,900 acres to private individuals, who in turn will sell a conservation easement to the Department of Natural Resources for $2.4 million.

The easement will allow continued timber harvesting while removing all future development rights. It also will require larger buffers — between 150 and 500 feet — along the Skykomish River and its tributaries, said Gene Duvernoy, president of the conservancy.

The $2.4 million funding came from a federal grant through the Forest Legacy Program, Duvernoy said.

Canyon Pointe Apartments
sold for at least $20 million
A California-based real estate investment trust has purchased the Canyon Pointe Apartments for more than $20 million.

Essex Property Trust Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., didn’t reveal the exact amount it paid for the 250-unit complex at 1630 228th St. SE in the Canyon Park area of Bothell. The acquisition was part of a $41.7 million deal in which the trust also bought a 192-unit complex in Renton.

The original asking price for Canyon Pointe was more than $23 million, and its assessed value tops $20 million, according to Snohomish County property records.

Keith Guericke, president and chief executive officer at Essex, said the real estate trust is betting on strong demand for apartments again once the economy picks up steam.

Built in 1990, Canyon Pointe includes 15 two- and three-story apartment buildings spread over 17 acres. It formerly was owned by Archstone-Smith, a large Colorado-based owner of multi-family properties.

Essex, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, now owns more than 4,100 units in the Puget Sound area. In this county, its other apartment properties include Anchor Village in Mukilteo, The Laurels in Mill Creek and three complexes in Bothell.

Taste of Edmonds makes
‘Top 100’ events list
A Taste of Edmonds, the city’s long-running annual food and arts festival, has been named one of the Top 100 events in North America for 2003 by the American Bus Association.

The tourist industry group lauded the festival as a lot of fun and a good value to both tour groups and individual travelers.

Edmonds Hand Rehab joins IRG
Integrated Rehabilitation Group recently acquired Edmonds Hand Rehab, now offering patients and physicians a full-service upper-extremity and physical therapy clinic at 7907 212th St. SW, Suite 219.

IRG, a Snohomish County-based outpatient physical therapy group, has traditionally provided physical therapy services and education including post-surgical rehabilitation. The acquisition gives the group an upper-extremity and hand therapy service as well, IRG President M. Shannon O’Kelley said.

Staff members at the newly acquired clinic include Tracy Springman, clinic manager, who has more than 20 years of experience in the treatment of upper extremities; Laurilyn Bailey, an upper-extremity specialist with more than 10 years of experience; and Heidi Blackie, coordinator for an ergonomics program to provide on-site job evaluations and recommendations, and patient education classes.

PSC Inc. nixes move to Bothell
PSC Inc., an Oregon company that makes bar-code scanners, has decided not to shift its headquarters to south Snohomish County, despite announcing that move in June.

The new board of directors at PSC, based in Portland, has canceled the move. As a result, Ed Borey, the company’s chief executive officer and a resident of Mukilteo, has resigned.

“We thank Ed for his efforts during his tenure as president and CEO,” said Michael Klein, chairman of PSC’s executive committee, in a memo to employees. “The board will undertake a search for a new person to lead PSC, which likely will take several months.”

The memo to employees, sent out in late September, went on to say that the company plans to “prudently focus its resources” after PSC’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.

Rebecca Green, a spokeswoman for PSC, said the company has decided to save money by moving the headquarters office to PSC’s manufacturing plant in Eugene, Ore.

PSC originally had planned to move into the Canyon Heights building in Bothell this fall, bringing about 40 corporate staff members to the area.

Vixel acquired by California company
Bothell-based Vixel Corp., a maker of storage network hardware for computers, is being acquired by a California company for $310 million.

Under terms of the deal, Emulex Corp. of Costa Mesa, Calif., will pay $10 cash for each of Vixel’s stock shares. Any shares not bought in the initial tender offer will be acquired from shareholders later at the same price, according to Emulex.

Both Emulex and Vixel make equipment for storage networks, which are used for efficient storage and backup of computer data.

Vixel, which employs 115 people and is located in north King County, makes embedded switches and other hardware for such networks.

Robin Austin, spokeswoman for Emulex, said the company plans to keep Vixel’s Bothell facility open, though she could not comment on the possibility of layoffs once the acquisition is complete.

Everett Events Center
selects beverage suppliers
Budweiser and Pepsi products are on tap at the new Everett Events Center.

In late September, facility General Manager Kim Bedier announced that Budweiser had been named the exclusive malt-beverage marketing partner for the center and the Everett Silvertips hockey franchise.

Budweiser, which is distributed by Snohomish County-based Crown Distributing Co., and its corresponding products will be served in the center, and Budweiser will be featured in the newly developed Budweiser Game Time View Lounge located on the main concourse. Additionally, Budweiser will utilize its marketing strength to help create awareness and exposure for the center and its events.

In early October, Bedier announced that the Pepsi Bottling Group had been named the exclusive soft-drink provider for the center.

“We are very happy to have Pepsi as a partner. They will play a vital role in our success,” Bedier said.

Puget Sound Center receives
grant to upgrade employee skills
Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology in Bothell recently received a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help manufacturing and technology companies upgrade the skills of their current employees.

Many of these companies are yet to be identified and inquiries about corporate participation are invited, the nonprofit training center said.

PSC’s Future-Ready Workforce Project, in partnership with Washington Manufacturing Services, will provide training in “Lean Systems” to incumbent employees of four to eight manufacturing companies. This portion of the project is aimed primarily at manufacturers who are suppliers of the Boeing Co., the center said.

The project also will offer information technology training to four to eight small to midsize companies from a variety of business sectors, with the type of training dependent on the companies’ needs.

Other project partners include Workforce Development Councils and Economic Development Councils of King and Snohomish counties, local community colleges and other Department of Labor grantees in the region.

For more information, contact Bill McMeekin, executive director of Puget Sound Center, at 425-368-1032 or bmcmeekin@pugetsoundcenter.org.

Radiologic program
earns statewide honors
Everett Community College and Bellingham Technical College’s Northwest Radiologic Technology Consortium has earned a “Good Idea” award from Washington state’s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board.

In October, the board recognized the achievements of participating health-care employers, including Providence Everett Medical Center and The Everett Clinic, and community and technical colleges, including Edmonds, Skagit, Whatcom, and Peninsula, in training displaced workers to be radiology technicians. It’s a health-care field the Northwest Alliance for Healthcare Skills has recognized as one of the top five in the most need of trained workers.

“The Bellingham Tech/Everett Community College Radiologic Technology partnership has responded swiftly to this regional health-care need,” EvCC President Charlie Earl said. “The program demonstrates the flexibility, creativity and versatility of the colleges to identify a need, develop a solution, and implement a program.”

There are currently 30 students enrolled in the program. Providence and The Everett Clinic have donated lab space in Everett. St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham has donated lab space for students from BTC.

Coastal Community Bank
moves to form holding company
Shareholders of Coastal Community Bank recently approved the formation of Coastal Financial Corp., a holding company for the 6-year-old financial institution.

“Coastal Community Bank has experienced exceptional growth within the last year, and the formation of a holding company allows us to explore expanded capital resources and financial-related business opportunities that will allow us to build upon that growth,” said Lee Pintar, the bank’s chairman and CEO.

He noted that this past year the Everett-based bank, which has branch offices in Monroe and Sultan, surpassed $100 million in assets.

When the reorganization is completed, current stock in the bank will be exchanged for common stock of Coastal Financial Corp. on a share-for-share basis.

Minimum wage set to rise
Washington state’s minimum wage is set to increase by 15 cents to $7.16 per hour starting in January, making it the highest minimum wage in the country, just ahead of Alaska, at $7.15.

As a result of an initiative approved by voters in 1998 requiring an annual cost-of-living adjustment, the state Department of Labor and Industries recalculates the minimum wage annually in September. The current hourly rate is $7.01.

The new wage applies to workers in both agricultural and nonagricultural jobs. Fourteen- and 15-year-olds can be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. In states that set rates that differ from federal law, the higher rate applies.

Northwest Staffing Solutions, GeoEngineers join EDC
Northwest Staffing Solutions and GeoEngineers of Everett have joined the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, a nonprofit business organization composed of private and public sector investor members whose mission is to help create strong and diversified local economies.

Northwest Staffing Solutions provides full- and part-time employees in more than 300 skill categories to companies throughout the county. GeoEngineers specializes in environmental, earth science and technology consulting services.

“Northwest Staffing Solutions’ in-depth knowledge of the Pacific Northwest’s labor requirements and work-force trends will provide invaluable guidance in directing our efforts in the areas of work-force development, training and education,” said EDC President Deborah Knutson.

Regarding GeoEngineers, Knutson said, “The company’s history here, as well as its extensive knowledge of issues critical to the future of our county, make GeoEngineers’ voice a vital one, and we are honored to have them as active members of our organization.”

NorthWest Plus wins awards
for Web site, community service
NorthWest Plus Credit Union’s Web site, www.nwpluscu.com, has been recognized by the Washington Credit Union League with a first-place win in the $50 million-to-$150 million asset category.

The credit union recently worked with Liberty, a credit-union support company, to redevelop the award-winning Web site, according to Cathy Henry, NorthWest Plus marketing director.

“The move to revamp our Web site was due to the ever-changing needs of our members. The new Web site is easier to navigate and offers more information on the products and services we offer,” Henry said.

The credit union also was recognized by the Washington Credit Union League for the redevelopment of its youth accounts and its service to the community, winning first-place honors in the Louise Herring — Philosophy in Action category and second place in the in the Dora Maxwell — Service to the Community category.

New businesses, locations
n The Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology recently moved up the hill in Canyon Park to the Canyon Park Heights building, 21540 30th Drive SE, Suite 310, in Bothell. The private, nonprofit training center is sharing space with the newly formed Alliance for Corporate Education, a consortium of 17 Puget Sound community and technical colleges providing centrally coordinated training and educational services to business, industry and government. The Puget Sound Center can be reached at 425-368-1020 or by e-mail to info@pugetsoundcenter.org.

n Capri Ristorante Italiano recently opened at 1132 164th St. SW in Lynnwood. Owned and operated by Arturo and Isabella Cano, the restaurant offers Italian specialties as well as classics such as lasagna, gourmet pizzas, homemade soups and antipasti. For more information, call 425-741-2374 or go online to www.capriitaliano.com.

n John L. Scott Real Estate recently opened its Martha Lake office at 1211 164th St. SW in Lynnwood. The new location is locally owned and operated by Barbara Shelton and Mark Serebrin and has 29 agents. The office provides on-site mortgage and lending services through Response Mortgage Services. To contact the Martha Lake office, call 425-745-8175.

n The Great American Casino recently opened at the former Big Al’s Casino in south Everett, just west of I-5 at the 128th Street exit. The facility has been remodeled to give it the feel of Las Vegas entertainment, according to the company, and offers 10 different blackjack and pool tournaments weekly. Its new restaurant offers a blend of Asian, Italian, and American cuisine.

n It’s a New Day Preschool and Childcare recently opened in south Everett. The home-based child-care facility is owned and operated by Judy Stender, who will be using the Creative Curriculum for Preschool program. For more information, call 425-423-0366 or go online to www.itsanewdaypreschool.com.

n Akadea, a home furnishings store, has opened at 107 Fifth Ave. S. in Edmonds. The store will emphasize timeless, European-designed furniture and accessories, according to owner Joyce Lanier.

n Blue’s Brother has opened at 1703 Hewitt Ave. in Everett. The store, which focuses on new menswear and accessories, is owned by Paul Kaftanski. Dale Preboski, owner of Beyond the Blue, will serve as store manager.

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