First year MSRE student Patrick Kassin has been blogging about the many visits he and his fellow students have been making to sites around Seattle, and their conversations with the many Runstad Center board members, mentors, and friends they meet. These inside tours of the real estate “real world” are an invaluable complement to work done in the classroom. Seattle has an incredibly rich and varied market, and the Runstad Center is fortunate to have close connections to the major players in the industry that shapes it. One of the biggest assets to our program is how readily available these individuals make themselves so our students can learn from their experience and expertise. Check out Patrick’s blog for the full report!
Category: Seattle
Evolution Projects visits the Runstad Center
MSRE 2013 alumna Ji Shon returned to Gould Hall yesterday along with her colleague Chad Dale, partner in Evolution Projects, for a brown bag lunch session with our students. Ji completed a dual MSRE/M.Arch degree last year and is now doing both design and development work for Evolution. Chad is a partner is the famed Seattle restaurant The Walrus and the Carpenter, and has developed a great deal of expertise on the real estate aspects of restaurant development, adaptive reuse, and a host of other topics. Evolution Projects is the development arm of the Fremont based outdoor retailer “evo” (evolution Innovations), which strives to bring values around “commerce, cause, culture and community” to all of their development projects. This was a wonderful opportunity to hear about cutting edge work being done by a small, innovative development team – just the kind of work so many of us would like to be associated with and live down the street from. Our thanks to Ji and Chad for answering our students’ questions and joining us for an engaging discussion!
Christopher Leinberger lecture available online
Christopher Leinberger presented a fascinating picture of the Walkable Urban Future of Metro Seattle at the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture on February 12. If you couldn’t be there in person, you can enjoy the lecture right here, right now! Our thanks to the UW College of Built Environments staff for recording it and making it available to all.
You’re invited to UCREW: March 4, 2014
The Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies & Commercial Real Estate Women present: UCREW!
Tuesday, March 4, 5-7pm
Gould Court
Are you interested in the real estate industry? If yes, this event is for you. If not, this event is also for you. Because whether you’re in planning, finance, construction management, design, HR, engineering, philosophy or… any discipline, the industry has something for you. How about customer service, project management, research, green building and sustainability… there are endless possibilities for you to explore and apply your interests in real estate.
CREW Seattle & Sound has partnered up with The Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies to host a fantastic event, UCREW, to be held on Tuesday, March 4, from 5 – 7pm in Gould Hall. This event features an interactive panel session with high-profile speakers representing a wide range of fields, along with professional networking as well as opportunities for job shadowing and mentoring. RSVP now!
While CREW seeks to promote the advancement of women in the industry, this event is by no means only for ladies. Anyone who is a supporter of the mission is welcomed!
Washington housing market uneven in fourth quarter of 2013
Washington state’s housing market softened in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the quarter before, but remained stronger than a year ago, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research here at the Runstad Center.
Read what Glenn Crellin had to say when he talked with UW News here, or take a look at the Q4 Snapshot.
Liz Dunn on the evolution of neighborhoods
Liz Dunn, part of the 2011 class of Runstad Center Affiliate Fellows, was interviewed by BUILD llc for Arcade magazine, in a conversation about “neighborhoods that fire on all cylinders.” She talks about teaming up with Dave Miller (founding partner of Seattle’s esteemed Miller Hull Partnership, and chair of the UW Department of Architecture) to get her company’s first project off the ground, building trust with lenders, concern for the well being of neighborhoods, and how she measures both progress and success. She also shares her own definition of sustainability, and new strategies for design and development. Read the full article here.
MSRE ’13 alum Zach Clements is an asset manager and financial analyst on Liz’s team at Dunn + Hobbes. The company specializes in the adaptive reuse of existing buildings as well as the construction of new urban infill projects.
Runstad alumnus grows new food industry concept
MSRE ’12 alumnus Chris Bajuk has been receiving lots of media attention lately for his environmental agriculture startup, UrbanHarvest. Bajuk has partnered with The Millionair Club, a leading Seattle charity, building a 250 square foot hydroponics system in the basement of their large Belltown facility, with the goal of harvesting some 20,000 bowls of salad a year. The program will provide fresh produce for sale to local stores and restaurants, as well as supply homeless individuals and families with donated fresh produce. It will also create job training and employment opportunities in urban farming to participants in the Millionair Club’s jobs program.
The new venture has been widely covered by local media, including KOMO News, KING5 News, Puget Sound Business Journal, and the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.
The 93-year-old Millionair Club charity provides employment opportunities, meals and other social services to thousands of people a year. UrbanHarvest, founded by Bajuk in 2012, operates on an ethic of “people, planet, profit” — meaning that in addition to being financially sustainable, the company focuses equally on positive benefits for employees, consumers, and the environment. UrbanHarvest won top honors in the University of Washington’s annual business plan competition, and hopes to bring a new type of farming to rooftops – and basements – across Seattle and beyond.
Runstad director to be keynote speaker at CoreNet luncheon
Steve O’Connor will be the keynote speaker at the January 21 luncheon of the Washington State Chapter of CoreNet Global. Click here to register!
Controversy over Seattle building height restrictions
Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development may soon make changes to code regulating low-rise multifamily residential buildings. Last night, city officials held a meeting to hear frustrations from neighbors who dislike the size of lowrise multifamily structures.
Ryan Miller is a Master of Urban Planning student pursuing the Real Estate Specialization at the Runstad Center, and a research assistant working with Glenn Crellin at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research. He was present at the meeting and weighed in with an argument in favor of development, which can help provide an answer to the problem of rising rental rates, as well as respect Seattle’s culture of inclusiveness. Watch local network coverage of the story here!
Tomorrow! Runstad Affiliate Fellows at NAIOP January breakfast meeting
On Wednesday, January 15, the Runstad Center Affiliate Fellows will present an encore screening of their film, PLACE CAPITAL: A Live Documentary About Cities. From centers of trade to nodes of information and culture, the Fellows share stories about cities that have experienced destruction and renewal. What makes places resilient? How will the sharing economy reshape our urban experience? Are there better ways to approach development in our own community? Join us for a morning of moving images, stories, and reflections.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Four Seasons Seattle
99 Union St.
Seattle, WA 98101
$40.00 – NAIOP members
$60.00 – Non-Members
Please visit this page to register.
