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CoreNet Young Leaders/Runstad Center Event coming up on November 12

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CoreNet Global Young Leaders / Runstad Center event, Tuesday, November 12

 

University of Washington
Gould Hall, Room 110
5:30PM – 7:30PM

Cost:  FREE!  However, for planning purposes, please RSVP.   (a printable registration form is also available here.)

 
Real estate professionals consistently hear about the “buzz” companies that are driving the commercial real estate market in the Puget Sound region – Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing to name a few.  However, there is one other driver that tends to be overlooked…. and that is the University of Washington!  Join the CoreNet Young Leaders Group, in conjunction with the Runstad Center and the College of Built Environments, on campus to learn more about how higher education is impacting the real estate market in the Puget Sound Region.  Runstad Center Director Steve O’Connor joins Steve Kennard (Director, UW Operations and Real Estate Services) as guest panelists who will share their unique and experienced insight into the real estate world of higher education.

This event is open to all individuals serving the Corporate Real Estate Industry and are 35 years and younger. We highly encourage you to spread the word amongst all young real estate professionals to join us in these events and be a part of a stronger young leader’s community in the Puget Sound area.

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MSREs visit T-Mobile

 

Last Friday, several MSRE students were treated to a lunch-and-learn session with Sean Prasad, VP of Real Estate and Facilites (CRE&F), and James Mayton, MSRE 2013 graduate, at the T-Mobile campus in Bellevue, WA.  We’re proud of our students for their initiative, of our alumni for their incredible support, and of our community for fostering such a fruitful professional network!   Thanks to first-year MSRE student Patrick Kassin for guest-blogging about their visit, too.  You can read all about it here.

City Council Candidates on Socially Responsible Development

MSRE class of 2011 alumni Brian Kalthoff and Boting Zhang have created a website, Socially Responsible Development: A Community Dialogue, to address the largely polarized debate surrounding development in Seattle.  Their hope is to carve out a space for curious minds to engage in a meaningful, research-based conversation about what socially responsible development looks like.

Since August 2013, Brian and Boting have met with a number of neighborhood level developers (for and non-profit alike) and community stakeholders to help them develop a questionnaire for the mayoral candidates in regards to their views of socially responsible development.  They have submitted the same questionnaire to candidates running for positions on Seattle’s City Council. Their website now has the Council candidate Q&A available for viewing.  Check out their blog post below, and if you’re a Seattle resident, please don’t forget to vote in the November 5 general election.

Guest bloggers: Brian Kalthoff and Bo Zhang

Over the summer, we began working with a small, diverse group of both for-profit and non-profit housing developers and citizens, all with an interest in promoting socially responsible development toward Seattle’s future built form. The Harrell, McGinn, Murray, and Steinbrueck campaigns all responded with detailed responses to our questionnaire.

 

After the primary election, we submitted the same questions to the candidates for City Council. We are happy to say that we have received responses from all but one campaign. The Conlin, Sawant, Bagshaw, Bellomio, Licata, O’Brien, and Shen campaigns all responded to our questions.

 

As the responses cannot be succinctly summarized—and with 7 different responses to 5 essay questions—below is not so much a summary as an excerpt from each full response:

 

Richard Conlin views the most “salient” issue regarding socially responsible development (SRD) to be the work of integrating affordable housing and transportation choices in a way that is accessible to all. His challenger, Kshama Sawant, acknowledges that Seattle has reason to tout its green credentials, but writes that these improvements are often at the expense of already marginalized communities. Sally Bagshaw hopes to advance SRD by requiring affordable units in market rate apartments, while Sam Bellomio advocates strengthening citizen engagement. Mike O’Brien, in his response, highlights his success in securing funds for a cultural center in Little Saigon as part of the Yesler Terrace Re-Development, as a way to prevent displacement and retain the neighborhood character.

Potential negative outcomes of growth, for Albert Shen, include inadequate public transit relative to the city’s growth, in particular to underserved communities—for example, the lack of a Graham Street LINK station. Kshama Sawant sees gentrification as a negative outcome of growth and development, and proposes freezing rents and enacting rent control as remedies. While Richard Conlin, after explaining the nature of Seattle’s boom-bust cycles, asserts that people in Seattle do not fear change, but rather loss. According to Sally Bagshaw, this is caused by rapid growth—and to Nick Licata this rapid growth tends to exacerbate already existing discrepancies in wealth.

 

Nick Licata asserts that the “Seattle process” can make the city reactive, when it should be responsive—essentially always “one (economic) boom behind.” However, the he goes on to say that as a model of community engagement, Seattle has set an international example. Mike O’Brien sees the “Seattle process” as an opportunity to fully examine a development’s merits, but that the lengthy review can increase costs that ultimately get passed on higher housing costs. Both Albert Shen and Kshama Sawant indicated that the process can cause delays to the supply of affordable housing, and both draw the connection between the delay in affordable housing and an inadequate public transportation system. Kshama Sawant proposes that while the “Seattle process” has somewhat democratized the process, monied influence still holds undue sway. Richard Conlin values the democratic principles behind the process, but sees it fall apart at times when it is an endless loop, and in the worst case the views ultimately taken into account are simply the last ones standing. He laments that the current land use code is often too focused on things we do not want to see happen, rather than promote opportunities for the things we would like to see happen.

 

In regards to building typologies and parking, Sally Bagshaw recognizes people’s desire to preserve single family neighborhoods, but states that 100,000 new neighbors are expected within city limits within the next 10 years. She has been impressed by some of the density solutions advocated by Seattle-based Sightline Institute’s Founder and Executive Director, Alan Durning, in his book Finding Home. These include, for example, easing parking and owner occupancy restrictions for (modest) detached and attached accessory dwelling units. Sam Bellomio states that the future typologies will be decided by the impacted neighborhoods. Nearly all candidates expressed the very critical need for improved public transportation to accompany any new growth in the city or any change to the building typologies as issues of both efficiency, sustainability, and equity.

 

All the candidates who responded express a desire for a range of affordability across all neighborhoods. Mike O’Brien sees the need for a multi-faceted approach that includes strengthening the incentive program in the SLU rezone to a variety of housing types, including micro-housing. Albert Shen states that his 8 years with the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda), a non-profit housing provider and community development agency, gives him direct experience in working with the affordable housing community. Kshama Sawant sees raising wages, controlling rents, and taking advantage of currently vacant and underutilized buildings as steps to take before increasing supply. Richard Conlin sees the greatest need for people who earn 30-50% of area median income (AMI), especially as the Federal government reduces its commitment, and sees the Housing Levy as a key tool for this. Nick Licata states that preservation of existing housing is a key to affordability as well, and that the creation of the City’s rental housing inspection program, which he spearheaded, will promote stronger maintenance practices and will help prevent some properties from reaching such a state of disrepair that they are vulnerable to redevelopment.

 

Reminder: Oct. 3 PLACE CAPITAL presentation

TOMORROW! Don’t miss the Runstad Center Affiliate Fellows’ presentation of PLACE CAPITAL: A Live Documentary Film About Cities.

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From travels to Berlin, Krakow, Fukushima and Detroit, this year’s Runstad Affiliate Fellows present alive documentary film about the changing nature of 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 an evening of moving images, stories and reflections.

October 3rd @ 6:30pm, HUB Seattle, 220 2nd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104

RSVP at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/449836

Wright Runstad’s Spring District project featured in Wall Street Journal

Developers bet big on Seattle

WR Bellevue

photo credit Studio216

The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Wright Runstad & Co.’s exciting new project in Bellevue, The Spring District.  Runstad Center board member Greg Johnson, featured in the article, talks about how the Seattle area is showing dramatic growth in the demand for office development, in contrast to anemic levels of construction in other parts of the country.  More than 3 million square feet of office space is under way in the region, according to real-estate services firm Kidder Mathews.

Johnson further discusses how the Spring District project will break from tradition in car-oriented Bellevue, in a recent article from Geekwire.

Incoming MSRE students are touring the Seattle and Bellevue regional estate market today on day two of their intensive orientation period, before classes begin at the University of Washington on September 25.

Runstad students invited to tour the Cedar River watershed

Northwest Natural Resource Group is hosting a tour of the City of Seattle’s Cedar River watershed for a group of architects, developers, and builders on 11th of September. The purpose is to showcase Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forestry in action and then engage participants in a discussion about improving the flow of FSC wood into local building projects and integrating the story of local wood and forests into each project.

Runstad Center students, alumni and friends are invited to participate.  More information about the tour is available at the event page: http://cedarrivertour.eventbrite.com/ or in the attached flyer.

Husky Stadium Is As Green As It Is Purple and Gold

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UW Athletics reported good news today:  newly renovated Husky Stadium is expected to be recognized with a LEED medal from the United States Green Building council.  Developers Wright Runstad & Co., along with general contractor Turner Construction, were able to meet the needs of the university and achieve the desired space and functionality within constraints that were quite complex with regards to budget, timeframe, and location.  (Sound Transit is in the midst of underground light rail station construction on the adjacent site, with service expected to begin in 2016.)   Adding national recognition in sustainability to this list is quite an impressive achievement.  The new stadium will be officially opened and dedicated when Washington Husky Football returns to its real home and hosts Boise State on August 31, 2013.

Jon Runstad and Greg Johnson of Wright Runstad & Co. and Tom Gerlach of Turner Construction are active members of the Runstad Center Advisory Board.  We wish to congratulate them on the completion of this signature project, not only for this campus but for Husky fans everywhere!   As part of our new student orientation in September 2013, incoming MSRE students will have an opportunity to visit the finished project and hear stories about its development and construction.  We look forward to the tour!

Glenn Crellin talks to KUOW about rising rents in Seattle

Glenn Crellin, the Runstad Center’s Associate Director for Research, talked with KUOW last week about rising rents in Seattle and what they say about the economic health of our city.  Seattle has added nearly 2,000 apartments this year, but rents have gone up. The average renter in King and Snohomish counties now pays $1,190 dollars a month, a 5.8 percent increase over the past year. So what’s driving the skyrocketing rent prices? Click here to listen to Glenn’s conversation with KUOW’s Marcie Sillman:  http://www.kuow.org/post/americas-economy-seattles-rents-and-nancy-pearls-picks#.UfF8O3sojfQ.email