NAIOP's 2001 Developer of the Year award went to Bellevue, WA-based OPUS Northwest LLC for accomplishing "an amazing amount of work, in a variety of project types, in a very short period of time." OPUS wrapped up nine projects between June of 2000 and June or 2001 and has five projects currently under construction and 11 in the predevelopment stage.

Deal of the Year honors went to the Elliott Grand Hyatt, a hotel project in which R.C. Hedreen invested considerable time and money getting off the ground. For $15 million, Hedreen conveyed the gross parcel to the Washington State Trade and Convention Center, purchased surplus property from the Convention Center for the hotel co-development and agreed to design, build and finance the expansion project. It was completed in July of this year as part of the largest co-development convention center project in the U.S.

The Industrial Development of the Year award went to Zelman Properties' Oakesdale Business Campus, Phase Two, a 600,000-sf, four building warehouse and distribution facility built atop a former wrecking yard. Judges noted that by carrying out the remediation of more than 100,000 tons of contaminated material at a cost of more than $4 million, Zelman successfully completed the first private sector cleanup of a contaminated property under the terms of the consent decree process created by the Washington State Legislature.

The CBD Office High Rise of the Year award went to Clise Properties' 1700 Seventh Avenue building, which houses Nordstrom, a number of Fortune 500 companies and 65 residential units. Judges noted that the building's architecture is very visual, captures the essence of downtown, and is very timely and sophisticated. It is the first in Seattle to use the Transfer Development Rights Program.

The CBD Mid-Rise of the Year was awarded to Civica Office Commons, a two building, 306,000-sf office complex developed by Schnitzer Northwest and connected by a 4,200 sf glass Great Room that houses a library, media center, wireless Internet connections, space for meetings and a Starbucks. The judges were impressed with the quality of Civica, saying it sets a new standard for work environments.

The Non-CBD Office Development of the Year award went to UB Properties for its Seattle Pacific Industry Union Bay Building, a five-story, 94,000-sf building built on the hill that rises from the west side of Lake Union. Judges liked how UB Properties creatively fit the building and its below-grade parking garage on a narrow, curving, triangular hillside site with a high water table.

Flex-Tech Project of the Year honors went to Sabey Corp.'s Intergate: Seattle, a risky undertaking that entailed eleven buildings on two campuses along an undeveloped stretch of Highway 99 in South Seattle. The once vacant 1.5-million.sf industrial site is now the largest multi-tenant Internet campus in the world. The judges described it as "unique, visionary, and gutsy."

The Renovation of the Year award went to IntraRock 1 LLC's CenterPoint Corporate Park, an eight building property that housed Boeing's Space and Defense Division until early 2000. Interiors were completely remodeled and amenities were added include a daycare, fitness center, foodservice, and picnic space and automobile service facilities. Concrete was torn-up to add green space, water features were updated and traffic patterns were altered. Judges described the work as "pioneering."

In addition to the awards, two new members were added to the local chapter's Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, which already includes Norton Clapp, Kemper Freeman, Sr., Jack Benaroya, Henry Broderick, Howard S. Wright, Bert McNae, Jack Graham, Jr., James Ryan, Alfred H. Clise, Harold Hill, Martin Smith, Joe Diamond and Jon Runstad.

The first new member added was Herman Sarkowsky, a native of Germany who came to Seattle in 1937 and has been in the real estate and construction business since 1950. One of his most notable projects was the 62-story Key Tower in downtown Seattle. He was also a partner in Frederick and Nelson Department Stores, as well as an owner and managing partner of the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers.

The second new inductee was Robert Filley, who didn't arrive in town until 1973 but in less than 30 years has made his mark on the community. Originally employed by Ross Campbell Mortgage, he founded North Pacific Mortgage in 1984, which was sold to Rainier Bank. He and a larger group of partners bought it back in 1991 and Bob served as Chairman of North Coast Mortgage until it was sold to L. J. Melody, a division of CB Richard Ellis, in 1998. Bob helped shape the culture and economies of both downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue through his leadership in the financing and development of the Westlake Mall and the redevelopment of Bellevue Square.

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