Unico Promotes Rock to Replace Miller

SEATTLE-Locally based Unico Properties has promoted Jim Rock to replace John Miller as general manager of the Downtown Metropolitan Tract, a 1.8-million-sf portfolio of buildings it operates on a ground lease in partnership with the tract’s owner, the University of Washington.Rock, previously the tract’s director of leasing, now is responsible for the tract’s overall performance. “I was previously responsible for office leasing primarily, and I also worked with [Miller] on retail leasing,” Rock tells GlobeSt.com. “I will maintain oversight of the leasing, but now am also responsible for overall operations, including the personnel side.”Miller, whose last day was Nov. 1, left the GM post to take over as senior managing director and branch manager of Cushman & Wakefield’s local office. Miller was not available for comment Monday, but other local sources tell GlobeSt.com that C&W’s offer was “unbelievable” and one “he could not refuse.”The Metropolitan Tract is a 10-acre parcel of land between Union and Seneca streets and Third and Sixth avenues. Unico has developed and managed the Tract since 1953. Major properties on the Tract include Rainier Tower, the Cobb Building, Puget Sound Plaza, Financial Center, IBM Building and the Skinner Building. As part of his new charge, Rock also will oversee construction teams, which are set to start construction in January for the conversion of the 12-story, 93,500-sf Cobb medical and dental building at 1305 Fourth Ave. into an apartment tower.In addition to the Metropolitan Tract, Unico has built up a significant portfolio of office buildings that it owns outside of its relationship with the University of Washington. Most of the buildings are located in the CBDs of Bellevue, WA; Tacoma, WA; Portland, OR; and Boise, ID. In recent months, Unico has recapitalized each of the properties, lowering its interest in the assets to 25% from between 50% and 100%, with plans to use the equity to diversify its holdings with medical office and multifamily assets.The branch manager position at C&W has been vacant since Joe McWilliams left last year to join the Seattle Monorail Project. In the interim, the office has been run by a committee of senior people like Michele Guidinger, Michael Dash and Garth Olson, with support from Andrew Ratner, C&W’s West Coast executive managing director. Neither Ratner nor Guidinger could be reached for comment.C&W has downsized by more than 15% over the past year-and-a-half, but now is in growth mode again. Company sources tell GlobeSt.com the company plans to hire at least one-half dozen senior-level brokers over the course of the next year.