SEATTLE-Former Washington State official Tom Fitzsimmons has been named chief executive of Lorig, a locally based developer with a track record for planning and building community-scale projects.

The new post is a big change for Fitzsimmons who served as chief of staff to two Washington governors, Christine Gregoire and Gary Locke.  Prior to those roles, he served as director of the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Fitzsimmons says he sees his public sector experience as an asset for the developer. “I came from the governor’s office to this position with the aspiration to work in on the private side, and help bridge the gap between public and private sectors,” he says.

He also plans to take an active role in negotiations with public agencies, providing what he calls “language translations” between public officials who are focused on policy and developers who are focused on getting approvals and entitlements.

He praises the company for its willingness to take on unusual projects, such as adaptive use work for historic or abandoned properties. One such venture was a master plan and feasibility study in Tumwater, WA, at the site of the former Olympia Beer brewery in that city. A current development project is Green Lake Village, a 295-unit apartment complex with 50,000 of ground floor retail located on the former VitaMilk Dairy site. PCC Natural Markets will be leasing 25,000 SF of the retail space to open their newest grocery location.

“Lorig has a 39-year history of creating spectacular places,” he says, ”and those places involve a  number of things in order to create the sort of places we want to build, including transit oriented development, parks and other amenities that enhance the local environment.”

His experience on both sides of the public/private divide will also remain helpful in community relations, according to Fitzsimmons. As a state official, “I’ve been working with citizens to have trust in government, and I think it’s equally important for the community to have trust in the private developer.”

Founded in 1972, Lorig has completed more than 50 projects including historic renovations, student housing and science labs. The firm is best known regionally for developing complex developments often under challenging community, market, and regulatory conditions.