SEATTLE-With hope not only of reducing commutes but also of attracting and retaining tenants, Equity Office Properties is subsidizing the new program for employers in its Bank of America Tower. Employees in the building will be offered free bus passes, priority carpools, and other perks.

REDMOND, WA-Aegis Assisted Living LLC, a provider of assisted living communities for the elderly, says that it has expanded to offer professional management services to other West Coast assisted living companies.

BELLEVUE, WA-City Council members are scheduled to vote this evening whether they will hire a consulting firm to decide whether 16 acres now owned by the Boeing Co. and zoned for light industrial use would make good park land.

TACOMA, WA-Bianco Properties, a St. Louis-based real estate investment firm, has purchased yet another Puget Sound property, the Rainier Place Shopping Center. Last winter, the firm also purchased the Lynwood Plaza Shopping Center.

SEATTLE, WA-Early last week, the developers announced that Seattle Biomedical Research Institute has committed to leasing approximately 50% of the building, which is usually what a lender will require before providing a construction loan.

EVERETT, WA-The Everett Public Facilities District created to construct a hockey arena has filed suit in Snohomish County Superior Court against the city. The action attempts to invalidate a voter initiative that could keep the arena from being built.

BELLEVUE, WA-City officials were presented this week with a proposal to nearly triple the amount of retail space at Factoria Towne Square. The project, a facelift for Factoria Mall, now would include 150,000 sf.

MUKILTEO, WA-The 16.5-acre Bay Court at Harbour Pointe, plus an adjacent 11.3 acres of vacant land, has been snatched up by Rreef, a San Francisco-based outfit.