StockPot to
build
new Everett plant
By SCBJ
Staff
Campbell Soup Co. plans to build an $80 million, 220-square-foot
on an 18-acre culinary campus in Everett’s Seaway Business Center for
StockPot products, part of the company’s fast-growing premium refrigerated
soup business.
The new facility will increase the firm’s production capacity by 50 percent
compared to its present location in Snohomish County north of Woodinville,
on a site chosen for King County’s new Brightwater sewage plant.
The Seaway Center Stockpot production facility will provide restaurant-quality
soups and sauces for the food service industry and in retail super-markets,
a niche that has shown double-digit growth over the past four years for
Campbell.
A sizable part of the company’s $80 million investment will be paid for
by a $23.45 million relocation benefits package provided by King County
to encourage the company to keep its plant’s 400 jobs and $21 million
in annual purchases located within either King, Snohomish or Pierce counties.
Nova-Tech Engineering
moves to CRS Center
By SCBJ Staff
Nova-Tech Engineering Inc. in Mountlake Terrace
has purchased the last empty building in the Quadrant I-5 Center in Lynnwood
for $4.6 million, ending three years of attempting to find tenants for
the three buildings once occupied entirely by the Boeing Co. until the
spring of 2000. In 2002, Washington Mutual leased one building. Then,
last April, the six-story building on the site at the edge of I-5 near
downtown Lynnwood was bought by Layne Sapp, CEO of Mortgage Investment
Lending Associates Inc. (MILA) in Mountlake Terrace, which led to renaming
the complex the CRS Corporate Center, after Sapp’s real estate holding
company. Now, Nova-Tech will occupy most of the third building, moving
in later this year and then marketing the excess space to other tenants.
William Teal, president of Nova-Tech, said the purchase was attractive
for several reasons, including the price — far below the county assessor’s
valuation of $6.3 million, the location south of the Embassy Suite Hotel
with close access to both I-5 and I-405, and the “quality of the building.”
He said the building gives his company more room that its existing location,
on 220th St. in Mountlake Terrace. He plans to move into the building
later this year. The company, with 40 employees, specializes in creating
aerospace industry-related tooling and manufacturing systems.The Boeing
Co. is one of its largest customers, he said.
Lynnwood Convention
Center exceeds expectations
By SCBJ Staff
In its first month of operation, the Lynnwood Convention Center more than
exceeded expectations, officials announced in July. Fifty-nine meetings
and events occurred at the new Convention Center in its first 30 days
of operation.
The new center celebrated its grand opening with an invitation-only Black
Tie Gala attended by more than 400 dignitaries from throughout Snohomish
and King Counties last April 1. Then, on Saturday April 2, the Convention
Center opened its doors to the public with the Lynnwood Multi- cultural
fair. More than 2,000 local residents had an opportunity to tour the facility,
engage in interactive cultural arts and enjoy traditional musical and
dance performances.
Opening day concluded with the first official booking for the Convention
Center — the 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration of Gerald and Donna
Camandona, including a dinner with 150 friends and relatives. Since then,
the Lynnwood Convention Center has hosted groups from throughout the region.
Examples include the Master Builders of King and Snohomish Counties, Lockheed
Martin, and the Washington State Medical Association. Revenues during
the first 90 days of business have already reached 75 percent of first-year
projections and events are booked into 2008. In addition, the Lynnwood
Convention Center was named Best New Facility in a poll of Western Washington
television.
The new convention center, an SMG managed facility, is located at the
intersection of 196th St. SW and 37th Ave. W., just off Interstate 5.
The facility has a total of 55,000 square feet, with 34,000 square feet
dedicated to meeting and exhibition space. The center features modular
spaces that can be customized to meet clients’ specific needs, plus 600
free parking spaces, high-tech features and its own chef and banquet facilities.
Lynnwood’s
city center,
local economy on the move
By SCBJ Staff
Zoning changes are moving forward that will begin creating
Lynnwood’s new “city center,” due to take effect Dec. 12. Environmental
reviews of the site are underway. The multi-block “center” zone includes
mostly one-story buildings close to I-5. The area is expected to develop
into multi-story, high-rise residential and office buildings. A downtown
pedestrian-friendly shopping center and other attractions will help to
redevelop the commercial area core. Signs of the growing economy in Lynnwood
include the opened of the new Lexus of Seattle dealership on Highway 99,
double the size of the previous Lynnwood facility. Phil Smart Mercedes-Benz
will open in the former Lexus site.