The Future of Bellevue

Kevin Wallace oversees all development and acquisition activity for the company. He is also responsible for all legal matters for the company’s three divisions: Brokerage, Property and Asset Management and Investment/Development. Wallace Properties builds sustainable, transit-oriented mixed-use development projects in urban centers throughout the Puget Sound region. Kevin and his team have developed several award-winning projects including Citizen, a LEED Silver, 107-unit project in the Pike/Pine Triangle of the Capitol Hill neighborhood; 507 Northgate and 525 Northgate which together contain 428 apartment units and 80,000 square feet of retail space; The Eddy, 130 units with 14,500 SF of retail leased to Bartell Drug in the Green Lake neighborhood; and most recently Prism, 134 units with 4 live/work lofts in Northgate. Kevin began his career as a Real Estate Attorney at K&L Gates in 1997, moving to Foster Pepper in 2001.

Conrad Lee is Bellevue's first minority member of the City Council, the longest continuous serving member of the council and the first mayor (2012-2013) of Asian (Chinese) ancestry. He represents Bellevue on the board of the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County, and economic development is a priority for him. The veteran councilmember also serves on the Association of Washington Cities Federal Board. For many years he was Bellevue's representative on the National League of Cities, and is a past president of the NLC Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials. In addition, he has been a member of the Economic Development District Board of the Puget Sound Regional Council. As co-chair of the ACCESS Downtown Citizen Advisory Committee, Conrad was involved with critical freeway and arterial projects. He served on the I-405 Executive Committee and King County Regional Transit Committee. He was the former president and chair of the Society of Chinese Engineers of Seattle, as well as the Chinese American Association for Professionals. He chaired the Ethnic Chinese New Year Festival and was president of the Chinese Garden Society. Conrad holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Washington and a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan. Conrad is retired, after working as the regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and an engineer for the Boeing Co. and Seattle Solid Waste Utility. Born in China, Conrad grew up in Hong Kong and has lived in Bellevue since 1967. He and his wife Winnie live in the Somerset neighborhood, where they raised their two children, Christopher and Jennifer. They have three granddaughters.

Kemper Development Company is a family owned business that has developed The Bellevue Collection in Bellevue, Washington. The Collection comprises approximately 5.5 million feet of retail space, office, hotel and residential space all contained within 51 acres. The various properties within the Collection (Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place and Lincoln Square) are among the leaders in the Seattle metropolitan market in their various asset classes. Mr. Melby joined Kemper Development Company in early 1990. Prior to being promoted to President in March 2000, he served in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer for the company. In his time with KDC, he has helped lead all aspects of the company’s affairs including all development projects, debt and equity financings, land deals, office leasing, major office and retail tenant negotiations, hotel asset management issues as well as a broad range of operational issues.

Mr. Guincher is the president of Continental Properties LLC (“CP”), with over thirty years of experience in the real estate industry, and has directed the development of over 3,800 multifamily units over the past twenty-five years in the Puget Sound region. CP has developed the highest quality apartments and condominiums in the Seattle area, setting numerous price per unit and absorption records for the region. Mr. Guincher holds a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Finance and Real Estate from the University of British Columbia. He has been married for twenty-six years, with two children, ages twenty-two and nineteen.

Simon Woods came to Seattle in May 2011. Together with Music Director Ludovic Morlot, he has been instrumental in defining and executing a vision to take the Seattle Symphony to the next stage in its artistic development, and establish it as a dynamic, forward-looking and community-focused organization. Woods’ previous post was Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), one of the United Kingdom’s leading symphony orchestras. Prior to his time at RSNO, Woods worked in the U.S. as President & CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Vice President of Artistic Planning and Operations at The Philadelphia Orchestra. For almost a decade from the late 1980s to the late 1990s he worked as a record producer with EMI Classics in London, where he initiated and produced recordings with many of the world’s foremost classical artists and ensembles. Born in London, Simon Woods has a degree in Music from Cambridge University, and a post-graduate diploma in conducting from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Woods, his wife Karin and their two children, Barnaby and Isabel, reside in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood. He is a Board member of Cultural Access Washington, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the League of American Orchestras.

Jason’s tenure in the restaurant business spans over 25 years. His prowess for cooking American Regional Food in the Pacific Northwest has lauded numerous awards and celebrity status in the culinary world. His first restaurant, CRUSH, propelled him as an innovator in modern cooking styles and a leader in fine dining, both locally and nationally. Opening Miller’s Guild brought a new level of wood-fired craft cooking to Seattle and earned a spot on Fodor’s “Top 10 Steak Houses in the Nation.” Jason’s approach as an innovative and entrepreneurial chef has helped him play an influential role as the Executive Chef and Product Developer for COFFEE FLOUR as well as Culinary Director of El Gaucho Hospitality. Jason’s restaurants and culinary work have garnered numerous accolades. He is a proud recipient of James Beard Award Best Chef Northwest, Food & Wine magazine’s “Best New Chef” and Puget Sound Business Journal’s “40 under 40”.

Benedict Heywood is the founder of the non-profit art space, The Soap Factory in Minneapolis. He came to the Seattle area when he was recruited to lead Pivot Art + Culture for collector and philanthropist Paul Allen in Seattle. “For me, since arriving in the Northwest two years ago, Bellevue Arts Museum has been one of the most consistently exciting arts venues in the region,” said Heywood. “I am honored to be invited to lead such a great institution.” In addition to Heywood joining as Executive Director, Eileen Herbert, currently BAM’s Curator of Learning & Public Programming will assume the role of Director of Advancement for the Museum. This role will be responsible for building the development team and overseeing fundraising activities. Eileen has been with the Museum for more than six years and brings significant experience building strong community relationships. “These organizational changes will help the Museum build upon our successes over the past year,” said Karin Kidder, outgoing Executive Director. “The Museum is an essential part of a growing and dynamic downtown Bellevue and the work it does has tremendous impact both locally and nationally. I am very proud to have been a part of it for over three years.” “We are grateful for the contributions Karin has made in putting the Museum in a much better position, financially and artistically. Her leadership has provided us with a platform to move forward with a focus on artistic direction and community engagement,” said Dr. Julie Miller, President of Bellevue Arts Museum’s Board of Trustees. In 2017, the Museum celebrated its 71st annual BAM ARTSfair. The Museum is also close to completing a $1M renovation, due to a generous gift from Kemper Development Company. The renovation included the re-staining of the exterior of the building to its original vibrant red. Ben Heywood assumed the role of Executive Director on September 18, 2017.

Kristine Wilson guides developers in a range of projects, from large-scale, mixed-use, high-density urban retail centers such as the Lincoln Square complex in Bellevue, to energy projects in remote rural areas and coastline zones. Kris leverages her local and federal government experience and network of regulatory agency and consultant relationships to support strategic, efficient and successful project development. Kris is an active member and leader of the Urban Land Institute and is the author of the “Commercial Development” chapter in the Real Property Deskbook series published by the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA).