Digital Mayoral Greetings

Virtual: Addressing Priorities and Vision for the Future of Seattle

• Keynote

  Bruce Harrell

  Mayor

  City of Seattle

Construction and Development

Historic Redevelopment and Future Project Pipelines

• 

  Pat Callahan

  As Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Callahan drives the vision, strategy and overall direction at Urban Renaissance Group (URG), a full-service commercial real estate operating company with approximately 6.2 million square feet of office space, nearly 80 employees and multiple award-winning acquisitions and redevelopments. With more than twenty years’ experience in the real estate industry, Patrick has been directly involved in numerous multi-million dollar lease transactions, acquisitions, development projects, assimilations, asset repositions and renovations. His firm has placed more than $500 million in capital on behalf of clients in downtown Seattle and Portland in the last 24 months alone. Prior to founding URG in 2006, Patrick held numerous key roles at Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP). As Senior Vice President, he oversaw a business unit of 18 million square feet, 114 buildings, 300 employees and more than $450 million in revenues in Seattle and Bellevue, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Denver, Co. He was also directly involved in more than 30 million square feet of acquisitions and 2.5 million square feet of completed development projects across nine markets. He played a significant role in one of the largest transactions in U.S. history when EOP acquired Spieker Properties for $7.2 billion in February 2001.

  Urban Renaissance Group

  CEO

  Pat Callahan

  CEO

  Urban Renaissance Group

• 

  Nathan Torgelson

  NATHAN TORGELSON has dedicated his career in the public sector to improving communities and the built environment. Nathan was appointed to be Director of the City of Seattle’s Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) in January 2016. Nathan leads a staff of 460, with a budget of $109 million, who are responsible for the City’s permitting, code compliance and land use code development work. Previously Nathan was Deputy Director of the City’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD), and led the long range planning and community engagement divisions. Nathan has held a variety of other positions at the City of Seattle, including working on community development issues for former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, working at the Office of Economic Development, and working on Seattle’s waterfront project for Seattle Parks and Recreation. Nathan also served as the Economic Development Director for four years for the City of Kent. A native of Minnesota, Nathan has a Master’s Degree in City Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a graduate of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Northwest Center for Sustainable Leadership and was a ULI Rose Center Fellow. He also is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Certificate Program in Commercial Real Estate.

  City of Seattle

  Director, Department of Construction and Inspections

  Nathan Torgelson

  Director, Department of Construction and Inspections

  City of Seattle

• 

  Holly Gardner

  President

  The Schuster Group

• 

  Alex Cole

  Senior Manager

  Nuveen Green Capital

• Moderator

  Chris Carter

  Managing Principal

  SoundEarth Strategies

Revitalizing Downtown

Ground Floor Retail and Market Update

• 

  Patrick Foley

  Patrick oversees development for the company, focuses on placemaking in our projects, is active in the entitlement process, maintains investment partner relations, and is responsible for management of the company.

  Lake Union Partners

  Managing Partner and Co-Founder

  Patrick Foley

  Managing Partner and Co-Founder

  Lake Union Partners

• 

  Ethan Stowell

  Ethan Stowell is the CEO and Founder of Ethan Stowell Restaurants in Seattle. His highly acclaimed restaurants include Tavolàta, How to Cook a Wolf, Cortina, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, Ballard Pizza Company, Rione XIII, Mkt., Red Cow, Frēlard Pizza Company, Bosco Pasta & Panini, Wolf located in Nordstrom’s flagship store in midtown Manhattan, as well as Goldfinch Tavern in the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle. His food philosophy is all about keeping it simple, using fresh ingredients, and allowing the food to do the talking. In 2010, Stowell began consulting for the Seattle Mariners. His work with the Mariners helps to bring local products into the stadium for fans to enjoy. Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen was released in September 2010 from Ten Speed Press. Stowell was named one of the Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2008 and chosen as a Best New Chef All-Stars in 2013. He was one of the recipients of the 2016 Richard Melman Innovator of the Year Award. Stowell sits on the Board of Directors of the Woodland Park Zoo and he was a co-chair of the United Way of King County 2020 Annual Campaign. Other philanthropic partnerships include Seattle Children’s Hospital, Mary’s Place, Rainier Scholars, and the YWCA. Deeply devoted to his hometown, Stowell is a fervent advocate committed to seeing that Seattle is recognized nationally as a culinary destination. He lives in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. To learn more, visit www.ethanstowellrestaurants.com.

  Ethan Stowell Restaurants

  CEO and Founder

  Ethan Stowell

  CEO and Founder

  Ethan Stowell Restaurants

• 

  Jaebadiah Gardner

  Jaebadiah S. Gardner is an African-American, Mexican-American business man, multi-family real estate developer, author and is the Founder & CEO of GardnerGlobal, Inc., a privately held holding company. Jaebadiah earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Western Michigan Law School. Prior to founding GardnerGlobal Jaebadiah worked for Turner Construction building commercial high-rises in downtown Seattle with construction projects ranging from $50M-150M. Focused on strategic partnerships, Jaebadiah and his company had the opportunity to co-develop a 115-unit low-income housing tax credit project that was 30%- 60% AMI in Seattle, WA. The project was a $33 million-dollar affordable housing project in partnership with a quasi-governmental local agency. From acquisition to lease-up, Jaebadiah lead the efforts to hire the design and construction team, artists, ensure a successful rezone, entitlements, and a high level of diverse women and minority business enterprise participation. Currently, Jaebadiah has cultivated a portfolio of $11.5M in land acquisition that will yield 600+ multi-family units. With a total development pipeline of $125M projects will include affordable, workforce and market rate units. In 2021, Jaebadiah launched GardnerGlobal’s first real estate fund. The Multi-family Access Fund I is a $10M fund dedicated to creating wealth opportunities for the those who’ve been traditionally excluded. As the fund manager, Jaebadiah has raised over $5M that is currently serving as acquisition and early predevelopment funding for existing and future pipeline projects. Jaebadiah has served as a part-time instructor for the University of Washington, Bellevue College and Seattle Central College. He currently serves as a Board of Trustee for the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and President of the University of Washington MAP (Multicultural Alumni Partnership) Board.

  GardnerGlobal

  Founder and CEO

  Jaebadiah Gardner

  Founder and CEO

  GardnerGlobal

• 

  Martha Weidmann

  As a formally trained artist, self-taught businesswoman, and lifelong entrepreneur, NINE dot ARTS CEO and Co-founder Martha Weidmann aims to be a mentor and champion for aspiring artists and business leaders alike. Martha and Co-founder Molly Casey formed NINE dot ARTS in 2009 with the vision of building a forward-thinking art consulting company that both curates incredible art experiences and advocates for art and artists. Since then, the firm has completed nearly 1,000 real estate projects across 39 states and five countries, generating more than $50M in revenue for the creative economy. Currently, their artist application, Dotfolio, features over 10,000 artists from around the world.

  NINE dot ARTS

  CEO and Co-founder

  Martha Weidmann

  CEO and Co-founder

  NINE dot ARTS

• 

  Lindsey Pflugrath

  Lindsey has devoted her career to understanding the legal risks her clients face in the construction industry. Her clients include developers, owners, owner’s representatives, contractors, international multidisciplinary design firms, and local engineering and architecture firms. She takes great pride in offering an integrated suite of services to her clients, providing advice on risk management, contract negotiation, and conflict resolution, as well as defending her clients from claims. Lindsey’s practice spans Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona and she considers it an honor to counsel her clients as they change the way people live, work and travel in the Pacific Northwest. Lindsey is deeply engaged with organizations in the field of construction and she holds numerous leadership positions as well as being recognized as an honorary American Institute of Architects (AIA) member. She is a respected leader in her field and a frequent presenter to industry organizations and professionals on a range of construction law topics.

  Cairncross & Hempelmann

  Attorney

  Moderator

  Lindsey Pflugrath

  Attorney

  Cairncross & Hempelmann