Macro Construction & Development Outlook: Building Through Headwinds

Costs, Labor, Materials & Policy—What’s Shaping Project Feasibility in Seattle

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  Penn DiJulio

  Penn DiJulio is a VP, of Development and Construction at Urban Renaissance Group/Touchstone, involved in all aspects of the development process, from strategic input during acquisition and due diligence phases to project closeout and transition. His primary focus is the management of development opportunities to procure entitlements and permits and management of each project through design, pre-construction, and construction phases, including tenant improvement. Penn began his career working in the mining, materials, and civil construction industries along the Central Coast of California but moved back to his native Seattle to pursue development and structural construction. He has spent the last 15 years in various roles working for national developers throughout the Puget Sound and Portland. His construction project management experience spans a wide variety of product types including hotel, large scale mixed-use, multi-family residential and custom homes.

  Urban Renaissance Group

  VP, Development & Construction

  Penn DiJulio

  VP, Development & Construction

  Urban Renaissance Group

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  Kevin Wallace

  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.

  Wallace Properties

  President

  Kevin Wallace

  President

  Wallace Properties

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  Lori McEwuen

  As Vice President of Development, Lori is responsible for project management of Nitze-Stagen’s redevelopment projects, as well as supporting all phases of the acquisition process. Previous to Nitze-Stagen, Lori held the positions of Project Planner for Olson-Olson Architects and Project Manager for Bruce Olson Construction with responsibilities for entitlement and site development oversight. In her free time, Lori enjoys hiking with her yellow lab and weekend travel adventures. Lori holds a BA degree from Muhlenberg College in Political Science and a Master of Science in Real Estate and Master of Urban Planning, both from the University of Washington.

  Nitze-Stagen

  VP, Development

  Lori McEwuen

  VP, Development

  Nitze-Stagen

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  Colm Nelson

  Colm Nelson serves as the chair of Stoel Rives' Real Estate Industry Group and co-chair of the firm’s Construction and Design Group. He represents public owners, private owners and developers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, design professionals, brokers, and lenders in a wide variety of construction transactions, construction litigation, procurement, and real estate matters. He has nearly 20 years’ experience in the construction industry and negotiates complex construction and design contracts for public and private owners. Colm represents clients in disputes over bid protests, construction defects and property damage, extra work and delay claims, errors and omissions in design documents, tenant improvements, breach of warranty, insurance coverage against insurance companies, and mechanic’s liens. He also has substantial experience handling procurement issues for public, quasi-public and private entities and related projects with respect to construction, services, and goods.

  Stoel Rives

  Partner, Chairman

  Moderator

  Colm Nelson

  Partner, Chairman

  Stoel Rives

From Blueprint to Skyline: How Builders Are Delivering Projects in a Complex Market

How Teams Are Navigating Permitting Challenges, Conversion Complexities, Code Changes and Evolving Building Methods

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  Grant Howard

  Grant is responsible for the construction execution across Unico’s varied construction types and building products from Due Diligence through project completion and lease up. He oversees preconstruction planning and budgeting, constructability reviews, contractor selection and negotiations and project execution and closeout for Unico. Grant most recently completed the Office to Residential conversion of the historic Washington Building in Tacoma Washington. Prior to joining Unico Grant spent over 25 years in the construction industry working as an Owner’s Representative, Project Manager and Leading Preconstruction efforts for a national general contractor.

  Unico Properties

  Director, Construction

  Grant Howard

  Director, Construction

  Unico Properties

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  Brenda Baxter

  Brenda Baxter is a Development Manager with JLL's Project and Development Services team in Seattle, bringing over 17 years of experience in architecture and construction management. She currently leads the City of SeaTac Civic Campus Project and oversees the Vashon Island Community Food Bank redevelopment. Her extensive expertise includes managing complex tenant improvement projects throughout the Seattle commercial market, totaling nearly 3.5 million square feet. Prior to JLL, Baxter managed the iconic 1.5 million square foot Seattle Convention Center Addition, achieving LEED Platinum certification, and has delivered major projects for ZoomInfo Technologies, Google, and Nordstrom. She holds dual degrees from the University of Washington in Construction Management and Architecture, currently chairs the City of Seattle Design Review Board, and specializes in strategic advisory, master planning, project feasibility, asset repositioning, and design and construction management of real estate projects across public and private sectors.

  JLL

  Project Development Manager

  Brenda Baxter

  Project Development Manager

  JLL

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  Chris Carter

  Managing Principal

  SoundEarth Strategies

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  Erin Parker

  Erin is an architect who believes great design is the result of identifying efficient solutions, responsive communication, and always maintaining a sense of humor. With nearly two decades of experience, Erin’s career has spanned multifamily, large adaptive reuse, commercial, and single-family architecture, with a heavy focus on large, urban, multifamily complexes exceeding 150 units. Erin is uniquely knowledgeable about multifamily conversion projects, transforming underutilized commercial buildings into functional apartment buildings, breathing new life into existing city spaces. Her work includes the Washington Building in Tacoma (now The Astor) and the conversion of a 1980s, ribbon-window, low-rise office building in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, Seattle’s first post-pandemic office-to-residential conversion, currently underway.

  Board & Vellum

  Sr Associate

  Erin Parker

  Sr Associate

  Board & Vellum

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  Ashley Sherwood

  Ashley Sherwood is a partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Seattle and represents general contractors, subcontractors, and developers of all sizes on various sizes and types of projects. She helps clients navigate projects from start to finish and has a keen focus on commercial and residential building construction, heavy civil infrastructure, fabrication, and government contracts.

  Seyfarth Shaw

  Partner

  Moderator

  Ashley Sherwood

  Partner

  Seyfarth Shaw

Who's Building, What's Breaking Ground: Seattle's Development Pipeline

Top Projects, Active Neighborhoods & the Market Forces Shaping What Gets Built

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  Chris Rossman

  Chris is a Managing Partner and Head of Development for Fourth Avenue Capital (“FAC”), focusing on investment strategy, development, and capital formation. FAC is a middle market real estate investment firm with offices in Seattle and Spokane and specializes in the acquisition and development of multifamily and student housing communities in the western US. FAC’s current portfolio consists of more than 1,000 units/beds in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to forming FAC, Chris spent over a decade at The Wolff Company, a Scottsdale-based multifamily owner and developer, where he served as Senior Vice President of Development, managing the Pacific Northwest region and regional development production heads across the firm. At Wolff, Chris developed more than 5,600 multifamily and senior housing units totaling more than $1.4bn of investment. While at Wolff, several projects under Chris’ oversight received national design and industry awards. Prior to joining Wolff, Chris was a Partner at Urban Evolution, a Seattle-based multifamily housing developer focused on the development of mixed-use urban housing communities. Chris received his BA and MBA from the University of Washington. He is active in several industry organizations including NAIOP, NMHC and ULI. Chris currently serves on the NAIOP Washington Board of Directors and Executive Committee.”

  Fourth Avenue Capital

  Managing Partner

  Chris Rossman

  Managing Partner

  Fourth Avenue Capital

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  Claudio Guincher

  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.

  Continental Properties

  President

  Claudio Guincher

  President

  Continental Properties

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  Karsen Keever

  Karsen Keever is Senior Vice President of Development for Dermody. Based in Seattle, he is responsible for providing due diligence, design, entitlement, budget and construction oversight for both investment developments for lease and build-to-suit projects. Prior to joining Dermody in 2020, Mr. Keever held project management and director positions in fields of commercial construction and architecture for mid-rise and high rise, multi-family and hospitality development Since joining Dermody, Mr. Keever has overseen the design and construction of 10 million square feet of industrial development. Keever holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and government from the University of Puget Sound and is an accredited professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, specializing in Interior Design and Construction (LEED AP ID+C).

  Dermody Properties

  SVP, Development

  Karsen Keever

  SVP, Development

  Dermody Properties

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  Frank Stauff

  Frank Stauff is President of Compass Construction, a general contractor founded in 1998 and headquartered in Kirkland, WA. Compass employs 125 people and specializes in Multifamily Construction including apartments, affordable, student and senior housing. Stauff is responsible for all company operations including strategic planning, business development, estimating and operations. Compass projects are primarily located in the urban core of Seattle and the Eastside, expanding along with the light rail lines and stations. The Compass client base is a mix of local and national developers, 90% of which are repeat customers. Prior to joining Compass, Stauff served as a construction and development consultant for a variety of clients throughout the Puget Sound. Services offered included feasibility studies, estimating, constructability analysis, construction management and owner representation. With 30 years of industry experience, Stauff began his career at McCarthy Construction, a commercial general contractor located in Bellevue, WA. While there, he experienced a broad range of project types including office, retail, resort, high rise residential, industrial and government. A lifelong resident of the Seattle area, Frank grew up in Renton and currently resides in Greenlake with his wife Wendy and boys, Ben (19) and Blake (16). He holds a B.S. in Construction Management from the University of Washington and a certificate in Commercial Real Estate Development. He is a Boy Scouts and Little League Volunteer. Stauff is a NAIOP, ULI, WAC and 101 Club member. He currently serves as the Board Chair of the Seattle Police Foundation and is on the Board of Directors for King County Boys & Girls Clubs.

  Compass Construction

  President

  Frank Stauff

  President

  Compass Construction

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  Marjorie Elliott

  Marjorie has dedicated the last 8 years to designing insurance programs for construction companies. Her main desire is to redirecting profits from insurance carriers back to the bottom line for local construction companies. She does this by working together with her clients to tackle both direct and indirect costs related to risk management. By leveraging market knowledge on classifications, she skillfully negotiates both coverage and rates to ensure a positive financial impact. Her transparency and desire to proactively solve problems cements her role as a trusted business partner. Beyond her typical workday, Marjorie is deeply involved in the construction industry. She serves on the legal affairs committee for AGC North, she has sat on the board of Professional Women in Building in the past as well as currently on the board for National Association of Women in Construction. To further the passion of getting more people into the trades she is a founding member of Camp buildHER, a free day camp focused on getting girls in grades 7-10 interested in joining the construction industry.

  USI

  Partner

  Moderator

  Marjorie Elliott

  Partner

  USI

Opening Remarks

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  Dominic DePizzol

  Dominic DePizzol is a seasoned façade industry professional currently leading sales and sustainability efforts at PhoxOne, one of the largest and most innovative curtain wall manufacturers in the United States. In this role, Dominic works closely with real estate owners, developers, and design teams to navigate the evolving landscape of sustainability regulations and performance standards for high-performance building envelopes. With a deep understanding of both technical systems and market demands, Dominic plays a key role in shaping forward-thinking strategies that align environmental goals with practical construction solutions. He is passionate about helping clients future-proof their assets by integrating sustainable design practices into every stage of façade development—from concept to installation. A trusted advisor and engaging speaker, Dominic brings a unique perspective at the intersection of business development, building technology, and environmental stewardship.

  PhoxOne

  Creative Solutions Specialist

  Dominic DePizzol

  Creative Solutions Specialist

  PhoxOne