Seattle Skyline is Tops in Construction Cranes – More Than Any Other U.S. City

Seattle Times | Mike Rosenberg | October 21

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattle-skyline-is-tops-in-construction-cranes-more-than-any-other-us-city/

“Seattle is — for the moment, at least — the crane capital of America. As the city transforms with taller and taller buildings, Seattle this summer had 58 construction cranes reshaping the skyline — more than any other city in the country, according to recent data…Seattle’s crane count has grown 38 percent in the past year, creating a shortage of both cranes and operators. And while they’re most tightly concentrated in downtown and South Lake Union, the cranes are soaring hundreds of feet above neighborhoods from Sodo to Fremont to the University District.”

 

UW’s $5 Billion Fundraising Push Shifts to Public Phase

Seattle Times | Katherine Long | October 20

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/uws-5-billion-fundraising-push-shifts-to-public-phase/

“Expect to see a lot of purple Friday. The University of Washington is going public with a 6-year-old philanthropic campaign that’s already quietly raised $3 billion since it launched in 2010. The campaign is moving to its public phase, and the UW aims to raise $2 billion more during the next four years to support everything from scholarships to research to new buildings on campus…Overall, plans call for the $5 billion to be used in four broad areas, said Connie Kravas, vice president for university advancement: to continue to improve undergraduate education, expand the impact of the UW’s research, emphasize innovation as a mindset, and highlight the public nature of the university — in part by keeping tuition affordable for low-income students.”

 

Latest Zillow Report Finds Seattle Third in U.S. in Home Value Appreciation, Tops in Rising Rents

GeekWire | Kurt Schlosser | October 20

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/latest-zillow-report-finds-seattle-third-u-s-home-value-appreciation-tops-rising-rents/

“Seattle has the third-highest home value appreciation and the highest rent appreciation, year over year, among the 35 largest housing markets in the United States, according to Zillow’s monthly reports for September. Median home value rose 11 percent in Seattle and surpassed $400,000 for the first time to reach $401,100, the report said. Portland saw the biggest year-over-year increase with a nearly 15 percent spike, for a median home value of $342,100. Dallas was the second highest, with an 11.9 percent increase. U.S. home values are up 5.5 percent over the past year according to the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.”

 

Seattle Area Unemployment Falls Below 4% Propelled By a Strong Tech Economy

GeekWire | John Cook | October 20

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/chart-seattle-area-unemployment-rate-falls-4-propelled-strong-tech-economy/

“Unemployment rates in the Seattle metro area fell to 3.9 percent during September, down from 4.1 percent in August and well below levels from five years ago when the jobless rate hovered around eight percent. A booming tech economy in the Seattle area is certainly playing a role in the numbers, evidenced by companies such as Amazon, Expedia, Facebook, Zillow, Salesforce and others which are rapidly expanding their workforces in the region. Amazon.com now employs nearly 270,000 employees worldwide and more than 25,000 people in Washington state, and it currently has job openings for a reported 11,042 positions in the Seattle area. The company’s market value stands at $385 billion.”

 

New Seattle Peer Leadership Group Aims to Help Startup Leaders Scale Their Companies

GeekWire | Clare McGrane | October 18

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/new-seattle-peer-leadership-group-aims-help-startup-leaders-scale-companies/

“There is a myriad of resources in Seattle that incubate and mentor fledgling startups — Techstars, 9Mile Labs, and Madrona Venture Labs are just a few. But once a startup’s training wheels are off and the company starts to scale and become profitable, those resources drop away, leaving mid-sized startups with few support systems. Randy Ottinger, Seattle tech entrepreneur and investor, is hoping to fill that gap with the iInnovate Network, a peer leadership group for tech founders, CEOs, and other C-level executives that launched on Tuesday. “By creating a broad and diverse group of CEOs that meet regularly in forum groups of around 12 members, in a confidential setting, CEOs can discuss virtually any issue that impacts their companies or themselves personally and as leaders,” Ottinger told GeekWire via email.”