Lowe’s Will Anchor Sunset Center

A 165,000-square-foot Lowe’s Hardware and Garden store will anchor a 29-acre commercial development near the intersection of Sunset Drive and Interstate 5 in Bellingham.

The project, which will include up to five buildings, is being developed by Sunset Drive Investors LLC, led by president Jeffrey Oliphant. The property is at the southeast corner of the I-5/Sunset Drive intersection, bounded by Indiana Street to the south and Orleans Street to the east. The land currently is occupied by Bellingham Covenant Church, which already has been sold to the developers, and a number of older houses.

Although the property was zoned for commercial development in 1997, the developers still will need city permits for the project.

The city will require an extension of Barkley Boulevard, cutting through the development from Orleans Street to the Sunset Drive intersection that serves as the main entrance to Sunset Square.

Lowe’s Companies, based in North Wilkesboro, N.C., has approximately 650 stores nationwide and is the 12th-largest retailer in the country. It acquired Washing-ton-based Eagle Hardware & Gardens for $1 billion in 1999 and converted 18 stores, including one in Mount Vernon, to the Lowe’s Hardware and Garden brand.

Contractors Donate Four Playhouses

Local contractors and builders have donated four playhouses for the third-annual American Red Cross Playhouse Project: Homes for Hope 2001.

The playhouses are being displayed at Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham. Raffle tickets are being sold at The Bon Marché customer-service desk and the store’s registers as well as the American Red Cross office in Bellingham. A drawing to give away each of the four playhouses will be broadcast live by KAFE Radio on March 23.

ANDA Construction Inc. worked with students in Mount Baker High School’s new construction program to create the “One-room Schoolhouse.” The themes for the other playhouses — donated by Abbott Construction, H.B. Hanson Construction and The Cascade Joinery — are a Japanese teahouse, a pirate ship and a Western-style playhouse.

Proposed Ferndale Center Advances

A proposed 750,000-square-foot commercial center in Ferndale passed a major step when the city council approved a change to the city’s comprehensive plan.

The planned 129-acre Pioneer Plaza, located south of West Axton Road and west of Interstate 5, includes 85 acres that previously were designated as residential. The project will require a zoning change that will allow retail uses. Investors say the development could include up to three large retail stores, office space and a housing complex for senior citizens.

No tenants have been announced yet.

Seattle Closure Not Affecting XCache

Bellingham-based XCache Technol-ogies, which received some support last year from iStart Ventures of Seattle, says it won’t be affected by iStart’s office closure in January.

“In no way should this be considered a reflection of our future or how we are doing,” says Wayne Berry, president and chief executive officer of XCache Technologies (formerly Post Point Software). “iStart Ventures is scaling back its operations, but they will continue to hold partial ownership in the portfolio companies they started.”

XCache Technologies, a leading provider of Internet performance and manageability solutions, in February introduced XCache 2.0, the first caching solution designed to give Web-site owners and operators absolute control over the relationship between content, cache and delivery.

“We are focused on content delivery as a whole and have covered all aspects of it with XCache 2.0,” Berry states. “XCache dramatically improves the performance and scalability of all file types — streaming media, static HTML, database-driven Web pages, images, downloadable files — and makes it easy for companies to manage complex content distribution across a wide range of caching devices.”

XCache 2.0 will be available in the second quarter of 2001. Visit www. xcache.com or call (877) 709-8894 for updates.

XCache Technologies is a leading provider of Internet performance and manageability solutions. The company’s software products — XCache, XTune and XBuilder — provide Web developers and site owners with robust performance solutions that significantly improve site experiences for end users.

Chrysalis Inn Plans Opening

The Chrysalis Inn & Spa, a 43-room hotel at 804-10th St. in Fairhaven, is scheduled to open April 2.

The Chrysalis, which overlooks Bellingham Bay, includes a daytime spa that will offer massages, facials and body treatments to hotel guests and members of the public. It also will feature a wine bar and two meeting rooms. Each guest room has a fireplace.

The owners are Ellen Shea, who will manage the hotel; Seattle architect Regan McClellan, who designed it, and Michael Keenan of Bellingham. Pearson Construction of Bellingham is the general contractor.

For more information, call 756-1005 or visit www.thechrysalisinn.com.

Employment Expo Scheduled April 19

The annual Northwest Employment Expo is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 19 at the Best Western Lakeway Inn in Bellingham.

The Employment Expo, hosted by Whatcom County Business Pulse and WorkSource, drew more than 1,600 prospective employees and several dozen exhibitors last year. It is the largest event of its kind in the state north of Seattle. A variety of seminars for employers and jobseekers will be presented before and during the Employment Expo.

For more information, call 671-3933 or visit www.nwemploymentexpo.com.

WWU Offering Business Workshops

In order to address professional development needs and provide information essential to starting and maintaining a successful business, Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center and WWU Extended Programs have developed three certificate programs for community members.

The workshops cover topics ranging from sales methodology to leadership approaches and will be taught by professionals in their respective fields.

The first workshop, “Selling with Sense, Sensitivity and Sizzle,” will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursdays between March 22 and May 10. This course will move from ideas about selling to specific applications. Topics include gaining credibility, developing a compelling message and closing by suggestion. Taught by sales professional Alan Elzea, the course looks at essentials of selling and promotes class discussion. Cost for the workshop is $395.

The second workshop, “E-Commerce: How to Make Your Web Site Work for You,” will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on two Tuesdays, April 3 and 10. This workshop explores ideas and proven strategies on how to make a Web site more persuasive by examining what successful sites do to attract visitors and how they turn visitors into customers. Taught by independent consultant Ingvar Grimsmo, the course is designed for corporate and small-business people who have Web sites but want better results. Cost for this workshop is $195.

The final workshop, “Effective Entrepreneurial Leadership,” will take place from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday nights from April 11 to June 27. The workshop offers managers and CEOs the context for starting, growing and maintaining a business. Taught by WWU College of Business and Economics faculty and headed by professor Tracey Sigler, the class offers instruction in areas like human resources, marketing and strategic management. Cost for this session is $595.

Registration for all workshops is due one week before the first class. For more information or to register, call (360) 650-6854.

Bob’s Burgers Expands to Sudden Valley

Bob’s Burgers & Brew has reached an agreement with the Sudden Valley Community Association to operate its restaurant, lounge and clubhouse snack bar.

Bob Kildall, who owns the Bob’s Burgers & Brew in Lynden, will oversee the Sudden Valley operation, which is scheduled to open around April 1. He says the Bob’s Burgers menu will add some steak and seafood dishes at Sudden Valley. The restaurant facility there, most recently operated by Palmers, can seat 180-200 people and be partitioned for banquets and special events.

Kildall started in the business in 1968 with a restaurant at the corner of Holly and High streets in Bellingham before opening a restaurant on the Guide Meridian in Lynden in 1970. Other family members operate Bob’s Burgers & Brew restaurants in Sumas, Ferndale and Fairhaven.

Fourth Corner Offers Award-winning Home

A Lindal Cedar Home design, available locally through Fourth Corner Custom Homes of Bellingham, is Country Living magazine’s 2001 “House of the Year.”

The house is featured in the magazine’s February issue and the magazine’s Web site, www.countryliving.com.

Lindal Cedar Homes are distributed through a network of authorized dealers, such as Fourth Corner Custom Homes, which was founded by Dale Johnson in 1979. He still serves as its president. For more information, call Fourth Corner at 380-0808 or visit the business at 4760 Pacific Highway.

Storm-water Fee Assessment Begins

The City of Bellingham’s newly passed storm-water fee is showing up on city utility bills this month for the first time.

Businesses and large homes are being charged $5 per month for every 3,000 square feet of impervious surface. Businesses that already have installed storm-water facilities can have their fees reduced. Most homes will be charged $5 per month.

After much debate since it was first proposed in August, the Bellingham City Council passed the storm-water fee Feb. 12.

Roger Jobs Motors Opens at New Site

Roger Jobs Motors moved in late February to its new 17,000-square-foot building at the corner of Iowa and Woburn streets in Bellingham.

Owner Roger Jobs purchased the Whatcom County dealership for Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Jeep vehicles 15 years ago and operated it at 112 S. Samish Way until this move.

Jobs says the larger building offers substantially more space for the showroom (4,800 square feet, up from 1,000 square feet) and service department. Also, the 2.4-acre site provides more parking spaces for customers and employees and enables the dealership to display more vehicles.

Jobs says the number of employees at the dealership will rise to between 35 and 40 people in the next six months.

Prudential Insurance Agents Move

Bill Bean and Dave Kimbler of Prudential Insurance have moved their office to Suite 200 of the RE/MAX Realty Building, 909 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham.

For more information, call 733-7750.

Motor Trucks Honored by Manufacturer

Motor Trucks, Inc. has been presented the Circle of Excellence award for the ninth time from International Truck Co.

The award is given to the top International dealers in North America, based on performance and customer service.

Motor Trucks has been serving the local trucking industry since 1947 with locations at 929 Thomas Road, Bellingham, as well as in Mount Vernon and Everett.

Bellingham Tennis Club Adding Fifth Court

The Bellingham Tennis Club is adding a fifth indoor tennis court that may be completed this summer.

The club, located at 800 McKenzie Ave. in Fairhaven, was purchased in May by a family partnership led by Doug and Robin Robertson. The additional court will enable it to offer more tennis lessons and clinics.

The construction project, which involves extending the west side of the building 35 feet, will include planting shrubs and trees between the building and Padden Creek Trail.

Calendar of Arts Events Featured in Brochure

A calendar of visual and performing arts events scheduled now through August is included in “Live from Bellingham,” a free brochure offered by the Bellingham/ Whatcom County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The brochure includes gallery openings, book readings, plays, musicals and concerts. It also contains a list of local galleries, museums, theaters and venues for music, dance and literature, as well as a locator map.

The brochure is available at the CVB office at 904 Potter St., as well as the Bellingham Cruise Terminal and Bellis Fair mall visitor centers, all in Bellingham. For more information, call the CVB at 671-3900 or send e-mail to tourism@bellingham.org.

High-tech Business Park Opening Soon

Silver Creek Business Park, scheduled to have a building ready at its Ferndale site by April, will have high-speed telecommunications access provided by Verizon Communications.

Verizon is providing investment and support for Silver Creek Business Park. Only about 125 Verizon SmartParks, as the company labels such projects, exist across the United States. Silver Creek will be the only one north of Seattle.

Silver Creek, located along Slater Road and just west of Interstate 5, will provide high-tech businesses direct access to networks via multiple fiberoptic cables that will provide a constant broadband connection even if a line breaks.

Callen Construction of Custer, owned by Cleo Callen, is a partner in Silver Creek LLC, which is developing the business park. An 18,000-square-foot building is nearly completed. When fully developed, the 17-acre business park will have seven buildings with up to 250,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.

Surgeon Opens Bellingham Clinic

Dr. Ashoka Subedar, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, has opened a practice in the Bellingham Surgery Center at 2980 Squalicum Parkway.

Subedar has specialized training in trauma and reconstructive surgery for accident victims and cancer patients. He says it’s no longer necessary for patients to travel to Seattle for certain procedures.

For more information, call 647-4262 or toll-free (866) 647-4262.

SBDC Helps Many Businesses

Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center counseled 369 small businesses that brought in more than $8.9 million in new investments (including loans and personal investments) last year.

Among the businesses receiving its free services, more than 248 jobs were saved or created, according to local SBDC director Tom Dorr.

In the last five years, the SBDC has supported more than 1,500 businesses in Whatcom County, approximately 23 percent of all businesses in the county. Dorr credits the ability to meet the high demand for assistance partly to the addition of a second business development specialist, Megan Watt. The position is funded by the City of Bellingham and private donations.

“We are counseling more and more small-business owners on financing their businesses, marketing strategies to increase sales and financial analysis to help them increase their profitability,” Dorr says. “We are focused on helping local businesses grow, prosper, stabilize and expand.”

For more information about the SBDC, call 734-4014.

Horizon Bank Launches Internet Banking

Horizon Bank launched its new Internet banking service in February.

The new service enables customers to check their account balances, review transaction history, transfer funds between accounts and perform other banking functions from any computer with Internet access. The bank’s Web site is www.horizonbank.com.

Horizon Bank, the primary subsidiary of Horizon Financial Corp., operates 15 full-service offices throughout Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties. Its headquarters are in Bellingham.

Kelleys Add Restoration of Wood Floors

Ron and Pamela Kelley of Ferndale, owners of the local Kitchen Tune-Up franchise, have added restoration of wood floors to the products and services they offer.

The Kelleys, certified wood-care specialists, say a one-day process can make wood floors look like new.

Kitchen Tune-Up also offers restoration of cabinets, replacement of doors and drawer fronts, cabinet refacing and new custom cabinets. For more information, call 384-4090.

Tosco Honored by School to Work

The Tosco Ferndale Refinery received the Gold Medal Award from the School-to-Work/Tech Prep Consortium for its numerous contributions.

Tosco donated $10,000 to the Clearinghouse Network, a countywide computer database that links all high schools to facilitate communication between businesses and educators. It also provided financial and human support for a variety of other school projects. These included development of an aquaculture center at Ferndale High School, provision of computers for the A+ certification program at Lynden High School, the sponsorship of one countywide and two statewide math contests and participation in job shadowing and internship opportunities.

Key Bank, Brown & Cole Stores, Industrial Credit Union, Puget Sound Energy, Rotary Club of Bellingham and Bellingham Bay Rotary Club also were recognized during a February ceremony for contributions of $500 to $2,500 to the Clearinghouse Network.

St. Joseph Hospital was recognized for its sponsorship of a youth mentorship program and leadership of the health-care services program. The youth mentorship program offers part-time employment for high-school students who have minimal economic resources and would benefit from a mentor relationship. Students agree to set aside one-third of their take-home pay into an educational savings accounts, which the hospital matches when the student enrolls and is accepted into a higher-education program.

Dawson Construction, Andgar Corp. and Laborers’ International — Local 276 were recognized for their participation in development of a video to expose students to career opportunities in the trades.

The School-to-Work/Tech Prep Consortium is a business-education partnership that includes all Whatcom County high schools, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College and more than 500 businesses. For more information, call Linda Cowan, 676-2170, ext. 3308.

Communication 2000 Receives Nextel Award

Communication 2000, a cellular-phone business located several miles south of Lynden, was presented the Nextel New Dealer of the Year award for Washington.

The award was presented to the business, owned and operated by Bill and Sandy Knutzen, for outstanding performance and customer satisfaction. It opened in March 1999 at 6920-A2 Guide Meridian Road, just north of the Pole Road intersection. It has 12 employees.

Communication 2000 offers cellular service and accessories from Nextel, Verizon, VoiceSteam and AT&T.

For more information, call 398-9357.

Peoples Bank Opens Anacortes Branch

Peoples Bank has opened an Anacortes branch that brings its total to 13 offices in Whatcom and Skagit counties.

The bank also has applied for federal approval to open an office in Seattle.

Peoples Bank, established in Lynden in 1921, now has more than $350 million in assets.

IMCO Construction Starts Major Projects

IMCO General Construction of Bellingham started work in January on major projects in Grandview and the Lake Sammamish area.

IMCO is working on a $6 million project for the City of Grandview in Eastern Washington to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant. The year-long project will add a mechanical plant to the current lagoon-based plant, allowing for added capacity and better control of the treatment process.

The Bellingham company also has a $1.44 million contract to construct a sewer lift station for the Northeast Sammamish Sewer and Water District along Lake Sammamish near Renton. The lift station, expected to be completed in June, will move 1.3 million gallons of wastewater about two miles each day and include a special underground overflow chamber as an extra safety feature.

Silhouettes Salon Hosts Fundraiser

The third-annual Labor of Love fundraiser for The Opportunity Council was conducted Feb. 24 at Silhouettes Salon, 321 Telegraph Road, Bellingham.

For $25, clients received up to four beauty mini-treatments, plus free product samples and hors d’oeuvres donated by local businesses. Other businesses donated prizes for a raffle of gift baskets.

Proceeds went to The Opportunity Council’s homeless programs providing emergency housing for families.

Phillips Petroleum Buying Tosco

Phillips Petroleum Co. announced Feb. 4 it will acquire Tosco Corp., owner of a refinery several miles west of Ferndale, for $7 billion in stock.

Tosco is an oil refiner and retailer that markets gasoline under the 76 and Circle K brands. Phillips has been focused on oil exploration and production. The transaction, if completed, would create the nation’s second-largest refiner and fifth-largest gasoline retailer.

The Ferndale refinery, located along Neptune Beach, was built by General Petroleum Co. (Mobil Oil) in 1954 for $35 million. It was sold to BP Oil Co. in 1988. Tosco acquired it in 1993.

The refinery’s primary products include gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, low-sulfur diesel oil, propane gas, heavy fuel oil and sulfur.

Lummi Nation Building Casino

The Lummi Nation has announced plans for a casino at the corner of Haxton and Slater roads.

The casino, which will be developed by Merritt Management Group of Chicago, will have a 25,000-square-foot gaming area. It will include more than 300 video-terminal slot machines and 12 table games, such as blackjack and poker. The casino also will offer a restaurant and a lounge with live entertainment.

Construction costs are estimated between $15 million and $17 million.

Merritt Management Group will open the facility, hire and train its employees and handle its marketing. The casino is expected to create 150 jobs.

The new casino will be just a couple of miles west of Interstate 5, much closer to the freeway than the tribe’s previous casino at Gooseberry Point. That casino operated in the mid-1990s before closing four years ago.

Council Recommends against Sumas Energy 2

The state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council has recommended denial of an application by Sumas Energy 2 Inc. to build a natural-gas-fired electric-generation facility in Sumas.

Although Sumas Energy 2 planned to ask the EFSEC for reconsideration of the application, the recommendation eventually will go to Gov. Gary Locke, who will make the final decision.

EFSEC said in its ruling that the environmental impacts, particularly regarding air quality, of the proposed 660-megawatt facility outweigh its energy benefits. The facility was opposed by some residents in Whatcom County, as well as local governments and residents in Abbotsford and the Lower Fraser River Valley of British Columbia.

If the project is approved, Sumas Energy 2 says it would take about two years to build the $350 million plant, employing up to 400 workers during peak construction. The operating plan would employ about 25 people and add about $5 million annually in local tax revenues, the company adds.

WWU Program Offers Free Help to Businesses

Local businesses and organizations are invited to host a student consulting team from the Entrepreneurial Studies Program at Western Washington University.

Businesses and organizations are needed for the spring quarter, which begins April 3. There is no charge for their participation.

Student consulting teams are comprised of senior-level students enrolled in the College of Business & Economics who have excelled in their academic achievements and recently completed the first phase of the Entrepreneurial Studies Program.

The teams perform a general review of a business organization or evaluate specific areas of the operation as requested by the principals. A comprehensive written analysis is provided to the principals along with an oral presentation and review of the written report.

An analysis may cover the areas of marketing, human resource practices and policies, operational issues, location and feasibility of starting or expanding a business.

For more information, contact John Sands at the Entrepreneurial Studies Program, 650-3895, or send e-mail to John.Sands@wwu.edu.

FiberCloud, VECO Reach Agreement

FiberCloud, a high-speed business-data center in Bellingham, has signed a deal with VECO Technologies Group.

The Bellingham office of VECO, a worldwide engineering, construction, maintenance and operations company, will handle professional and managed services for clients of FiberCloud’s co-location center. VECO’s technical services encompass a variety of platforms ranging from corporate Internet strategy and software engineering to network design, operations and monitoring. FiberCloud clients will be able to choose from a comprehensive package of services or select just those that fit their particular needs.

“Clients thousands of miles away can take advantage of FiberCloud’s connectivity and infrastructure, confident that VECO is ready and able to remotely support their network and Web management needs,” says Gary Nelson, FiberCloud’s founder and chief executive officer.

Real-estate Team Helps Food Bank

The Johnson Team at John L. Scott Real Estate in Bellingham raised $850 and 379 pounds of food during the holiday season for the Bellingham Food Bank.

The team is comprised of Rich and Lylene Johnson, Mike Bredeson, Pat Jerns, Becki Murphy and Fawn Macaras. It matched donations from clients and conducted its third-annual food drive in the Northern Heights neighorbhood.

Mindfly Receives Internet Award

Mindfly, Inc. of Bellingham has received a Spider Award for excellence in search-engine optimization and Web-site promotion.

The award recognizes those sites and individuals that achieve a top-10 ranking with the major search engines through ethical and professional search-engine optimization strategies.

“Mindfly prides itself on its ability to not only design and develop Web sites that are well constructed and easy to use but, with regular promotion, also achieve above-average results in Internet search engines and directory services,” says John Raasch, Mindfly’s project manager and sales consultant.

Mindfly’s Web services include design, development, promotion, hosting and management. For more information, call 647-7470 or visit www.mindfly.com.

ESP Presenting Caregivers Conference

Elder Service Providers is sponsoring its sixth-annual Caregivers Conference on March 24 at St. Luke’s Community Health and Education Center in Bellingham.

ESP is a local nonprofit organization and networking consortium of more than 50 professionals providing services to seniors.

This year’s conference, “Tending the Garden with Care: Nurturing the Lives of Caregivers,” will feature Wendy Lustbader, a nationally acclaimed speaker on caregiving issues. Her seminars will focus on reducing stress through humor and perspective, caring for yourself, resolving family conflict in order to make difficult choices and decisions, and how to understand and cope with the stress of caring for people who are demanding, manipulative or resisting.

The conference also will feature sessions on health maintenance, leisure programming and caring for individuals with chronic, progressive conditions. The seminars will be led by local experts Erin Baumgert, Jennifer Boncheff and Jan Smith.

Registration costs $10 for caregivers and students and $30 for professionals. Space is limited and pre-registration is required for the conference and adult day-care. For a brochure, leave a message at 715-6563.

Health Supplement Seminars Planned

LifeScience Technologies is presenting two seminars in Bellingham on the use of adaptogens for anti-aging and stress management.

The free seminars on “Effects of Stress on the Family,” led by Dr. Kenneth Kroll, will be offered from 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 15 at the Squalicum Harbor boathouse and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 17 at the Best Western Lakeway Inn.

LifeScience Technologies offers adaptogens in herbal food and dietary supplements. For more information, call local distributor Bernard Franklin at 733-0283.

Correction

An article in Business Pulse’s February issue contained several errors. Erin Baker was the sole developer of the Baker Breakfast Cookie. Her association with Karyn Lombard was limited to development of kitchen space that they shared at an early stage of Baker’s business. Also, her company occupies 14,000 square feet in the Bellingham Business Park and it was the ginger molasses, not the mocha chip, that was introduced in December. Business Pulse sincerely regrets the errors.