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by Christopher Key

Architect goes solo
Explores new territory

Bob Ross is thinking about the legacy our society is passing down to succeeding generations. The partner in Ross McClure Cornwell has left that partnership on good terms so that he can focus more on the environmental aspects of his trade.
Ross grew up in Detroit and graduated from the University of Michigan in the 1960s. He describes that institution as the Berkeley of the Midwest.
“I managed to get my degree in spite of all the distractions,” Ross said.
In his early 20s, he set out to explore different areas of the country and ended up in Washington. He liked it enough to stay.
“My background in Detroit involved major commercial and industrial projects,” Ross said. “There was a bit of culture shock when I came here and started working on residential wood frame houses.”
He spent a year and a half working with the Zervas firm before striking out on his own. In 1975, he collaborated on the Whatcom Transit Authority Terminal. Jeff McClure started sharing his office in 1982 and a partnership was formalized in 1986.
“We started out in the old Bellingham Theatre Guild Building that now houses attorneys offices,” Ross said. “The we moved to the old Blackburn Office Supply space on Commercial Street. We continued to grow and Brad Cornwell became a partner in 1998.”
Ross McClure Cornwell now occupies space in the new Market Place Building they designed.
“I found I was doing less architecture and more management,” Ross said. “Then I had an epiphany. I realized that I have choices. I can create change or respond to change. So I’m making a change while I’m at the top of my game. I want to scale back a bit and focus on sustainable materials and design.”
Architecture, Ross believes, should be a thoughtful process that results in good design.
“We need to educate ourselves, builders and clients about the long term impacts of our choices,” he said. "What kind of legacy are we leaving for our kids? Resource depletion and pollution? I was spending so much time managing projects I didn’t have time to think things through on an environmental basis. If it’s just me, I can focus on that.”
He is available as a consultant or for hire.
“The Northwest Avenue Medical Arts Center is the kind of thing that turns me on,” Ross said. “That’s a significant project focusing on women’s health. There’s a connection because my sister-in-law recently died of breast cancer.”
Architecture is a very complex profession, according to Ross.
“It has a lot of facets and you can get lost in managing,” he said. “I want more hands-on control. I want to influence the outcome of projects, be involved in site selection and positioning. I want to create a balance and reflect regional design values.”
The new office is a one person operation, but Ross won’t hesitate to call on McClure if he needs help.
“Bob and I have had a great run as partners,” McClure said. “Although I’m sorry to see him leave, I’m very supportive of the vision he has for his new venture.”
For his part, Ross expects to maintain a consulting role with RMC.
“It’s unusual for a partnership to last as long as this one did,” Ross said. “That’s due to compatibility of demeanors. I’m the detail guy while Jeff paints with a broad brush. Brad brought in the freshness of youth. I still like being associated with them.”
Ross chose an office in Fairhaven, close to his residence.
“I want to be able to walk to work and soften my impact on the environment,” he said.
Rumors of his retirement are greatly exaggerated.
“This is a purposeful shift in my career, not the end of it,” Ross said. “I’m not expecting to work less. I’m just drawing a horse cart instead of a stagecoach.”

Nurse practitioner opens office
Offers mental health options

Michelle Gibson has been a nurse for over 25 years. The University of Washington graduate was living in Canada and looking for a good spot to retire. The rest of the story is a familiar one: she visited Bellingham and fell in love with the city.
She’s not quite ready to retire yet, however. Gibson, who holds the Advance Registered Nurse Practitioner designation, works four days a week at a mental health center in Skagit County. On Fridays, she is accepting patients at her new private practice on Iowa Street. Her qualifications include a master’s degree in nursing and postgraduate work in pharmacology.
“As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I will work with patients suffering from depression, seasonal affective disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder or those diagnosed as bipolar,” Gibson said. “I also have the capability to prescribe psychotropic medicine as necessary.”
Her psychiatric practitioner background includes four years as program coordinator at an outpatient mental health clinic in Canada.
“Psych meds help the brain’s chemistry like a battery boost,” Gibson said. “Along with therapy, that boost jumpstarts the process of understanding and solving problems. My clients may be having problems with depression or not experiencing a reasonable quality of life. My job, and what I enjoy most about my work with patients, is to provide strong, empathetic therapy that can be, if needed, supported by psychotropic medication management.”
Her professional designation allows her the autonomy to bill insurance companies for her services and to accept referrals without direct supervision.
“Psychiatric nurse practitioners go back about 20 years,” Gibson said. “There’s a handful here in Bellingham and many are now going into private practice. Most psychiatrists are booked four months out and there’s a need in the community for mental health services in a more timely fashion.”
Her specialty has been rather low visibility because most psychiatric nurse practitioners work in public health.
“A lot of potential patients are not aware of these private practices,” Gibson said. “We tend to deal with patients who are not as sick as those in the public health system.”
There has been a sharp learning curve that came with her own business.
“The complexity of billing to insurance companies is daunting,” Gibson said.
She is currently subletting a space at the Northwest Medical Weight Management Clinic in the Iowa Business Park.
“My fees are somewhat lower than those of a psychiatrist and I’d like to think I’m somewhat less intimidating,” Gibson said.

Blaine gets property managers
New company, experienced people

If you live in Birch Bay, one of the things you’ll notice is that many homes are empty for much of the year. That’s part of living in a vacation village. Rose Abbaspour, a property manager for Landmark, decided that those homes needed someone to keep an eye on them while their owners were away. That was the inspiration for Property Watch, a new company headquartered in Blaine.
“We make sure properties are OK after a storm and watch for vandalism,” Abbaspour said. “I figured if we were going to keep an eye on houses, we might as well do property management, too. There wasn’t any office space available in Birch Bay, so here we are in Blaine.”
Joining Abbaspour in the new business is another former Landmark employee, Brandi Christie.
“We used to get calls at Landmark from the North County from people wanting property management,” Christie said. “There’s lots of properties here, but you need to be local.”
Forty six percent of the housing units in Blaine are rentals as opposed to fifty two percent in Bellingham.
“Blaine is a hot market, but it hasn’t been discovered yet,” Christie said. “Low prices here mean you can get a good return on investment. In Bellingham, the prices are up, but not the rents. We met with a lot of real estate agents and they told us there were quite a few people looking for investment property.”
Property managers have to be licensed real estate agents working under a broker. Abbaspour is the broker for Property Watch.
“Tenant screening is the most important thing in property management,” Christie said. “If tenants know we are doing credit and background checks, it weeds out a lot of undesirables. We document the move-in inspection with photos and take care of all accounting for the property. We accept rent, pay bills, take care of maintenance issues.”
Property Watch does quarterly inspections for all its clients.
“We make sure things are working,” Christie said. “Sometimes the renters are just too busy to fix things. This helps protect the owner’s property.”
It was not cost effective to perform these services from Bellingham.
“If a bad renter gets through screening, a property manager can check on them regularly,” Christie said. “You can’t rely on instinct. You really don’t know until you do the background check. People have been known to strip houses for grow ops.”
Property Watch is the only company in Blaine and Birch Bay that specializes in management.
“We have training in property management, rather than sales,” Christie said. “There is a high turnover in this business because it can be pretty stressful. You’re often dealing with people who are upset. You need to be highly organized and not take things personally.”
North County property owners should be able to breathe a bit easier with this new company on the job.

by Christopher Key Architect Bob Ross Michelle Gibson Property Watch Architect goes solo Explores new territory Bob Ross is thinking about the legacy our society is passing down to succeeding generations. The partner in Ross McClure Cornwell has left that partnership on good terms so that he can focus more on the environmental aspects of his trade. Ross grew up in Detroit and graduated from the University of Michigan in the 1960s. He describes that institution as the Berkeley of the Midwest. “I managed to get my degree in spite of all the distractions,” Ross said. In his early 20s, he set out to explore different areas of the country and ended up in Washington. He liked it enough to stay. “My background in Detroit involved major commercial and industrial projects,” Ross said. “There was a bit of culture shock when I came here and started working on residential wood frame houses.” He spent a year and a half working with the Zervas firm before striking out on his own. In 1975, he collaborated on the Whatcom Transit Authority Terminal. Jeff McClure started sharing his office in 1982 and a partnership was formalized in 1986. “We started out in the old Bellingham Theatre Guild Building that now houses attorneys offices,” Ross said. “The we moved to the old Blackburn Office Supply space on Commercial Street. We continued to grow and Brad Cornwell became a partner in 1998.” Ross McClure Cornwell now occupies space in the new Market Place Building they designed. “I found I was doing less architecture and more management,” Ross said. “Then I had an epiphany. I realized that I have choices. I can create change or respond to change. So I’m making a change while I’m at the top of my game. I want to scale back a bit and focus on sustainable materials and design.” Architecture, Ross believes, should be a thoughtful process that results in good design. “We need to educate ourselves, builders and clients about the long term impacts of our choices,” he said. "What kind of legacy are we leaving for our kids? Resource depletion and pollution? I was spending so much time managing projects I didn’t have time to think things through on an environmental basis. If it’s just me, I can focus on that.” He is available as a consultant or for hire. “The Northwest Avenue Medical Arts Center is the kind of thing that turns me on,” Ross said. “That’s a significant project focusing on women’s health. There’s a connection because my sister-in-law recently died of breast cancer.” Architecture is a very complex profession, according to Ross. “It has a lot of facets and you can get lost in managing,” he said. “I want more hands-on control. I want to influence the outcome of projects, be involved in site selection and positioning. I want to create a balance and reflect regional design values.” The new office is a one person operation, but Ross won’t hesitate to call on McClure if he needs help. “Bob and I have had a great run as partners,” McClure said. “Although I’m sorry to see him leave, I’m very supportive of the vision he has for his new venture.” For his part, Ross expects to maintain a consulting role with RMC. “It’s unusual for a partnership to last as long as this one did,” Ross said. “That’s due to compatibility of demeanors. I’m the detail guy while Jeff paints with a broad brush. Brad brought in the freshness of youth. I still like being associated with them.” Ross chose an office in Fairhaven, close to his residence. “I want to be able to walk to work and soften my impact on the environment,” he said. Rumors of his retirement are greatly exaggerated. “This is a purposeful shift in my career, not the end of it,” Ross said. “I’m not expecting to work less. I’m just drawing a horse cart instead of a stagecoach.” Nurse practitioner opens office Offers mental health options Michelle Gibson has been a nurse for over 25 years. The University of Washington graduate was living in Canada and looking for a good spot to retire. The rest of the story is a familiar one: she visited Bellingham and fell in love with the city. She’s not quite ready to retire yet, however. Gibson, who holds the Advance Registered Nurse Practitioner designation, works four days a week at a mental health center in Skagit County. On Fridays, she is accepting patients at her new private practice on Iowa Street. Her qualifications include a master’s degree in nursing and postgraduate work in pharmacology. “As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I will work with patients suffering from depression, seasonal affective disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder or those diagnosed as bipolar,” Gibson said. “I also have the capability to prescribe psychotropic medicine as necessary.” Her psychiatric practitioner background includes four years as program coordinator at an outpatient mental health clinic in Canada. “Psych meds help the brain’s chemistry like a battery boost,” Gibson said. “Along with therapy, that boost jumpstarts the process of understanding and solving problems. My clients may be having problems with depression or not experiencing a reasonable quality of life. My job, and what I enjoy most about my work with patients, is to provide strong, empathetic therapy that can be, if needed, supported by psychotropic medication management.” Her professional designation allows her the autonomy to bill insurance companies for her services and to accept referrals without direct supervision. “Psychiatric nurse practitioners go back about 20 years,” Gibson said. “There’s a handful here in Bellingham and many are now going into private practice. Most psychiatrists are booked four months out and there’s a need in the community for mental health services in a more timely fashion.” Her specialty has been rather low visibility because most psychiatric nurse practitioners work in public health. “A lot of potential patients are not aware of these private practices,” Gibson said. “We tend to deal with patients who are not as sick as those in the public health system.” There has been a sharp learning curve that came with her own business. “The complexity of billing to insurance companies is daunting,” Gibson said. She is currently subletting a space at the Northwest Medical Weight Management Clinic in the Iowa Business Park. “My fees are somewhat lower than those of a psychiatrist and I’d like to think I’m somewhat less intimidating,” Gibson said. Blaine gets property managers New company, experienced people If you live in Birch Bay, one of the things you’ll notice is that many homes are empty for much of the year. That’s part of living in a vacation village. Rose Abbaspour, a property manager for Landmark, decided that those homes needed someone to keep an eye on them while their owners were away. That was the inspiration for Property Watch, a new company headquartered in Blaine. “We make sure properties are OK after a storm and watch for vandalism,” Abbaspour said. “I figured if we were going to keep an eye on houses, we might as well do property management, too. There wasn’t any office space available in Birch Bay, so here we are in Blaine.” Joining Abbaspour in the new business is another former Landmark employee, Brandi Christie. “We used to get calls at Landmark from the North County from people wanting property management,” Christie said. “There’s lots of properties here, but you need to be local.” Forty six percent of the housing units in Blaine are rentals as opposed to fifty two percent in Bellingham. “Blaine is a hot market, but it hasn’t been discovered yet,” Christie said. “Low prices here mean you can get a good return on investment. In Bellingham, the prices are up, but not the rents. We met with a lot of real estate agents and they told us there were quite a few people looking for investment property.” Property managers have to be licensed real estate agents working under a broker. Abbaspour is the broker for Property Watch. “Tenant screening is the most important thing in property management,” Christie said. “If tenants know we are doing credit and background checks, it weeds out a lot of undesirables. We document the move-in inspection with photos and take care of all accounting for the property. We accept rent, pay bills, take care of maintenance issues.” Property Watch does quarterly inspections for all its clients. “We make sure things are working,” Christie said. “Sometimes the renters are just too busy to fix things. This helps protect the owner’s property.” It was not cost effective to perform these services from Bellingham. “If a bad renter gets through screening, a property manager can check on them regularly,” Christie said. “You can’t rely on instinct. You really don’t know until you do the background check. People have been known to strip houses for grow ops.” Property Watch is the only company in Blaine and Birch Bay that specializes in management. “We have training in property management, rather than sales,” Christie said. “There is a high turnover in this business because it can be pretty stressful. You’re often dealing with people who are upset. You need to be highly organized and not take things personally.” North County property owners should be able to breathe a bit easier with this new company on the job.
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