PRESS RELEASE
Long-Time Yakima Real Estate Investment Firm
Adds its Signature to the Downtown Skyline
If you’ve been watching closely, you may have noticed workers dangling precariously from the upper floors of Yakima’s Tower Building over the last few days. By the end of the week, all four sides of one of Yakima’s landmark buildings will have a somewhat different look…particularly at night. The “W” shaped “golden shield” that has become the international icon for a nationally-known, locally-based real estate investment firm will now become a part of Yakima’s downtown skyline.
For the last 15 years, Yakima Washington’s Wilkinson Corporation has made its mark in the commercial real estate world with multi-family, office, industrial, and most recently senior housing properties all across the United States. With investments from private equity sources, including local individuals, a number of Microsoft millionaires, and even an investment bank out of the Middle East, the company and its subsidiaries are currently experiencing rapid growth and expect even more in the coming months.
Since October of 2003, the company has acquired more than $200 million in senior housing assets and now holds 34 independent, assisted living and memory care communities in six states and has a prominent office building in Hartford, Connecticut. Wilkinson Corporation’s local companies have more than doubled their staff in the last year and now employ 33 people here in Yakima. Nationwide, the company’s Eugene, Oregon management firm and portfolio of senior communities around the nation employ more than 1,200 people. Wilkinson Corporation and it’s sister company, Wilkinson 1031, LLC will occupy the top two floors of The Tower as well as a private mezzanine level with two formal conference rooms. They also hold an option to secure additional space on the next floor down if needed.
For the company’s President and Founder, Russell Wilkinson, along with many of his long-time staff, this is somewhat of a homecoming. In the mid 1980s the Wilkinson family founded Quest International. The membership-based travel club reached its pinnacle in the late ‘90s and also occupied two full floors in The Tower. The Wilkinson's sold the company in 1998 to J.C. Penney’s Membership Services division.
The Tower’s ownership, JEM Development, has experienced a significant boost in occupancy with the expansion of the first floor and the addition of Moss Adams taking the majority of the street level space. Other tenants include the Christa McAuliffe Academy, the Capitol Theater, Capital Advisors, the Downtown Perk Coffee Shop and others. The longtime Yakima development company is also spearheading the Hilton Gardens Hotel, now under construction directly across the street. Momentum from the Hilton construction project coupled with the downtown revitalization project scheduled to begin this spring, has spawned significant interest in available spaces in the former Yakima Mall and the surrounding area.
In many ways, the newly installed signs are a public relations move for Wilkinson Corporation, which must sometimes go the extra mile to convince both investors and commercial lending institutions that it’s okay to do business from a small, rural community.
“We could easily relocate to Seattle, or another large metropolis, and take advantage of some of the prestige that goes with it, but that’s not what we’re about” says Russ Wilkinson. “We’re basically a group of family and friends going to work together and achieving some amazing goals. There would be some distinct advantages to relocating to a big city as we grow, but moving our company to Seattle just wasn’t an option. I grew up on a cherry farm on Ahtanum Ridge” (which the family still owns) “and I love the Yakima Valley. There’s a lot of untapped potential here and it’s our long-term intention to continue to grow our company in Yakima.”
“It may sound idealistic, but these signs on The Tower also signify a commitment to Yakima,” says Dale Renner, Wilkinson Corporation’s Director of Communications. “As we grow, we fully intend to have a positive impact in our valley. To make the investment we’ve made and announce our presence in such a visual way marks a big step forward in determining our future goals… and those goals include making a difference right here at home.”
Questions or comments?
Dale Renner
Director of Communications
Wilkinson Corporation
402 East Yakima Avenue
15th Floor
Yakima, Washington 98901
Ph: 509-965-4240
Fax: 509-965-8535
Cell: 509-961-3102
E-Mail: dale@wilkinsoncorporation.com
