Ada M. Healey
Vice President Of Real Estate, Vulcan Inc.
"2008 South Lake Union Update"
"2008 South Lake Union Update"
Ada M. Healey directs all real estate strategies for Vulcan Inc., a Paul G. Allen company, and oversees its diverse and active development portfolio.Healey has been instrumental in the redevelopment of nearly 60 acres the company owns in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, where Vulcan is working with the city and community to create a new model for sustainable, mixed-use urban development. As the vice president of real estate at Vulcan, Healey oversees nearly $1.6 billion in real estate assets including approximately 2.8 million square feet currently under construction. Since joining Vulcan in 2001, Healey has built a real estate team of more than 50 professionals with the expertise to provide a full range of development services. To date, Vulcan has delivered 1.7 million square feet in nine new commercial, biotech, residential and mixed-use projects in South Lake Union, bringing Vulcan’s entire real estate portfolio to 2.6 million square feet.
Healey is also an active participant in various local real estate and business community organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, Downtown Seattle Association, Seattle Chamber of Commerce, International Women’s Forum, Lake Union Park Corporate Committee and Build the Streetcar Campaign.
2008 South Lake Union Update:
As one of the country’s largest urban revitalization projects, Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, with significant progress made in recent years that has yielded benefits not just for the neighborhood but the entire region. A highly anticipated streetcar line began boarding its first passengers in December 2007; a newly renovated lakefront park is fast taking shape and on schedule to open to the public by 2010; new amenities such as Whole Foods Market that support the daily needs of those living and working in the neighborhood continue growing; world-class companies such as Amazon.com, Microsoft, Group Health Cooperative and UW Medicine are locating in the neighborhood; and a diverse mix of housing is being offered that is suited to a wide range of income levels. The neighborhood is also a trailblazer in sustainability, and may become one of the first certified green neighborhoods in the nation by the U.S. Green Building Council. Not surprisingly, South Lake Union development has surpassed the City of Seattle's initial predictions, with growth across biotech, office, retail, residential and hospitality sectors outpacing initial projections. In short, the vision for South Lake Union is now becoming a reality.
Rob Rose
The “Idea” - Have a party for Nepali children with disabilities.
The “Goal” - Make it the best party they’ve ever
The “Goal” - Make it the best party they’ve ever
been to and an experience they’ll always remember.
One fine fall day in November, after our regular Rotary meeting, Charlotte Ellis, from my club, asked me what I thought about an idea she had: to bring a wild and crazy party to children with disabilities in Nepal during our group’s visit in February.
I was well aware (and a bit wary) of the type of party that Charlotte had in mind. You see, I had volunteered at Camp Goodtimes on Vashon Island for Rotary Carnival Day a number of times. Camp Goodtimes was started by Charlotte over 20 years ago as a place where children undergoing cancer treatment could, along with their siblings, safely attend a summer camp with all of the traditional camp activities. Volunteer nurses, doctors and other staff make sure that the children’s medical needs are attended to while the kids can kick back and have a real camp experience (and parents can rest easy). Rotary Carnival Day is a day the children all look forward to with various Rotarian-run carnival games, loud music, screaming kids, a whipped cream battle and. to top it off, a fire engine to hose the whipped cream off of the kids! With a bit of trepidation I agreed. It sounded like great fun, but would we be able to pull off this type of event in Nepal?
Through my Nepali Rotary contacts we were able to come up with a list of 110 children and about 20 adults with disabilities to invite who live adjacent to the SOS Children’s Village Orphanage in Kathmandu, the location where we had decided to have the party. When you included the 20 USA Rotary volunteers, 20 or so Nepali Rotarians/Rotaractors, along with various and sundry other staff, we were close to 200 in attendance!
Prior to the USA group’s departure, the volunteers had met and gathered together materials for gift/craft/school supply bags that were purchased and packed with care. They were then distributed among the volunteer group for airmail delivery to Nepal via suitcase! One bag was to be handed out to each child after the party.
The party was to occur the day after the group arrived in Nepal and we were scrambling to get all of the arrangements ready for the “big day.” Rotaractor Sacheen Shakya was in charge of the music, both live and CD. He was also the “go-to” guy for the decorations and along with quite a number of other Rotaractors from a variety of clubs, they prepared the venue with appropriately festive décor! My host and favorite Rotarian, RR Pandey, was also working hard to make sure the group would be able to make it to the party via his tour bus, what with gasoline and diesel supplies in the city dwindling due to general strikes and political strife in the Terai. (The Terai are the lowlands through which supplies like fuel from India must travel.) The morning of the party our visiting group went sightseeing at Boudhanath Stupa, a spectacular historic site, while I was on-site trying my best to round up enough tables and chairs for the arts and crafts projects. I took some Nepali Rotaractors next door to the Nepal Orthopedic Hospital to see if we could borrow what was needed. They had plenty of chairs, but no tables. However, the hospital canteen had some, and as the minutes ticked by, we managed to convince (or coerce) the canteen manager to lend us some. We quickly ran them over to the party venue and started setting up. Box lunches arrived, huge rented speakers showed up, and the Sachindra and his music tech team started setting up the sound equipment.
The tables and chairs were in place, and the volunteer group arrived. The craft stations began to take shape; the resident kids at the SOS children’s center began to mill around. More kids arrived from other organizations, including our sponsored kids from the school for the deaf. Slowly, things were starting to come together. I looked over and saw my friend RR in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, a silly hat and fake bugs on his face! But still, it didn’t feel like a party. Something was missing. Suddenly the music started with a CD of kids’ party songs. Kids and adults started dancing. The crown-decorating, face-painting, tongue-depressor decorating and hair-do booths were in full swing! Now it was a true party with all of the elements in play!
Everyone had such a great time. As I gazed around at the faces of the children and volunteers, I saw that a personal connection was made. This single bond made taking a trip half way around the world worthwhile for our team members. On that particular afternoon, the joy and smiles on everyone’s faces could have lit up the city! We followed up the arts and crafts extravaganza with a box lunch, then live music, then song and dance. It was truly a special day that no one will ever forget.
However, for me, one of the best moments was seeing 10-year-old Sophie Lipitz from Vashon Island, Washington, USA, with her new Nepali friend, Kamala Pun from DNC (Disabled Newlife Center), holding hands as they laughed, danced and chatted about this and that.
One fine fall day in November, after our regular Rotary meeting, Charlotte Ellis, from my club, asked me what I thought about an idea she had: to bring a wild and crazy party to children with disabilities in Nepal during our group’s visit in February.
I was well aware (and a bit wary) of the type of party that Charlotte had in mind. You see, I had volunteered at Camp Goodtimes on Vashon Island for Rotary Carnival Day a number of times. Camp Goodtimes was started by Charlotte over 20 years ago as a place where children undergoing cancer treatment could, along with their siblings, safely attend a summer camp with all of the traditional camp activities. Volunteer nurses, doctors and other staff make sure that the children’s medical needs are attended to while the kids can kick back and have a real camp experience (and parents can rest easy). Rotary Carnival Day is a day the children all look forward to with various Rotarian-run carnival games, loud music, screaming kids, a whipped cream battle and. to top it off, a fire engine to hose the whipped cream off of the kids! With a bit of trepidation I agreed. It sounded like great fun, but would we be able to pull off this type of event in Nepal?
Through my Nepali Rotary contacts we were able to come up with a list of 110 children and about 20 adults with disabilities to invite who live adjacent to the SOS Children’s Village Orphanage in Kathmandu, the location where we had decided to have the party. When you included the 20 USA Rotary volunteers, 20 or so Nepali Rotarians/Rotaractors, along with various and sundry other staff, we were close to 200 in attendance! Prior to the USA group’s departure, the volunteers had met and gathered together materials for gift/craft/school supply bags that were purchased and packed with care. They were then distributed among the volunteer group for airmail delivery to Nepal via suitcase! One bag was to be handed out to each child after the party.
The party was to occur the day after the group arrived in Nepal and we were scrambling to get all of the arrangements ready for the “big day.” Rotaractor Sacheen Shakya was in charge of the music, both live and CD. He was also the “go-to” guy for the decorations and along with quite a number of other Rotaractors from a variety of clubs, they prepared the venue with appropriately festive décor! My host and favorite Rotarian, RR Pandey, was also working hard to make sure the group would be able to make it to the party via his tour bus, what with gasoline and diesel supplies in the city dwindling due to general strikes and political strife in the Terai. (The Terai are the lowlands through which supplies like fuel from India must travel.) The morning of the party our visiting group went sightseeing at Boudhanath Stupa, a spectacular historic site, while I was on-site trying my best to round up enough tables and chairs for the arts and crafts projects. I took some Nepali Rotaractors next door to the Nepal Orthopedic Hospital to see if we could borrow what was needed. They had plenty of chairs, but no tables. However, the hospital canteen had some, and as the minutes ticked by, we managed to convince (or coerce) the canteen manager to lend us some. We quickly ran them over to the party venue and started setting up. Box lunches arrived, huge rented speakers showed up, and the Sachindra and his music tech team started setting up the sound equipment.
The tables and chairs were in place, and the volunteer group arrived. The craft stations began to take shape; the resident kids at the SOS children’s center began to mill around. More kids arrived from other organizations, including our sponsored kids from the school for the deaf. Slowly, things were starting to come together. I looked over and saw my friend RR in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, a silly hat and fake bugs on his face! But still, it didn’t feel like a party. Something was missing. Suddenly the music started with a CD of kids’ party songs. Kids and adults started dancing. The crown-decorating, face-painting, tongue-depressor decorating and hair-do booths were in full swing! Now it was a true party with all of the elements in play!
Everyone had such a great time. As I gazed around at the faces of the children and volunteers, I saw that a personal connection was made. This single bond made taking a trip half way around the world worthwhile for our team members. On that particular afternoon, the joy and smiles on everyone’s faces could have lit up the city! We followed up the arts and crafts extravaganza with a box lunch, then live music, then song and dance. It was truly a special day that no one will ever forget.
However, for me, one of the best moments was seeing 10-year-old Sophie Lipitz from Vashon Island, Washington, USA, with her new Nepali friend, Kamala Pun from DNC (Disabled Newlife Center), holding hands as they laughed, danced and chatted about this and that.
David Laub
Ten Grands features ten grand pianos and ten concert pianists playing a variety of classical and modern pieces both simultaneously and individually. There is a concert in Seattle at Benaroya Hall on Saturday, May 17, at 7:00PM.Concert proceeds benefit The Snowman Foundation, which in turn benefits youth service groups, helps generate scholarships and music lessons for disadvantaged youth in Oregon and Southwest Washington and helps purchase pianos for schools and organizations in need.
For the first time, Ten Grands is taking its show on the road; specifically, taking it north to Seattle. In addition to raising funds for The Snowman Foundation, this performance will also benefit PONCHO (Patrons of Northwest Civic, Cultural and Charitable Organizations). The organization strives to create a diverse and expansive community which celebrates and supports the vitality and variety of the arts.
If you would like to attend this event, please email David Laub at and let him know how many tickets you would like.
Fellowship Event: Golf at Trilogy
Brad Hunt
We have reserved 32 spots for the spring golf fellowship at Trilogy Golf Club, Redmond Ridge, on Wednesday June 4th. The cost is $100 for balls, carts, greens fee, prizes and food. The first starting time is 1:00 pm, and we will be playing a "Scramble" format.Spaces will be held on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information and to book a spot, please contact Brad Hunt (Ph 425-417-6794).
