Seattle PI Profile on SLU Manager, Ada Healey
The Seattle PI had an article on, Ada Healey, the one responsible for Paul Allen’s real estate dealings in SLU, two weeks ago (shows how often I read the paper!), Meet the quiet force behind Paul Allen’s remaking of South Lake Union:
Not a city planner or urban designer, Healey earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Duke and then went into insurance. She quickly moved into real estate, first investing for a phone company and then managing property portfolios for pension funds.
Healey moved to Seattle in 1999 and Vulcan hired her in December 2001, when it owned 35 acres. The company had launched a buying spree in 1998, adding to the 11 acres it then owned after the proposed Seattle Commons project was twice defeated.
Allen is responsible for the overall planning of the South Lake Union development, Healey said, while she focuses on execution. Still, Healey and her team work hard to mind the big picture while attending to details.
