“Figuring Hurd: “Figuring out how to match capital with building the cities people really love, and figuring out how to enhance people’s quality of life and live lighter on the planet—every project we do has to be an example of that.”

SEATTLE—For financial resiliency through economic cycles to the quality and breadth of its work, Touchstone was selected as the NAIOP 2016 Developer of the Year, the association’s highest honor recognizing a company’s development leadership and innovation. Headquartered here, Touchstone is a leader in the commercial real estate industry for designing and building high-performance, sustainable buildings, says NAIOP. Touchstone president A-P Hurd tells GlobeSt.com that the company is largely focused on the development of urban-infill projects, including commercial office, technology, biotechnology, R&D buildings and business hotels.

In the last decade, Touchstone has broken ground on 12 projects comprising nearly 3 million square feet. The company is currently developing 2 million square feet of real estate in the greater Seattle area—primarily projects that Touchstone lined up during the last downturn when many market participants had been sidelined. We spoke exclusively with Hurd about the company, this award and challenges and opportunities for developers in the Seattle market.

GlobeSt.com: What traits do you believe led your firm to be named NAIOP’s developer of the year?

Hurd: NAIOP has criteria that ranges from the firm’s financial resiliency through the cycles to the quality and amount of work they’re building. We are currently developing 2 million square feet of space in Seattle, and our commitment is to this community. We see ourselves as a local development company with really deep roots here.

GlobeSt.com: What are the biggest challenges to developers in the Seattle market in particular?

Hurd: We have very high barriers to entry here and very long timelines to entitle projects. We have to control and purchase land in the period of the economic and real estate cycle when most people believe nothing good is going to happen again. People are very emotional about their investments, so we have to have a lot of resolve and courage to take initiative when the time is right. That way, when the market comes back and real estate capital starts looking for projects again, we are prepared. This is important because building early in the cycle is much less risky than building late in the cycle.

GlobeSt.com: What untapped opportunities are there in this market?

Hurd: One of the most exciting things happening here is that our region has really embraced transit as part of our mobility solution. Since we are geographically constrained by mountains and water, we don’t have the capacity for more roads. The ballot measure Sound Transit 3  is aimed at funding our mass transit out to 2035. It’s an ambitious package, and it makes us a very progressive region even though our land is constrained. It’s a very big opportunity to continue to think progressively about land use and development, especially since people are choosing to live in urban environments.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about developers today?

Hurd: One of the things I love about my work is that it connects us to the big picture. The entire globe is in one of the most rapid periods of urbanization in history. You can have lots of theoretical ideas about where we want to be, but development is where the rubber meets the road. Figuring out how to match capital with building the cities people really love, and figuring out how to enhance people’s quality of life and live lighter on the planet—every project we do has to be an example of that. That’s the great thing about being a developer.

The 2016 Developer of the Year award will be presented on Wednesday, September 28, at NAIOP’s Commercial Real Estate Conference  in Scottsdale, Arizona. Touchstone was selected and evaluated by a team of developers on the following criteria: outstanding quality of projects and services; active support of the industry through NAIOP; financial consistency and stability; ability to adapt to market conditions; and support of the local community.

Since 1979, the Developer of the Year  award has been presented to a development company that best exemplifies leadership and innovation. Past recipients include Majestic Realty Co., Brandywine Realty Trust, Vulcan Real Estate, The JBG Companies and CenterPoint Properties.