| One thing that you could never describe Darlene Piper as is a slacker. A single mother, Piper attended law school at night with working during the day at a litigation law firm. She continued to work in civil litigation for four years after passing the bar, and then, in 1998, opened her own law firm so she could spend more time with her sons, who were 6 and 4 at the time.
In 2001 she returned to school to earn an advanced tax law degree. She worked for four years as an adjunct professor at Olympic College teaching business planning courses, and she serves as a pro tem judge with the Kitsap County District Court and the Port Orchard Municipal Court. But wait, there’s more. As if that wasn’t enough, she also has built a considerable reputation over the last nine years as a commercial real estate developer.
“I think being a single mother, I have certainly developed an ability to multi-task and be comfortable juggling many responsibilities,” Piper said, “And to be very focused during the hours in the day that I have available to work.”
Piper’s commercial real estate developer career started in 1998 when she met the owner of Prudential Northwest Real Estate.
“I began doing legal work for the company here in Kitsap County,” she said. “The owner and I jointly built an office building here in Port Orchard, where Prudential is currently located. I enjoyed the creative part of designing the building and interior space, and the teamwork involved. I was surrounded by real estate agents and professionals and began investing some of my savings in real estate purchases.”
Her advanced studies in tax law fueled her interest in commercial development even further.
“When I went through the UW Tax Law program, I learned a great deal about how to structure real estate transactions and development where there were tax savings to the owner,” Piper said. “Being in this setting [practicing business and tax law], I was fortunate to meet many professionals in the real estate world, Including engineers, surveyors, land use experts, bankers, construction experts, architects/designers...With the help of these experts, I was comfortable putting together some commercial projects, here in Port Orchard and in Bremerton.”
Piper’s commercial development projects have evolved from single building/business ventures, including The Baja Outpost Grill, the Port Orchard Event Center building and the Sk8town roller rink, into developing some large residential and mixed use projects, including the Bethel Centre complex, a current project developing a large senior living community in the City of Bremerton and housing development project in Manchester.
To say that Piper’s initial foray into being a business owner has expanded considerably in less than 10 years would be quite the understatement.
“The law practice was my first business,” Piper said. “I currently have 16 corporations, including a development company and a construction company. I like having the flexibility of working for myself. I still put in a lot of hours working, but I can be more creative regarding when and where I work.”
While the real estate development work fuels her creative side, Piper still enjoys practicing law, particularly, she said, when she works with her older clients.
“I like the fact that I can truly help my clients solve problems, in a very real way, on a daily basis,” Piper said. “I work a lot with elderly clients and get to spend time with elderly folks who have been around for a long time, and have many lessons and life stories to share. I love their wisdom and perspective. It helps keep me balanced and to remember not to “sweat the small stuff.”. |
