BELLEVUE - Wright Runstad & Co. of Seattle has plans for a 36-acre urban village in Bellevue's Bel-Red corridor that could eventually have 800 apartments, ground-floor retail, open space and more than 3 million square feet of office space.

Dubbed the Spring District, the $1.5 billion project would be at the center of the city's efforts to transform the 900-acre former Safeway distribution center to a dense, mixed-use and pedestrianfriendly neighborhood.

FEDERAL WAY - This suburban city known mostly for its mall has stepped up its long-running effort to create a downtown from scratch. The city will sell 4.1 acres to Vancouver, B.C.-based United Properties for $6.1 million to build a mixed-use complex on a four-acre parcel. The proposal includes four multistory towers with retail and offices and a one-acre public park.

OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire has appointed former timber industry executive Bruce Beckett senior adviser for business outreach to advise her on statewide business issues.

Beckett, a resident of Gig Harbor, in 2007 formed The Beckett Group, a public affairs consulting and lobbying business. Prior to that, he spent 16 years with Weyerhaeuser Co., leading its government affairs and western region public affairs teams. He has also worked for the Northwest Forestry Association, Plum Creek Timber Co. and Georgia-Pacific Corp.

SPOKANE - North Valley Bancorp of Redding, Calif., has called off plans to merge into Spokanebased Sterling Financial Corp. due to a delay in regulatory approval. The companies announced the merger agreement late last year. Sterling spokeswoman Jennifer Lutz said talks are not expected to resume between the companies.