Company History

Sterling Realty Organization (SRO) formerly Sterling Recreation Organization is a privately owned company founded in 1912 by John Danz, a pioneer motion picture exhibitor.

From its early nickelodeon days, SRO grew into one of the largest amusement, recreation and entertainment operations on the Pacific Coast. By 1986, SRO had a diversified corporate portfolio including over 130 motion picture screens, 7 bowling centers, 9 radio stations, as well as swap meets, video stores, concessions and property management activities. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington above the John Danz theatre, SRO employed more than 1,800 people in Washington, California, Oregon, Wisconsin and Nevada.

Some of the theatres SRO built in the Puget Sound region include the John Danz, Lewis and Clark, Factoria, Grand Cinemas Alderwood, Northgate, Uptown Seattle and many others.

The 1980's and early 1990's brought change as SRO began to divest itself of most of its operating divisions. In 1986, SRO sold its theatre operations, while retaining most of the underlying real estate, to Toronto based Cineplex Odeon. This sale was followed in 1989 by the sale of a majority of the radio station holdings and subsequently in 1992, the sale of its bowling center division and video store division.

As the divestiture proceeded, SRO used its development experience obtained during years of building theatres to expand into other commercial real estate activities.

Projects SRO has built since the sale of its operating units include Sterling Plaza I & II in Bellevue, Washington, Tacoma South Shopping Center in Tacoma, Washington, Johnson Creek Crossing Shopping Center in Portland, Oregon and ShuttlePark2, a 1050 stall airport parking facility in Tukwila, Washington.

Today, SRO remains majority owned by the Danz family. SRO has an extensive real estate portfolio and manages in excess of 1 million square feet of leaseable space. We continue to pursue opportunities for the acquisition of real estate and the development of our existing holdings.