Hotels on the Horizon

With the announcement of McMenamins winning the bid a few weeks ago for the Old City Hall building, everyone seems to be making announcements for new and upcoming hotel projects for Tacoma's future. 

Almost eight years ago, Bellevue's Silver Cloud Inn and Hotels announced that they would be developing an 180 room hotel on Point Ruston, and it has just been announced that construction is finally underway. The delay can be attributed to a slow moving recession coupled with disputes over land-use permits with the City of Ruston. Bellevue's Silver Cloud Inn and Hotels is set to open in 2018 and planned to include one restaurant, a ballroom, meeting rooms, a pool, an exercise room, and a parking garage. 

There are two other major proposals on the table for the future of Tacoma's tourist and business industry. A Chinese investment group, who is still gathering investors, is interested in creating a 24-story, 300 room high rise. It is proposed that this would be a convention hotel along with a condominium complex. The second is coming from Hollander Investments and they have their eyes on the Thea Foss Waterway. Hollander and Investments is planning to build a hotel and an office complex. The first of the buildings to go up will be a nine-story Marriott Residence Inn that will provided 104 rooms. Ground breaking dates have not been set yet, Hollander and Investments are waiting to see how the other proposed hotels do before starting construction. 

If everything goes as planned Tacoma can expect to see five new hotels, at least one more condominium complex, and an increase in office spaces and store fronts in the next few years. Tacoma truly is the City of Destiny and is planning on making a large impact on Tacoma's small business and local economy. 

ead more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article49463305.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article49463305.html#storylink=cpy

Development on the Foss

Today the Tacoma City Council’s Economic Development Subcommittee excitedly listened to a presentation from the Foss Waterway Development Authority (FWDA) regarding the proposed sale and development of Site 1, an empty lot on the Foss Waterway sitting just north of 21st Street Park (under the 509 cable-stay bridge) and south of Albers Mill.

According to the proposal, Site 1 would be developed into The Henry, a mixed-use, residential and commercial structure, which would include 161 apartments, 13,000 square feet of office and retail space, 286 parking stalls, and potentially a rooftop restaurant on one end of the building, and a rooftop dog walk/park on the other. Development of the site would also include numerous offsite improvements to the park and the event space in front of Albers Mill.

The proposed sale price of the property is $25.00 per square foot for a total of $1,291,175, a price consistent with a recent appraisal of Thea’s Landing and Johnny’s Seafood, suggesting that the price is reflective of current market conditions.

The Henry Group, the only group to respond to the FWDA’s Request for Proposals, is the same group that pioneered the first development on the waterway, Thea’s Landing. Lessons learned from that experience are to be incorporated into the building design to provide better views of the waterway.

The project timeline has a bristling pace with construction expected to begin by the end of the year or earlier. Su Dowie, Executive Director of the FWDA, noted that the project was a valuable asset and could assist in getting “State Farm employees housing” downtown. As announced earlier this month, State Farm plans to expand its workforce in downtown Tacoma, bringing 1100 jobs to the area. Further, Dowie suggested that the development was not only a “great fit for the waterfront”, but also that it would bring stability and reassurance to other developers interested in downtown Tacoma.

The project now moves to the FWDA Board Agenda on May 22 and the City Council Agenda on May 29. Shoreline permits are expected to be approved May and June and the design review to be complete by September.

For more information on the project, visit The News Tribune.