Major Changes To Elks Project

It has been confirmed by multiple sources that there will be some major changes in the Elks/McMenamins project. I have been told that McMenamins has decided a hotel in the Elks building is not feasible due to the lack of windows in the structure. They will however  build the hotel part of the project in the lower floors of the adjacent mixed-use building being built by Grace Pleasants and Rick Moses. This will add a few more stories to mixed-use building and possibly force the building to be built as a steel-framed structure instead of wood-frame,  if it already wasn’t going to be.

I have not heard what McMenamins plans to do with the space that was slated for the hotel in the Elks building or if the cost to construct the city-owned garage will change in the mixed-use building due to it having  to support more floors.

In late February the City of Tacoma, Grace Pleasants & Rick Moses announced that GLY Construction Co. of Bellevue and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects of Seattle will be the design-build team for the mixed-use project.

TNT Article: Tacoma’s Elks Project Takes Big Step

H&M Coming to the Tacoma Mall

The Tacoma Mall announced today via their  Twitter account that H&M will be opening in the mall in time for the holiday season.  The Tacoma H&M will be 20,000 square feet and located next to the new Sephora store that is under construction.  It will be the first store in the South Sound and second largest store in the Puget Sound region. H&M currently has stores in Southcenter, Downtown Seattle & U-Village.  Sweden based H&M has around 2,000 stores in 35 countries and is known for affordable fashion for men, women & children.  It was not reported how many jobs the new Tacoma H&M store would create.

Out of Stadium & Into 6th Ave. for El Guadalajara?

It appears that the Stadium District El Guadalajara  may be moving to the center of the 6th Ave. Business District.  Tres Ramos El Guadalajara Inc. has applied for a restaurant liquor license with a new location at 3002 6th Ave. and appears to be taking place of the Neighborhood Market (previously on Tacoma Untapped.  A business license check for the current location, on Tacoma Ave. in the Stadium Business District, says it has closed.  The building where the Stadium District location was located is owned by X Square Investments II, which is ran by John & Luke Xitco, owners of Asado and Masa. Rumors from a few years ago were that X Group wanted to put an Italian restaurant in the Stadium District building once Guadalajara was gone.

El Guadalajara was recently in the news because they were required to install a sprinkler system in the building due to new nightclub laws but hadn’t done so yet. The Stadium District location has a dance floor in the bar portion of the building.

UPDATE: It appears El Guadalajara may be going into the back section of the building where Neighborhood Market is located.

Another Mixed-Use Project for McCarver

A new mixed-use building is being proposed in the McCarver Neighborhood at the southeast corner of South 19th Street & Yakima Ave. O’Connor & Associates, developer of McCarver Village & Gaslamp Terrace,  purchased the property in November 2008. The property currently has a brick four-plex on it. The new mixed-use building  will house 32 market-rate apartments and a private medical office. The project goes before the Tacoma City Council on Dec. 1st 2009 for its 8 year multi-family tax exemption. The building will be across the street from St. Joseph Medical Center and 2 blocks from the UWT campus boundary. The four-plex currently sits vacant which could mean construction may happen soon.

I am happy to hear that apartments have been added to this project. About a year ago I saw an ad on Craigslist from O’Connor & Associates advertising lease space in a proposed 2 story medical building at the site.  This new building will be another gateway building to the growing McCarver Neighborhood.

Chelsea Heights Starts Leasing.. Finally

After 3 years in the construction phase, Prium’s Chelsea Heights project near Wright Park will finally see life. The once condo project is now a 78 unit apartment building and can be seen on numerous rental websites.  From photos on Craigslist it does appear that some of the finishes have been downgraded from the original plans.  The property management company is currently advertising a 2 bedroom unit for $1,150.

Now does anybody know what is going on with the retail space? It almost looks like it is going to be all storage units. You can see a lot of metal wall forms, very close together in the retail space when you drive by.

Last reported on The Biz Buzz in December 2007 : Second Prium Condo Project Goes Rental

Chelsea Heights Apartments

603 South J Street

Tacoma, WA 98405

253-383-3181

Former Happy Dragon Location on 6th Ave. Sold

The former Happy Dragon restaurant location on 6th Ave. & Alder Street recently sold for $1,100,000.  The two parcels measuring 19,981 square feet are part of the 6th Ave. mixed-use center and are zoned NCX. The new owners are a group that includes architect Ross Deckman of Ross Deckman & Associates and a number of individuals who work at AHBL, a Tacoma based civil/structural engineer, landscape arcitecture, and community planning firm. While no plans are concrete they do plan to look at their options for future development of the site.  In the meantime they may try to lease the space to another restaurant as all of the restaurant equipment is still in the building.

(image from Google Maps)

From the looks of the purchase price it appears the property was bought for it’s “land value”.  I think the prospect of a  future development are pretty good considering the land value purchase and the owner’s portfolios.  What would you like to see built at this location? Mixed-use with apartments/condos?  Office space with retail similar to Poole’s Corner down the street at Union Ave.? My vote?  Mixed-use with apartments and retail. The 6th Ave. area hasn’t seen much in the way of new residential structures in the past few years.  With UPS a few blocks away and the popular 6th Ave. corridor right there, I think it would be a great spot for that kind of development.

Tacoma Pass the SPF!

The website TotalBeauty.com has named Tacoma the city with the 12th worst skin in the country.  Why because we are stressed, have lots of skin cancer, and too many tanning beds!

From the website:

Not a fan of stress breakouts? (Stress raises your level of cortisol, which can affect oil glands and acne.) You may want to avoid Tacoma like the plague, because — along with 21 tanning salons per capita and a high incidence of skin cancer according to the Center for Disease Control — it is the most stressed-out city in our country. (Tacomans may find some relief from these top-rated acne-fighting products.)

So once the most stressed, always the most stressed? Where is my Oil of Olay? Want great skin? You better move to Eugene, OR. They are the closest city to Tacoma to rank on the Best Skin list (#13).

Full List of Best & Worst Skin HERE

Lunch Time at Asado

A new lunch option will appear on 6th Ave. starting June 1st. Asado will give the lunch crowd a go and start serving lunch Monday through Firday 11:30am – 2:30pm. Happy Hour will start after lunch at 2:30pm.

The new lunch menu will include: fresh fish Cuban sandwich, Asado cobb salad with smoked mahi and prawns, quinoa bowls with choice of protein, and combos of skewers or sliders and choice of salad.

Can you picture yourself on a nice sunny day having lunch on Asado’s patio? I can!

Asado

2810 6th Ave.

Tacoma, WA 98406

Haub Closes on USPS Parcels

The Haub Brother’s holdings in Tacoma’s Central Business District just got a bit larger. On April 28th the Haub Brother Enterprise Trust closed on two parcels owned by the United States Postal Service.  The two parcels located on A Street between 13th and 14th measure 32,600 square feet and are county assessed at $2,674,900. The purchase price was not yet available.

Haub now owns the properties highlighted in red:

The two parcels are key in Haub’s plan for a large highrise development on the site and possibly a new headquarters for Russell Investsments. The City of Tacoma and Haub recently started environmental cleanup and monitoring of the  Haub properties and the former Sauro drycleaner site across the street.

Russell HQ proposal:

Roxanne Murphy Jumps into the Council Race

Tacoma and Eastside booster Roxanne Murphy has announced her candidacy for District 4 on the Tacoma City Council. The District 4 position is currently held by Rick Talbert who’s term ends December 31st of this year.  Tacoma businessman Marty Campbell also recently announced his candidacy for the District 4 position. Roxanne is aiming to bring a more progressive view to the table and seeks to revitalize District 4.

See the press release after the jump: (more…)