New apartments proposed near Wright Park could replace current office building site
Plans to replace an office building near Tacoma's Wright Park with apartments have taken a preliminary step with an initial application to the city.
On Oct. 31, a pre-application was filed outlining plans for what will replace the two-story office building purchased last December by an LLC affiliated with The Rush Companies of Gig Harbor. The firm purchased the site for $3.12 million from Tacoma-based MultiCare.
The News Tribune earlier this year reported on the sale , with officials at the time not yet sharing what would be next for the site, other than MultiCare would continue to lease space there for information systems and technology services, as well as for its print shop.
According to the work scope submitted to the city, plans call for demolishing the existing office building with parking garage and structure to the north.
The redevelopment calls for construction of an 8-story 142-unit apartment building — two levels of above-grade parking of 126 stalls and six levels of residential units.
An outline of the apartments, seen in preliminary drawings from Urbal Architecture of Seattle, range from studios to larger two-bedroom corner units. The top level shows a rooftop deck and "sky lounge."
Further details, such as a rendering or information on amenities were unavailable. Steve Yester, development manager for Rush, told The News Tribune on Tuesday in response to questions that "this is very early in feasibility, mostly just gathering information."
Details from the pre-app list a tentative building construction start as early next September, though those estimates usually change depending on speed of permit process.
MultiCare, in response to questions Monday about the project, said in an emailed statement that the health system "will continue to utilize the office space we currently have under lease."
The health system added that "We leased this space with the understanding it wasn't a long-term solution. We are working to find a more permanent solution to ensure our staff has the facilities they need."
This is not the only Tacoma apartment project proposed by Rush this fall. Another submission to the city in October was a proposal for a new 93-unit, 6-story apartment building to replace the former Proctor KeyBank branch site, which a Rush-affiliated LLC purchased in May.
