Developers expect to start work on long-planned Tacoma project this year
Developers of two separate affordable housing projects say they expect to break ground later this year on what will be the first buildings at Aviva Crossing, a large mixed-use development planned west of the Tacoma Community College campus.
The developers will deliver the lion's share of up to about 550 residential units currently planned for the site, located in the James Center North commercial center. The 6.9-acre site is centered on the west side of South Mildred Avenue between South 15th and South 17th streets.
The property was acquired by the Tacoma Housing Authority for $6 million in 2017.
Development plans have changed over the years, with the latest calling for three new residential buildings to be clustered on the east end of the property, nearest to Mildred, and a 20,000-square-foot park that doubles as stormwater infrastructure.
The west end of the site, where an L-shaped office and retail building now stands, had been slated to join in the redevelopment but will remain as is for now, said Erik Owomoyela, a spokesperson for THA.
Here's who's doing what at the West Tacoma redevelopment site:
Koz Development: Five-story residential building with 220 affordable units expected to house mainly students
Mercy Housing Northwest: Four-story, 129-unit affordable housing project
Tacoma Housing Authority: 150- to 200-unit mixed-use structure with affordable units to be delivered by a developer selected through a proposal process
The first projects to get underway will be apartment buildings from Koz Development and Mercy Housing Northwest.
Koz, a Snohomish-based private developer of student and workforce housing, is planning a five story, 220-unit apartment building aimed at students of the nearby community college.
The company is in the process of purchasing the parcel on which it plans to build the project, said Koz's founder and president, Cathy Reines. The company designs its projects in-house.
The apartments will be affordable to residents earning 60% to 80% of the area median income, or a maximum of $60,200 for a single-person household under current guidelines. Koz will seek from the city a multifamily tax exemption for the project, Reines said.
The 102,000-square-foot building will only have a few parking spots, as most residents will be students and the site is within walking distance to services, she said.
“Our project will have more studios than one- and two-bedroom units,” Reines said. “We are expecting a large student population.”
Mercy Housing Northwest's 129-unit project will be four stories over tuck-under parking, Joe Thompson, president of the Seattle-based affordable housing nonprofit, told the Business Journal in an email. Work is scheduled to begin in October, he said.
Pre-development documents filed with the city of Tacoma in September show the 138,000-square-foot structure will have a lobby, community resource rooms and an outdoor play structure. Construction costs were estimated at about $35 million.
The third project, from THA, will likely be last out of the gate.
The authority is looking to develop a 150- to 200-unit mixed-use structure, Owomoyela said.
THA issued a request for proposals in October for a developer to plan and deliver the project. The proposal deadline was Feb. 9 and the winning bidder was to be notified by March 29. The authority intends to sell the property to the selected partner for development.
About a half-dozen retail businesses currently operate on the THA development site, with leases running as long as through 2027, according to the RFP. "THA’s expectation would be that once leases are satisfied or bought out with tenant approval, design and/or construction begins," the RFP states.
Current tenants include Taqueria El Sabor, Golden Teak Thai, Sushido sushi and Tacoma's Best Piercing.
"We're making every effort to mitigate the impacts of construction for business as the project gets underway, including with signage and continued access for vehicles and pedestrians throughout the construction period," Owomoyela said.
A master plan by architecture firm Ankrom Moisan in 2019 called for as many as seven buildings, incorporating the west end of the THA-owned property that has been cut from current plans. The full buildout of the transit-oriented development would have had 600 affordable and market-rate units in addition to retail, green space and parking.
Koz and Mercy Housing have been involved with the development for several years, but the project has hit snags along the way, including the need for a substantial amount of infrastructure work. The developers and THA are now working together to put in the needed infrastructure, Reines said.
On March 12, U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer announced he secured $959,757 for the Aviva Crossing's stormwater infrastructure and sustainability project. The project will include the 20,000-square-foot park, which will be engineered to capture, treat and either store or safely release stormwater back into the environment. It will also include a purple pipe water recycling system, according to Kilmer's news release.
By: Shawna De La Rosa
Source: Puget Sound Business Journal