Old Elks Lodge as transit hub? Keep thinking

When it comes to dreaming up adaptive reuses for historic buildings, there’s no such thing as a dumb idea.

It’s hard enough to find an economic use for many old structures, so it’s unwise to rule out any suggestions.

Of course, that doesn’t mean all ideas should be implemented. There were powerful people proposing that the down-on-its-luck Union Station be converted to an ice skating rink and shopping emporium. In that case it was better that a different use came along.

That said, I wouldn’t want to pass judgment just yet on the surprise proposal last week that the bottom floor of the old Elks Lodge be used as part of a new Pierce Transit hub.

Don’t worry. No buses would drive inside the building. Instead, the same developer would build a second structure on the other side of the equally historic Spanish Steps, with a bus depot of sorts inside the Commerce Street side. Other uses – residential, retail, office – would be in the floors above.

A tunnel beneath the stairs would connect the buses to the waiting and ticketing area inside the Elks.

Comments so far have been mixed. Some like the idea of having the Elks building anchor a mixed-use development that has transit as an important part. This so-called transit-oriented development envisions a city where more people ride transit, and downtown is a vibrant mix of housing, commercial and retail.

Others worry that the scene at the current transit center at 10th and Commerce would move down the street. One reason Pierce County Councilman Tim Farrell is suggesting the move is to cure some of the safety and appearance problems that exist now.

Farrell’s heart is in the right place. As a transit board member, he is aware of the problems at 10th and Commerce. The agency hasn’t decided what to do – renovate the area, move it or abandon it – but if the board does decide to move it, then the Elks site should be considered.

Farrell also is a history buff who can always be counted on to support adaptive reuse of the area’s historic resources. And the Elks Lodge has been an especially tough nut to crack – the huge auditorium, restaurants and lodge hall needed for a fraternal club aren’t easy to convert.

Williams and Dame, a very good Portland developer with experience making economic use of historic buildings, failed to make the Elks work. A new developer, who has until Friday to move ahead, is taking a look.

Jim Dugan, a project manager working with the potential buyer, said they’ve been talking to an architectural firm that wants one floor for offices. The massive lodge hall on the top floor is being considered by what he termed “a high-end restaurant.”

Still, Dugan termed a successful reuse of the Elks as “somewhere between really tough and impossible.”

So it was a natural for Farrell to put the two together – transit needs and saving the Elks – and see if they produce a solution. Would having the transit agency as a tenant make it a little easier to make the plan work?

The Pierce Transit board directed its staff to send a letter promising to check out the idea and get back to the proposed developer. Such an investigation might result in a deal. But it also might end with the agency deciding the plan has too many moving parts, that it doesn’t meet the needs of transit, that it will cost too much, and/or that it isn’t the right use for that part of downtown.

And the developer – so far unnamed, but probably the same folks who are building the 505 Broadway condo project just up the street – might decide not to do the project, or find other tenants for the Commerce Street floor, or fail to reach a deal with the owners of the vacant lots on the other side of the Spanish Steps.

But any and all of that is OK. By discussing new uses for old buildings, you’re more likely to have better uses come along.

Peter Callaghan: 253-597-8657

peter.callaghan@thenewstribune.com

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