When Tom O’Connor and his business partners bought the site for the Midtown Lofts in downtown Tacoma 11 years ago, they never imagined that it would be 2011 before the residential building they planned would open its doors to the public.
The 50-unit project at 1142 S. Fawcett Ave. will host an open house Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
The building is the first of several major Tacoma residential projects halted in mid-construction to find money to finish the job.
Overseeing crews putting finishing touches on the lobby and several model units Wednesday, O’Connor showed visible relief that he would have something to show for his and his associates’ years of angst.
“Finally,” he said, “we’re seeing some signs of life.”
The building’s history is a chronicle of frustration and perseverance, of good fortune and bad.
The project has survived two major housing downturns, one after the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the other the Great Recession. It has seen months of steady construction progress and two years when construction was at a dead stop.
The building was originally conceived as a high-end view condominium. It is now being marketed as an upscale apartment.
When Frontier Bank, which had financed the building’s construction, encountered problems of its own more than two years ago, it cut off funds for the project when the building was 70 percent complete.
O’Connor, a longtime housing developer, and his partners had already invested $3 million of their own equity into the project by that point. They weren’t going to let it sit unfinished.
They spent nearly two years searching for new money to fund the building’s completion. They approached dozens of banks and financial sources without success.
“Banks aren’t financing construction,” said O’Connor. “It just wasn’t happening.” Finally a private source provided the needed funding.
Though that financial crisis was rough for the developer and his partners, in the end it allowed them to cut their outlay for the building. Frontier, struggling with its own issues, sold the partners their own construction loan at a $5 million discount.
“This would have been a $19 million or $20 million project,” O’Connor said. “We’ll be spending about $15 million.”
Tacoma real estate consultant Raelene Rogers, who is working with O’Connor to market the building, thinks the Tacoma apartment market is ready for more units.
Some 98 percent of apartment units downtown are rented, she said.
The new building will offer units ranging from 740-square-foot single-bedroom units to two-story, three-bedroom townhouse- style penthouses with 1,800 square feet. Rent will range from $975 to $3,300 a month. Discounts are available for employees of Tacoma businesses signed up with the Tacoma on the Go program and for military families.
The rents will vary depending on the floor (higher floors will bring higher rents) and the view. Units on the building’s east side overlooking the Tacoma skyline will rent for more than those facing westward.
Two stories of enclosed parking are available for tenants as well as a community room, an exercise room and storage areas.
The finishes in the building are more luxurious than typical apartments with stainless steel appliances, concrete construction and sizeable balconies on some units.
John Gillie: 253-597-8663 john.gillie@thenewstribune.com
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