Plans to construct an apartment-retail building at University Place’s Town Center project are moving forward. SEB Inc., the Tacoma-based developer and builder, deposited $24,000 in earnest money last week.
Co-owner Steve Berg said this week that all signs point “to a 100 percent go on the project.”
The movement is encouraging for city officials who have long sought the first private sector tenant for the 17-acre property along Bridgeport Way – and for a return on the tens of millions in public dollars invested in Town Center.
A deal to bring an Applebee’s restaurant to the site fell through earlier this year.
Residents have expressed frustration with the sluggish pace of Town Center, intended to build the city’s tax base and provide citizens a walkable downtown. The University Place Pierce County Library is the only tenant so far.
SEB will pay the city $800,000 to develop the building atop the parking garage on the north side of the civic and library building.
Separately, the city leased one of two retail spaces inside the civic and library building to the Frog N Kiwi Cafe, a coffee shop that will have an indoor children’s play area.
City Attorney Steve Victor, the city’s chief Town Center negotiator, said in an email both SEB and the cafe owners are “pursuing their respective projects with full diligence.”
“I will be very surprised if either does not come to fruition,” he wrote.
The initial 20-day review period under the development agreement expires today. SEB can also terminate the agreement without penalty during a subsequent 90-day period.
Berg said SEB began discussing its project with the city last summer. The company hopes to break ground in early spring, he said. Construction will take a year.
The building is planned for 100 apartments and 12,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Berg said he expects to sit down with the city’s commercial broker to discuss filling the space.
SEB sought to build in University Place because it’s a desirable community with quality schools and a low apartment vacancy rate, Berg said, and Town Center is in close proximity of retail and other services.
Rents would range from $1,000 to $1,200 a month, he said.
Berg owns SEB with his brother, Kevin. They started the company more than 20 years ago with a focus on affordable housing. They eventually shifted to upscale apartment complexes. SEB owns five apartment buildings in Pierce and Thurston counties.
Christian Hill: 253-274-7390 christian.hill@thenewstribune.com Twitter: @TNTchill
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