Metropolitan developers foresee early momentum for apartments

By the end of summer, 323 apartment units will open in two new downtown Tacoma properties.

That’s a lot of new residential space, and it doesn’t even count new condominiums or apartment buildings that have recently been renovated.

Where will all the renters come from?

The developers of the Metropolitan Apartments on the former site of Temple Baptist Church at South Fourth Street and St. Helens Avenue hope a time-honored principle holds true: The early bird gets the worm.

When 87-unit Phase 1 of the Metropolitan opens around July 1, it will be the first of the new downtown projects available for occupancy. Team Tacoma’s 236-unit project on Thea Foss Waterway will follow shortly thereafter.

Metropolitan developers John Gibson, John Wise, Glen Graham and Don Kress like the idea of being first.

“We see a pent-up demand for this type of building,” Wise said.

“We think we’ll be leased up before we open,” Gibson said. “We’re leasing now.”

If that kind of early occupancy actually happens, it will be a boon to future downtown residential development. Especially in the early stages of establishing downtown market-rate housing, absorption could be a sizable issue. As downtown tries to prove itself as a residential market, it will be particularly important for future projects that the early ones don’t struggle too badly to fill their space.

“If we don’t have adequate absorption to make the economics work, you won’t have future projects or there’ll at least be quite a lag,” said J.J. McCament of the City of Tacoma’s Economic Development Department.

Conversely, a good start could spur further residential development.

“That’s how Belltown (in Seattle) got such quick success,” McCament said. “One building filled quickly, and that led to another building. It’s much easier to convince a bank to give you money when the previous project was successful.”

The Metropolitan has several things going for it.

▪ Parking is no problem. It has four floors with 182 stalls.

▪ While some complain downtown Tacoma does not yet offer sufficient basic services, such as grocery stores, the Metropolitan is only four blocks from Stadium Thriftway. A new coffee shop, Cafe Soleil, is next door.

▪ The building features two conference rooms and a 7,900-square-foot recreation area, with lap pool, Jacuzzi, billiards, putting green and exercise equipment.

▪ All apartments are wired for audio, video and data.

Though only 70 percent finished when I toured them, the apartments themselves struck me as jewels. The higher you go in the five residential floors, the more spectacular the views become, especially on the water side. From the high levels, you can see not just to Browns Point but over it to Caledonia Beach and Dash Point. Nearer maritime activity on Commencement Bay abounds.

Units include one-bedroom, one-bath with or without den; two-bedroom, two-bath with or without den; and penthouses that include second-level lofts.

Like other jewels, this one is high-end, too. One-bedrooms without den range from $740 to $915 a month, depending on view. With den, one-bedrooms run $1,005 to $1,450. Two-bedrooms go for $1,060 to $1,245. The penthouses with lofts are $1,615 to $2,515. Parking is additional.

The most expensive unit is already leased. In fact, two parties wanted it.

“We’re getting interest mostly from retired people and professionals, people who can afford to live where they want to live but don’t want a house,” Gibson said.

Phase 1 immediately north of the former church building is a $13.5 million project. Phase 2 will add 56 units on the exact site Temple Baptist occupied before it sold its property to the developers two years ago and built a new church in Fircrest.

Phase 3 will add 120 to 140 units going down the hill onto Broadway on the water side of the first building. In fact, it will block the views from the first floor of Phase 1. When completed, the entire Metropolitan project will total some $35 million.

McCament, who previously directed Weyerhaeuser’s Northwest Landing in DuPont, said this wave of downtown residential construction marks a new era.

“This is more than a renaissance. It’s a whole new movement,” she said. “Existing downtown residential has remained full, but there’s been no new growth. We’ve been stagnant for years, with no new product coming on.

“I’d have to go back and look, but I’d say this is the first new downtown apartment construction in 25 years.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2002 at 12:03 PM.