The bell is tolling for Tacoma’s Graffiti Garages. Here is what would replace them
A set of historic garages in downtown Tacoma could be on the way out soon, as redevelopment plans cleared another hurdle on Wednesday.
Plans filed with the city call for demolition of the existing structure, better known as the Graffiti Garages, to make way for a multi-story mixed use residential/commercial building at a cost of an estimated $42 million.
The 130-unit building will have parking, some below grade, with more than 70 slots. The building, given the land’s slope, would rise eight stories above Commerce Street and six stories above Broadway.
According to the presentation shared with the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission on Feb. 9, “With the rot and fire damage to the wood framing and floor decking, as well as physical damage to the exterior, demolition of the existing structure is intended regardless of site development.”
Architects with the project met with the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission as part of the design review earlier this month.
The project has gone through the commission because the existing building “is a non-contributing structure in the Old City Hall Historic District,” the city’s Historic Preservation Office reported in response to questions.
“This status has been periodically reviewed by the commission over the years and re-affirmed,” it added.
On Wednesday, commissioners in attendance gave unanimous support both to the proposed demolition and design of the new building.
The Old City Hall Historic District guidelines govern treatment of existing buildings “as well as new construction within the district,” the office noted. “This is why it is being reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission – the demolition as well as the new design must get LPC approval.”
The rest of the building permits go through the city’s normal review process.
Christopher Jones, founder of Christopher Jones Architects of Seattle, told The News Tribune on Tuesday that his team is excited to work on the project, which he said has been in various stages of planning for a little over a year.
The hope, he said, is for the project to start early fall.
“We’re really excited to be a part of sort of the rebirth of that Old City Hall neighborhood down there,” Jones said. “We think this has the opportunity to bring in a lot of new residents and life to that area and really sort of add a lot of momentum to the work that’s already underway.”
As Jones described the current project: “There will be a large commercial component in the plans, and most of it is currently fronting on Broadway.
“There’ll be some commercial down along the Commerce frontage as well. On the south end, Broadway side, we’re going to have what we call an arcade space, where the commercial will wrap around it and the opportunities for outdoor dining or outdoor space. Kind of blurring that line between interior and exterior commercial uses.”
A rooftop deck with views of the city, Commencement Bay “and the mountains beyond” also are in the works, according to the submitted plan.
LONG SLIDE INTO DECLINE
The history of the site dates back to 1916 as the Hotchkiss-McNeely Building. Two other nearly identical buildings at the site used as commercial spaces for auto-related business were ultimately combined in the 1970s with the other building into one large garage.
In 2008, the garage owners offered the walls as a public space for graffiti artists to show their work. That program ended in 2013 after concerns about criminal activity in the area.
While a mural artist decorated them in 2019 on the Broadway side through a collaboration between Downtown Tacoma Partnership and Spaceworks, the site’s interior has continued to deteriorate.
“There are charming little murals that the ownership had put up, which I think people love, but I think at the moment that’s about the only lovable aspect of the building there,” Jones told The News Tribune. “They’ve fallen on some hard times to be sure.”
During Wednesday’s LPC meeting, Jones said that murals would be salvaged. “We’re looking at how those can be maintained and reused ... if not reused on site, kept for donation for another location.”
Additionally, Jones said, the team wants to try to salvage and reuse wood at the building, refinish “and reinstall it in several places, particularly at the entry and as accent elements on the storefronts.”
He added, “We’re also considering there’s some old garage doors that were removed and retained inside the building that we might potentially reuse as gates for the arcade space.”
The project’s report states: “The building is significantly deteriorated with collapsed wood beams and fire damage to the interior.”
The site is listed several times with closed nuisance cases on the city’s code compliance map. On Feb. 3, an “unfit building” case was started and remains open, according to the online list.
The building’s windows for now are either boarded up or damaged. It is steps away from nearby businesses as well as McMenamins and Old City Hall, which have heavily invested in their own restorations.
One public comment was critical of the project’s new building design, which was included in the LPC meeting’s agenda packet and shared at the meeting.
“McMenamins bent over backwards to restore that beautiful building and to put this mediocre prefab forgettable building next to it is disappointing,” the person wrote.
A representative for McMenamins declined to comment on the 725 Broadway project when contacted this week by The News Tribune.
At the commission’s Feb. 9 meeting, Commissioner Sarah Hilsendeger said she appreciated the direction the project took for design.
“I like the idea that you shared up front ... that you’re not really trying to be like a big exclamation point in the neighborhood,” Hilsendeger said. “...There’s a nod to the the architecture that you’re not trying to overpower everything else.”
“We felt like Tacoma’s biggest exclamation point already existed across the street from us,” Jones responded.
OLD CITY HALL REACTION
Eli Moreno, who’s overseeing the Old City Hall project, told The News Tribune via email this week, “We have been following this development with excitement.”
“It appears that they’re putting in a great deal of care to complement the surrounding historic building’s design elements in their proposed plan and are providing much needed housing to Tacoma,” Moreno wrote.
He added, “The construction of this new addition to the Old City Hall Historic District should further develop the sense of community and promote local businesses with a strong synergy with our project at Tacoma Old City Hall.”
Moreno said the Old City Hall project is working on seismic reinforcement. The first portion of the building will open to the public May 2023.
SITE HAS SEEN APARTMENT PROPOSALS BEFORE
This isn’t the first time owners have considered ditching the existing garages for apartments.
The building is owned by an LLC tied to iCap Equity of Bellevue. It was purchased in July 2014 for $700,000. The site was the subject of other pre-app redevelopment talks with the city in 2014 and 2018.
In 2018 it was marketed at $2.2 million with the possibility of an apartment tower development floated as an option for the next owner to tackle.
“The current ownership has had several architectural massing studies and project planning over the last several years and has found the property is able to develop 209 market-rate residential units in a single 15-story glass and concrete building (including three floors of structured parking and ground floor commercial space),” the promotional material from Marcus & Millichap said at the time.
“725 Broadway will serve the very top end of the apartment rental market in downtown Tacoma,” it added.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
