Tacoma motel row on Hosmer next to I-5 could see another property turned into apartments
A redevelopment group that’s previously taken on older motels to convert into apartments has purchased another site in the South Hosmer Street area of Tacoma.
An LLC affiliated with Sage Investment Group of Kirkland and Richland purchased the American Lodge property at 8702 S. Hosmer St. for just over $11.5 million.
The seller was two LLCs affiliated with Seattle-based Integrated Property Management LLC. The entity purchased the site in July 2021 for $8.2 million, one month after purchasing the Howard Johnson at 8726 S. Hosmer St., for $4.8 million.
In March 2022 the American Lodge site was the focus of a land use filing with the city, which was approved. It combined three parcels into one, along with a proposed “change of use of two existing motels to residential apartment units.”
The American Lodge/Travelodge site was marketed for apartment redevelopment starting in August 2022 for $14.2 million.
No updated plans from the new owners were listed on the city’s permit portal.
The News Tribune reported in August 2022 that five former motels on South Hosmer Street had been sold since June 2021, with the American Lodge/Travelodge property among them. Each has been poised to transition into affordable housing as owners have struggled with crime on site and in the immediate vicinity.
The sale was recorded by the county March 3.
Sage Investment Group already owns the former Econo Lodge Tacoma Mall, 8820 S. Hosmer St. A proposed redevelopment of the Motel 6 site, 1811 S. 76th St., just off South Hosmer Street, is awaiting revisions and a re-submission of plans, according to Tacoma’s planning permit portal online. No further details were available.
In October, co-founder, Emily Hubbard, told The News Tribune the group also was working on two Fife motel sites for conversion: the former Travelodge at 3518 Pacific Highway E. and the Port of Tacoma Inn, 3501 Pacific Highway E.
Earlier in 2022, she told The News Tribune that she expected most of the Hosmer area’s motels to change hands and likely be converted into affordable housing.
Hubbard on Tuesday referred questions about the latest purchase to a PR firm for the company, which had not responded to emailed questions by late Tuesday afternoon.
Louis and River Voorhees with Westlake Associates marketed the property and found the buyer for the site, the firm told The News Tribune via email.
The News Tribune’s archives contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
