‘We want to be the best.’ Here’s what’s coming to rebranded downtown Tacoma high rise
A prominent downtown Tacoma high-rise is undergoing a transformation, including a new name, in an effort to become a top-of-its-class site for office tenants, according to one of the project developers.
Mike McClure is a partner at MJR Development and recently spoke with The News Tribune about the project, set for completion in August or September.
“We’re really trying to redefine the market and create the nicest office space in Tacoma,” McClure said.
An LLC representing the Kirkland-based development team purchased Tacoma Financial Center, 1145 Broadway, in December 2021 for more than $40 million. McClure estimates another $4 million has been put toward renovations, and more is set to be paid to further customize in tenant improvements. It is being renamed Tacoma Centre.
Much of the work is happening in the building’s first-floor lobby area leading to a future entertainment space with a coffee and wine bar.
In that area, the developer is also re-imagining use of a bank vault left over from former tenant U.S. Bank. McClure sees it as potential storage for wine belonging to tenants and a seating area offering more privacy.
“So you could come in and sit down and maybe have a meeting, and maybe afterwards open up a bottle of wine as well,” McClure said.
Above the vault on the next floor’s balcony sits a baby grand piano, and that is where one of the building’s new featured tenants, a regional coffee retailer, comes into play.
Ebony and Ivory Coffee owners Kennon and Makenzie Maurer will run the lobby coffee shop/bar, with a wall of wine to showcase its offerings.
The couple also run the Ebony and Ivory Coffee locations in Lacey and Federal Way.
“This location is going to be a little bit different than our other two locations. We’re adding beer and wine to this location,” Kennon Maurer told The News Tribune. “We’re excited to feature some different local wines and some different wines from around the country and around the world.”
But what about the piano? Kennon Maurer said that is part of bringing to life their dream site.
“The original idea of Ebony and Ivory that we had five years ago was for us to do a piano bar-style coffee shop,” he said. “I was a professional piano player before coming into this industry. And so that’s kind of part of where the name came from, along with us being an interracial couple.”
There’s also the duet from Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder that became a hit single in the spring-summer of 1982.
“The song actually plays a huge part in the name, too,” Kennon Maurer said. “I’m a big Stevie Wonder fan. That’s actually why I got into playing piano in the first place.”
Other on-site amenities will include a gym with storage lockers and showers.
“Any tenant as part of their lease can use the gym,” McClure said. “What we’re trying to do is add amenities that help our tenants retain their employees.”
There is a tenant garage below the building.
Another feature will be an upper-level entertainment deck with a skyline view. It will include a kitchen area, a more formal conference room and a more relaxed conference room with couches. Tenants could reserve the space for meetings or a party.
Each floor’s lobby will be updated, along with individual tenant improvements and renovated elevators.
The design of the building, McClure added, allows for “floor-to-ceiling windows, unlike some of the older buildings.”
With such generous windows, ”the percentage of windows that we get to square feet of floor is among the highest in the market because of the shape of the building,” he said.
In commercial real estate, office space classifications rank from A to C considering the building’s condition, location and amenities when setting rents, with A being the best. The building for now is “about 40 percent” occupied, McClure said.
“There’s a small handful of buildings I’d say are Class A in this market,” McClure said. “And we want to be the best.”
For more details, go to tacomacentre.com.
