2 new apartment projects approved for Tacoma. One will be downtown, one near the mall
The Tacoma City Council has approved two more apartment projects set to bring a total of 80 new units.
The projects were approved at the council’s June 20 meeting for 12-year multifamily housing property tax exemptions, in which 20 percent of units are rent-restricted for households with incomes at or below 70% of Pierce County AMI, adjusted for household size, as determined by HUD on an annual basis.
Rent is capped at 30% of the income levels, adjusted annually.
Corporate filings with the state indicate the LLCs associated with the two projects are tied together but registered through separate business entities.
The larger apartment project expects to bring 60 units to 4308 S. Alder St. The site was a single-family home, purchased in April 2019 by Primero Courtyards LLC for $235,000.
According to records with the state’s Secretary of State’s office, Primero administratively dissolved as of Feb. 9. Another LLC affiliated with Alpha Sharp Investments is the project developer.
According to the MFTE paperwork filed with the city, the project will include 48 market-rate units and 12 rent-restricted units.
Proposed rents for the market-rate units range from $1,600 for a one bedroom/bath at an average 420 square feet to $1,800 for a two bedroom/one bath at an average 615 square feet.
The rent-restricted units would range from $1,576 for a one bedroom/bath to $1,773 for a two bedroom/one bath, at the same average size as the market rate units. The rent-restricted rates include a utility allowance.
The development includes 11 parking stalls.
The second project, 2106 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, calls for 20 units. The site, also formerly a single-family residential site, was sold in December 2022 to an LLC affiliated with Alpha Sharp Development Partners, with another LLC also affiliated with Alpha Sharp Development filing for the MFTE.
Proposed rents for the market-rate units would range from $1,250 for a studio at 433 square feet to $1,600 for a one bedroom/bath at the same size.
For the four rent-restricted units, proposed rents are listed at $1,576 (utility allowance included) for a one bedroom/bath at the same size as the market-rate units.
One parking stall is included in the project, according to the city’s MFTE paperwork.
So far this year, 13 projects have received MFTE authorization from the city for nearly 400 new units, a slowdown from recent years as financing has become more challenging amid current economic conditions.
Two projects, Tacoma Town Center and Tacoma Trax, have stumbled over monetary issues, with Trax facing possible foreclosure in July and Tacoma Town Center in a continuing court battle over an unresolved settlement with its architect.
This story was originally published July 2, 2023 at 7:05 AM.
