Tacoma Flats micro-unit development brings new life to former Merkle Hotel
Local developer Eli Moreno recently unveiled his latest completed project, the renovated former Merkle Hotel, now billed as Tacoma Flats.
The site, 2405 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, has been transformed into 46 furnished micro-unit apartments.
Under city code, micro-units can be as small as 250 square feet and as large as 450 square feet.
Rents start at $799. Each apartment includes a full bathroom, bed, sofa chair, desk and a small kitchenette with microwave and refrigerator.
The site also has a community area, an oversized full kitchen, ping-pong and pool tables, movie room, laundry room, sitting areas and high-speed internet.
The three-story hotel originally opened in 1913. Eventually, as the decades wore on, it become in need of a substantial overhaul.
Moreno took on redevelopment of the site in 2018 with a purchase price of slightly more than $1 million.
The purchase made headlines at the time not only for the plans to renovate but also because of tenants displaced as a result of the project. The Merkle before its sale offered rooms at extremely low rent, providing housing to many people on the cusp of homelessness.
Then as well as now, Moreno emphasizes he’s well aware of the need for affordable housing in Tacoma.
“Housing affordability has become a critical issue that we can no longer ignore, and we should all do our part to try to solve it,” Moreno said in a news release announcing the project’s completion..
“We wanted to bring to market a place where working people don’t have to spend most of their paychecks on rent, and yet enjoy a nice and safe place to live.”
Moreno also has developed multiple coworking spaces in Tacoma under the Surge Tacoma banner and is currently working on the redevelopment of Old City Hall.
When asked for a status update on Old City Hall, Moreno told The News Tribune in an email, “We continue to be fully dedicated to moving the project forward, despite the many challenges and uncertainties with this pandemic.
“Our teams of engineers and architects were unable to work for a few months because of COVID-19, but now they are all working and collaborating together once again, and we are expecting to submit for building permits by December and start the project in the spring of next year.“
He added: “Our goal has been, and it will always be, a financially feasible project, where we can introduce to the Tacoma market the right amount of rehabilitated office/retail/restaurant space that can be absorbed without destabilizing the nearby businesses, while creating the jobs that our City is going to need and making a positive impact in our community.”
More information is at tacomaflats.com.
