Building near Wright Park has sold to a company known recently for developing apartments
A building that has been the home of offices of a local health system has been sold to a local builder/developer perhaps best known recently for its multi-story apartment projects than its property investments.
An LLC affiliated with The Rush Companies of Gig Harbor purchased the building, 124 Tacoma Ave. S., in December for $3.12 million from Tacoma-based MultiCare.
It was the second of two planned MultiCare property selloffs dating back to office reshuffling that accelerated in the pandemic’s first year.
The health system purchased the site from Pierce County in 1999 for $2.77 million. In October 2020 it put the building and adjacent parking stalls on the market for an asking price of $5.6 million.
A representative for MultiCare told The News Tribune in fall 2020 that it had planned “for years” to sell the building. The pandemic and work-from-home conversions hastened MultiCare’s property consolidations and the launch of a regional business-support center that year at 1313 Broadway.
MultiCare’s property selloffs announced at that time included its 737 Fawcett Ave. building, which eventually sold to Comprehensive Life Resources in 2022 for $3.8 million, down from a listing price of $6 million.
The Tacoma Avenue property is near Wright Park and the Tacoma Link Light Rail extension, north of the downtown core. The building dates to 1925, updated in 1990, according to county records and real estate information online
“This property represents an opportunity for an owner/user to occupy the vacated space, operate the building as an investment property, or redevelop with multi-family and retail,” its CBRE marketing brochure stated.
Scott Thompson, media representative for MultiCare, told The News Tribune this week the building houses some information systems and technology services for the health system, as well as its print shop.
MultiCare will retain occupancy of a portion of the site and has no plans to expand there, he added.
“We’ve entered into a two-year lease agreement with Rush to keep those folks there. During that time we’ll be working with those departments to develop long-term plans for their location,” Thompson said.
Steve Yester, development manager for Rush, told The News Tribune via email in response to questions, “MultiCare is leasing back a large portion of 124 Tacoma Ave. for at least a couple of years, and we are looking to fill the remaining space.”
Yester stated there were “no other plans at this time” for the building.
Rush has been involved in development/construction and investing in different properties in recent years.
As well as developing Proctor Flats, Proctor Station and Madison25 apartment sites in the Proctor District among other projects, the development group has had partial ownership in Gig Harbor’s Peninsula Shopping Center since February 2020.
The shopping center on Judson Street previously was under consideration for an overhaul, but the withdrawal of Town & County Markets as a potential anchor grocery tenant in 2022 stymied those plans.
Yester said Jan. 11 that there was nothing “new to report with Peninsula Shopping Center.”
The Puget Sound Business Journal reported on the MultiCare building sale earlier this month.
