Pierce County plans to buy downtown Tacoma office building for $27 million. Here’s why
Pierce County plans to purchase a downtown Tacoma office building this year in order to consolidate office space and transform the current County-City Building into a Pierce County Justice Center.
The new office building, a 149,330-square-foot office space at 1501 Market St., is currently owned by Regence BlueShield and was built in 1992. Pierce County has agreed to pay $27,271,000 for the building, according to a news release issued Thursday by Pierce County.
The purchase needs approval from the Pierce County Council and would be funded through a bond issuance, according to the release. Following council approval, the sale is expected to close in October, and departments should move in by 2025.
The goal of purchasing the new building is to have the County-City Building become the Pierce County Justice Center, which will house more justice-oriented departments and courtrooms, said Karl Imlig, director of Facilities Management.
By moving some of the non-justice-related departments out of the County-City Building and into the 1501 Market St. building, the county can maximize space and consolidate its current leases, Imlig said. Additional improvements are proposed for the County-City Building, including more courtrooms and space for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“We’d [also] be looking at first-floor modifications to help with, basically, public services,” Imlig said. “Moving the Clerk’s Office or front desk for the Clerk’s Office into the more central part of the building.”
Growing pains
Last year, at the direction of the County Executive Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Facilities Management finished a Justice Center and Space Planning Study, which analyzed the expected growth needs for court- and justice-related services over the next 20 years.
According to the study, growth over the next six years would exceed the capacity of the 64-year-old County-City Building.
Several administrative operations have already been relocated out of the building due to space issues, Imlig said.
Among the departments that would likely move into the 1501 Market St. building are the County Council, County Executive’s Office, communications, finance, IT, risk management, economic development, facilities and human resources departments.
Future moving expenses and potential renovations to the 1501 Market St. building would be determined later, Imlig said.
