From lodging to apartments? Another I-5 area hotel appears to be headed for conversion
A recent permit filing with the City of Tacoma indicates another lodging facility is being considered for a residential conversion.
The pre-application was filed May 6 regarding the Clarion Inn site, 6802 Tacoma Mall Blvd. That business is listed as “permanently closed” on Google, and the company’s website lists the closest Clarion to Tacoma as operating in Renton. The property now is operating as Oasis Inn Tacoma.
The filing lists the project as “Clarion Inn Conversion” and is described as “Residential — addition/remodel.”
The proposed conversion at the two-story building is valued at $8 million in the application and has a tentative start date of next March, though those routinely change depending on plans and permits.
County records show the property has an assessed value of just over $11 million.
A representative for the owner of the property, SM Heritage LLC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
The LLC purchased the site in February 2020 for $10.5 million. The property, most visible from southbound Interstate 5, dates to 1969. County records indicate its last building update occurring in 1992. The site has 128 units and a pool.
The property encompasses just under 3 acres.
Maria Lee, media representative for the city of Tacoma, told The News Tribune in response to questions, “This pre-development request is currently in process.”
Lee added that the applicant is “working through feasibility and is awaiting information from city staff to better understand what allowances, restrictions or conditions may be associated with scope to determine next steps.”
Hotel conversions to apartments have been popular south of the Clarion site across I-5 on South Hosmer Street as that area works to rebound from high levels of crime. Since 2022, Sage Investment Group of Kirkland/Richland has been purchasing and redeveloping multiple sites in the Hosmer corridor, including most recently HomeTowne Studios Tacoma, 8801 S. Hosmer St.
This go-around, they don’t appear to be involved.
A media representative for Sage on Friday told The News Tribune the investment group “confirmed that this is not one of their properties.”
No further information was available on Friday. The News Tribune has filed a public records request for more details.
This story was originally published May 13, 2024 at 5:15 AM.
