Proposed warehouse near popular Pierce County trail would remove more than 450 trees
A proposal to build a 256,800-square-foot office/warehouse building on about 20 acres of vacant land near the Sequalitchew Creek Trail in DuPont will be before the city’s hearing examiner next week.
The building would be built on the west side of Sequalitchew Drive, near 1700 Center Drive, and if approved would result in the removal of more than 450 trees and the relocation and reconstruction of the existing Sequalitchew Creek Trail, according to a public hearing notice.
Site work for the “DuPont 243” project would include clearing and grading, paved truck parking and maneuvering areas, water and sanitary sewer extensions, stormwater collection and infiltration facility construction, landscaping and roadway improvements, according to a land-use application filed by Ben Varin. Varin is the development manager for Seattle-based developer Avenue 55.
The building would be about 45 feet tall and house between 90 and 120 employees, according to a 2022 land-use application. The project also would extend Sequalitchew Drive.
According to a forestry consultant report dated March 20, most of the 669 deciduous and conifer trees surveyed on the property were described to be in “fair” or “good” condition, and 75 landmark trees were identified. Landmark trees typically require protection due to their rareness, size, age, structure or ecological condition. According to the report, 56 landmark trees would need to be removed in addition to 396 healthy trees if the warehouse complex is built as planned.
This isn’t the first time developers have pushed to build an office/warehouse in that area. In 2019 the DuPont hearing examiner denied a site plan for DuPont Industrial Park “Lot Y,” which proposed to build one 255,000-square-foot office/warehouse on about 25 acres of vacant land at 1700 Center Drive. The site plan was denied because the proposed warehouse abutted a main road (Sequalitchew Drive) in violation of DuPont Municipal Code 25.45.030(17), which was designed to “establish limitations on uses adjacent to main streets in order to ensure the small town aesthetic of the City of DuPont is maintained.”
City staff recommended the newest site plan be approved if certain requirements are met, according to a staff report published Tuesday. Staff said the DuPont 243 project was consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and “provides a balance of jobs and economic development while protecting the City’s natural and cultural resources.”
Staff said the proposal was consistent with the type of development and use envisioned for the area and noted office/warehouse use is permitted under the site’s current zoning.
DuPont’s hearing examiner will have a public hearing on the DuPont 243 project at 3 p.m. Tuesday at DuPont City Hall.
Development at what cost?
As previously reported by The News Tribune, another proposed development would cut into undeveloped forest land near the Sequalitchew Creek Trail north of the DuPont 243 project. CalPortland’s Pioneer Aggregates South Parcel Project would expand current sand- and gravel-mining operations in southwestern Pierce County at 4301 Pioneer Ave.
If approved by the DuPont hearing examiner, that project would drain groundwater that feeds into the Sequalitchew Creek, and 15 acres of coniferous trees would be logged, according to a draft environmental impact statement prepared by the city. In addition, a previously undisturbed 10.8-acre wetland would be eliminated, plus 60 acres of shrublands and grasslands and 90 landmark trees.
DuPont resident Judy Norris has been outspoken about both projects, concerned about their impact on the environment and one of her favorite trails. Norris said DuPont has enough warehouses already in its industrial area and said building more warehouses is “not [in] the spirit” of the city’s comprehensive plan.
“It’s like development at any cost,” she said. “I have no issues with warehouses being built where they’re supposed to be built. There’s just no more room for them here.”
Varin, speaking on behalf of Avenue 55, told The News Tribune on Wednesday there is need for industrial warehouses in the area. With DuPont being centrally located on the I-5 corridor and there being a “strong history of great industrial assets on that Center Drive road … it’s a great path for distribution, for logistics, for manufacturers.”
“In general in the Puget Sound, the area is just so constrained zoning-wise in finding land that would be developable for industrial [use], and there’s still a great need in the area just considering the blow-up of e-commerce in the last three years. It’s not falling down, if anything it’s picking up,” he said. “It’s a delicate balance, right? Nobody wants a warehouse in their backyard, but everybody also wants to be able to order stuff on Amazon and have it there the next day.”
Varin said the plan is to build a warehouse then advertise it to tenants. If the proposal is approved, the company hopes to break ground next year. It is expected to cost more than $20 million to build, he said.
“Just considering the location of this project and it being such a prime location … we’ll probably know the tenant before we get the certificate of occupancy, before we finish the project,” he said.
In terms of the environmental impacts, Varin said Avenue 55 has worked to mitigate tree impacts “as much as we can” and is following environmental-review processes mandated by the city and state. The soil is still contaminated from the DuPont Chemical Co. and the Asarco Co. copper smelter plume, which limits development to industrial use, Varin said.
If the project moves forward, Venue 55 plans to relocate the Sequalitchew Creek Trail. Instead of visitors parking at the end of Sequalitchew Drive, they’d have to park in the DuPont City Hall parking lot and take the trail from there. Venue 55 will add paving to the trail, in addition to historical signage. Varin said the trail would remain open through construction.
“I feel like I’ve personally tried to do everything that I could to try to mitigate this project as much as I can for folks that live out there. Folks are willing to be patient with us, and we’re hoping that this project can bring some good jobs to the area. Should bring in a bunch of tax revenue for the area. The upgraded trail should be a plus for folks,” he said. “At the end of the day, if it wasn’t us developing it, trying to help out the community and working with groups, then it will probably be a big organization that would try to hammer something else.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2024 at 5:15 AM.
