What’s happening with Village at Harbor Hill? Owner will meet with Gig Harbor neighbors
Have ideas on what should happen next at the long-stalled Village at Harbor Hill in Gig Harbor? An upcoming community meeting can be your chance to share them.
The $44 million, 18.5-acre business park project at Borgen Boulevard and Harbor Hill Drive was expected to have a Town & Country Market grocery store, banking, restaurants, shops and medical services.
If everything had proceeded smoothly, this meeting wouldn’t be happening.
A legal battle over transportation impact fees and an eventual settlement between the developer and the city took a few years. By summer 2020, Town & Country Markets had bowed out of any plans to open a new grocery there and two years later, abandoned plans for another Gig Harbor site.
It was a tough loss amid the COVID-19 pandemic after years of negotiations. The News Tribune reported in 2015 that Village at Harbor Hill’s developer and the grocer were then in talks to bring the grocery brand to Gig Harbor.
The community meeting, jointly hosted by the city and property owner Rayonier, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, at Swift Water Elementary School, 10811 Harbor Hill Dr., Gig Harbor.
The meeting’s agenda includes reviewing the history of Harbor Hill, the reasons for vacancy and to answer questions.
“This is an opportunity to engage in a conversation about our residents’ preferred future of Harbor Hill,” the city states in its social media post about the meeting.
Jon Rose, vice president of real estate with Raydient/Rayonier, told The News Tribune in response to questions that: “The Village site has sat vacant, since, well forever. The entire Harbor Hill project is developed except for that piece.”
He added that “The property is still the subject of a joint venture between Raydient (my new company since 2020) and Powell Development Company.”
“We’ve been invited to provide background and participate in a potential process to discuss the vision for the property,” he added.
He noted that the development team can offer details on the current state of affairs in retail, grocer interest and industry consolidation over the last few years, as well as impact of online sales to brick-and-mortar store demand.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, we asked Katrina Knutson, Gig Harbor city administrator, some questions about the project:
Q: The event invite says that city staff “recently met with representatives from Rayonier to get a status update on the project. Staff learned that portions of the project will need to be re-evaluated based on changing needs and demands.” Can you elaborate on this?
A: The property owner indicated the commercial market has changed dramatically since 2018 due to factors such as Amazon, grocer lawsuits, and work from home.
Q: Does the city have any sense of when this project may restart?
A: We do not. Permits for the Village at Harbor Hill have been approved since 2021.
Q: Given the recent news that Trader Joe’s appears to be planning a new site in Seattle, is there any sense perhaps that could be the replacement tenant for the grocery spot at the site? Where the next Trader Joe’s will locate is a frequent reader question.
A: We often receive this question as well! The city has reached out to Trader Joe’s several times over the last two years with unsuccessful results. We have repeatedly been told Gig Harbor is too close to their University Place location for their business model.
Q: What are your hopes for this upcoming community meeting?
A: My primary desire is for true information sharing to occur. I think it is important for the neighbors to hear from the property owner as well as the property owner to hear from neighbors. This property is in a prime location within our city and when all work together, great things can happen.
News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 10, 2024 at 10:00 AM.
