A developer that brews its own beer plans $40 million investment in downtown Puyallup
It’s unusual for a developer to brew their own beer, but conversations about a Puyallup Pale Ale and a beer to honor Ezra Meeker are part of the discussion for a new mixed-use development in downtown Puyallup.
Palindrome Communities presented its vision to the City Council on Tuesday to redevelop 1.5 acres of city-owned property into a brewery; a five-story apartment building that would have 115 apartments to rent; nine townhomes for sale; and a food hall. There also would be a plaza.
The city bought the property at 115 Second St. SE more than 20 years ago. It used to be home to car dealerships, and today is largely public parking.
Puyallup will sell the land to Palindrome if the council approves a development agreement and purchase-and-sale agreement early next year. It is unclear what Palindrome would actually pay the city for the land. That is being negotiated.
There will be a public hearing early next year, after which the council would vote on those agreements.
Palindrome president Robert Gibson told The News Tribune on Dec. 6 via email that the “proposed Palindrome project is expected to break ground in early 2026 with completion expected in mid-2027.”
He told the council in his presentation Tuesday that something that sets Palindrome apart from other companies is that it wouldn’t just build the project, it would own and operate it. The company would be the property managers for the apartments, run the brewery and manage the food hall.
Palindrome produces German-style beers as Zoiglhaus Brewing, he told the council, which has won awards.
“We’re really proud of the quality of the beer that we brew,” he said.
He also said the company encourages its breweries to be family-friendly.
‘A new era for Puyallup’
Council member Lauren Adler said at the meeting that this “will be a new era for Puyallup” and that those born and raised in the city have wanted to see something like this for a long time.
“This project, I think, is a long time coming,” she said. “... I look forward to seeing this come to life.”
She also asked about the possibility of having an Ezra Meeker-themed beer to honor the hop-farming legacy of Puyallup’s first mayor.
“We’re already brainstorming ideas, beyond Puyallup Pale Ale,” Gibson said. “We’ll have an Ezra Meeker something.”
Council member Dean Johnson said he was intrigued by the family-friendly aspect of the project, and Council member Renne Gilliam said she appreciated the focus on community connection.
Mayor Jim Kastama said at the meeting that the development is a “keystone project for the community” and that the council has focused on making downtown the city’s commons.
“It sounds like we’re ready to partner with your company,” he said.
The council heard as part of the presentation that those who live in the new apartments and townhomes would spend an estimated $1.3 million a year at Puyallup businesses. Kerry Yanasak, head of the Puyallup Main Street Association, told the council that this project would address a “huge eyesore downtown” and that the group is “very excited that this is going to get developed.”
He said the project would mean more people living and shopping downtown, and that the city will look very different a couple years from now.
“You have Main Street’s support of this 100 percent,” he told the council.
As far as businesses downtown, the food hall, Gibson explained, would give those looking to get into the restaurant game a chance to do so without risking a large capital investment. Palindrome would provide the refrigeration, grease traps, hoods and other equipment and would offer flexible leases. The developers want the food hall to open about the same time that the adjacent festival street the city is planning opens in a couple years.
Former Mayor John Hopkins told the council during public comment that he thinks that festival street will be “a spectacular gateway” to the city and that he hopes the end result of the plaza portion of Palindrome’s development is something like Tollefson Plaza in Tacoma, with places to sit.
“I’m hoping there’s no tall buildings,” he said.
The only other five-story building in downtown Puyallup is City Hall.
How big will the apartments be, and what will they cost?
Gibson said the apartments would range from studios to three-bedroom units and that they would have enhanced insulation and triple-pane windows in places to dampen noise from the train tracks nearby. It’s too early to talk specific rents, but he told the council a market-rate rent for a new one-bedroom unit in the area is about $1,900. Affordable housing units rent for about $1,600 for a one-bedroom.
The company plans to apply for one of the city’s multi-family tax exemptions, which means the site would be exempt from property taxes for 12 years if about 25 percent of the units are affordable and the council approves the exemption.
In addition to some of the apartments, Palindrome plans to make two of the nine townhomes affordable.
Affordable units are for those who make 80 percent of the area median income, which means a single person could qualify if they make less than $64,900 a year. A family of two could qualify if they make less than about $74,150.
Developers have only used Puyallup’s multi-family tax exemption program a few times in its nearly 20-year existence.
A $40 million investment in downtown Puyallup
Meredith Neal, the city’s development and permitting services director, told The News Tribune that the company expects to invest $40 million in construction costs.
Puyallup reached out to other jurisdictions that have worked with the developer, she said, and heard good things.
“Everything was glowing for Palindrome,” she said.
She said city officials asked a lot of questions in particular about the developer’s financial ability to do the project and whether they’d be able to secure the funds.
They learned Palindrome has good relationships with banks, she said, who consider the company a low risk.
They have a history of working on spaces that might have been overlooked by other developers, she said. City staff were surprised, she said, to learn that Palindrome would keep part of the aging building on the site and incorporate it into the project.
The city calls the site the Cornforth-Campbell property, after the automotive businesses that used to be there, dating back to the 1940s. Neal said insurance from the former property owner paid for environmental clean-up at the site, as part of the sale agreement with the city. That includes addressing soil contamination and groundwater contamination related to petrochemical products from the car dealerships and dry-cleaner chemicals from a business that was across the street.
The bulk of that work is done. Workers excavated tons of soil from the site starting in 2019, Neal said.
The planned festival street helped attract Palindrome to the project, she said, in addition to the walkability of the area
The city got three responses from developers when it sought proposals for a mixed-use project on the site last year.
Asked about the other two proposals the city received, Neal said one maximized the amount of housing, and that although it was a good proposal, the council seemed to worry that the larger building it called for could feel overwhelming there and affect views downtown. The last proposal, she said, was from a developer whose financials caused some concern about whether it would have been able to finish the work.
Something like Palindrome’s project has been in the works for the property for many years.
“It was purchased with the intent of being a catalyst development site at some point,” she said.
That took a lot longer than expected, she said, as the economy dipped and construction stopped, but getting more housing downtown was always part of the plan.
“This is something that has been part of the community vision for a very long time,” she said.
News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
