Olympia Standard

Short, short, history:  TriWay Enterprises wants to build Larida Passage (high-end condos) above the height limit on the isthmus downtown.  At least 4,500 residents (about 10% of the population of Olympia), based on signatures collected, want the city to study turning the land into a park. Many groups have weighed in on the issue, and lines have been drawn. A recent public hearing drew overwhelming opposition to the rezone. The Olympia city council will be deliberating on the rezone September 30th.

On one side of this is Jeanette Hawkins, former Olympia City Councilor and current spokesperson for TriWay. Jeanette recently spoke with us about the rezone and the controversy it has created.

This is what Larida Passage might look like. (From the TriWay website)

Olympia Standard:  One thing opponents of this project have said is that there isn’t a market for condos in the proposed price range.  What kind of market analysis was done, and what exactly is the yard stick for success?

Jeanette Hawkins: Since the 1980’s Olympia has incorporated Housing Studies into their planning program. The first study identified the blocks presently contained in the UW-H Zone and along Percival Landing, all waterfront properties, as the most desirable housing locations. In 2000, the City embarked on an extensive planning effort with the Pyotak firm, which had been very successful, especially in Seattle, creating market rate and subsidized urban housing developments. Renderings were created for three city owned blocks, floor plans and structured parking configurations, economic analysis, and policy considerations which essentially created a work plan with recommendations to the city about what it would take to get the housing district going. The UW-H District was born from this study, as well as two subsequent market analyses by New Home Trends on 2000 and 2002. This is the firm that Triway hired to do an update to the market analysis in the fall of 2007 for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezone. The results of this update are completely consistent with the previous NHT findings except that an even larger market of 80-170 units per year was noted. The 2000 Percival Landing Housing Study confirmed that the city’s goals and vision on these high amenity blocks could not and would not occur under zoning regulations from the 80’s, which result in 2 and 3 story office buildings with surface parking lots – exactly the project that Triway has vested and will build if this rezone is not approved. All the City’s housing market studies and their updates state emphatically that it will be local residents with equity in their suburban homes who will purchase these condominiums, and that a high amenity site, such as this, is the best location to jump-start the downtown housing district.

As for profitability, if the rezone is approved and after DOE approves the Shoreline Amendment, Triway will do what all condominium developers do, and that is, conduct an extensive market study in the community that will determine the specifics of the market for the particular project. We know that generally the condo market wants an average square footage of 1500 SF. (Apartments are closer to 850 SF.) Some buyers may want larger units, some smaller. The units facing the inner courtyard will probably be smaller than those located with views to the water. The Pyotak study discussed the concept of buyers buying whatever amount of square footage they can afford. And we also know that despite the size of any ‘upper-end’ unit, it will be the location, design, and use of materials and finishes that will determine this market. So the short answer is that Triway will have to meet the threshold of quality to create this market in Olympia, and that it will be very well researched in focus groups before we finalize design. Additionally, local realtors have lists of clients seeking this lifestyle, and I also have had potential residents contact me to be put on a waiting list.

It should further be noted that we have preliminarily designed the project as two buildings, separated by a pedestrian passageway. PearlWater at Larida Passage can be built in two phases, which will give us additional flexibility to meet the market demands. Construction of this project would not begin earlier than 2011, and the 2007 NHT Market Study states that the housing market will be in better shape locally at that time.

OS:  The largest opposition to Larida Passage seems to be coming from Bob Jacobs and Friends of the Waterfront, with many yard signs around the city saying things like, “Don’t Wall Off The Waterfront”.  Have you met personally with Friends of the Waterfront?  Is there any room for a compromise here?

JH: Tri (Tri Vo, owner of TriWay Enterprises) has met with Bob Jacobs and another member of FOTW.

In 2002, when this CPA and Rezone proposal was generated from the Planning Commission, not only were various heights proposed (theoretically, not project specific), but a large district was proposed. In the Council deliberations, the Les Schwab block was removed at the request of Curt Pavola, who thought the city should purchase it for park land. The isthmus was removed, and it was agreed it needed more study to be included in the district. (And that is exactly what has transpired in 2008.) The district that exists now is a special district that contains its own set of development and design regulations and extends from Childhoods End to Swing, with heights of 65 and 75 feet. The Urban Waterfront-Housing District creates a neighborhood that answers the goals and vision of the GMA and Comprehensive Plan, as well as the Shoreline Management Act and our local Shoreline plan. Housing contributes to a vital downtown and waterfront where people live, work, and play in a well-designed urban environment close to shopping, work, parks, and entertainment, and where the use of a car is a choice, not a necessity. This Urban-Waterfront Housing District prescribes upper floors as residential. The rest of downtown is zoned commercial, where residential is a suggested use. The Office building under construction north of the Phoenix Inn is a prime example of the failure of commercial zoning to incorporate housing. So a lot of compromising went on in 2002 that led to the UW-H District of today. FOTW appealed the district to the Growth Management Hearings Board, and their appeal was denied. Today, they use the same arguments that were found to be in error. The 2012 organization is all about compromise, but FOTW rejected their proposal, and instead created the gigantic Heritage Park proposal and initiative based on a definition of the Wilder and White view corridor that is not historically or legally founded. The FOTW debate has unfortunately shifted to an impossible park proposal or a great project named Larida Passage that should be located elsewhere. Not much room for compromise, except what the city staff and Planning Commission creatively recommended. Elsewhere? There isn’t anywhere else in downtown for a project such as this! I examined all the 18 or so sites that were identified in the 2000 housing study as possible housing sites, and many others. I spoke with property owners. Development has many barriers downtown – small lots, numerous ownerships, property consolidation, toxic site clean-up, permitting, and fees to name a few. There is much risk, and for a pioneer project, even more uncertainty. Projects of differing market values will follow as the market is proved and the neighborhood established. After all, we have a workforce of 20,000 people who commute into our downtown to work on a daily basis, and there is no place for them to live!

OS:  Parking and traffic are issues that grow in importance as Olympia’s downtown grows.  Opponents have said that this project will have adverse effects on traffic by adding so many new drivers to that area, creating congestion problems.  Has Tri Way looked into this, and if so, what kind of impact can we expect from a fully occupied Larida Passage?

JH:  Traffic studies by the city done in 2002 for the corridor in this location, and again in 2008, as well as the study Triway commissioned by Shea Carr and Jewell, all confirm: Transportation planning is closely related to land use planning in that each influences the other, as well as how the community looks and functions. Housing in this location decreases traffic in the PM peak hour as compared to only office and commercial uses - by 24%. Larida Passage will add 14 trips on 5^th Avenue and 15 trips on 4^th Avenue above the traffic projections for 2020. The mixed use development allows more parking sharing and encourages use of alternative modes. Our downtown consists of over 120 blocks, and if the argument that developing two of them will cause congestion in the downtown is taken seriously, then we won’t be able to grow at all. It is estimated, by the way, that up to half of all the car trips downtown are folks looking for a place to park.

OS:  There is a group currently gathering signatures for an initiative that would force the city to study the costs associated with turning the isthmus into a park while halting any developments until after the study’s completion.  There is also word that a legal challenge would be mounted if the rezone is approved, which could potentially delay the project for years.  Is there a point where Triway decides it’s simply not worth going forward with Larida Passage?

JH:  Development won’t be halted by the petition, the land is not for sale, and we are prepared for any appeals. As far as not being worth it to go forward, that will be the signal Olympia gives to all potential city-wide development.

OS:  If the rezone doesn’t go through, whether the council votes against it, or either the initiative or potential legal challenge are successful, what happens to your property on the isthmus, will office buildings go up instead?

JH:  We will pick up where we left off with our construction schedule for the Capital Shores Office Complex.

OS:  Many experts in the field of civic design express a need for economically diverse housing options in downtown cores.  Would Triway be at all interested in developing housing in our downtown that would be priced more within reach of the downtown workforce, if the opportunity presented itself?

JH:  Once the pioneer project is underway, other smaller projects will follow and the neighborhood will develop for the workforce.

We presently have other properties for which we are planning mixed-use housing projects in Lacey, at Lacey Gateway, and Tumwater, Belletorre, on the Brewery Property.

Larida Passage is a tremendous one-time opportunity for the city. The ability to consolidate 2.34 acres in the downtown may never happen again. The alternative is not a park. It’s an office building.(emphasis added by Hawkins)

OS: Any final thoughts or anything else you’d like to say?

JH:  We ask for additional height in this location for a GOOD reason - to provide a significant number of high-end residences, a parking garage for the western business district that will also serve park visitors and support additional housing projects in this zone, and improved shoreline access and viewing opportunities for the public. The western side of PearlWater is a public viewing deck, e.g. These amenities will attract additional investment to our downtown and make our parks safe.

The reality of a vital and hopeful downtown that fulfils the vision of this community should be considered a wonderfully positive ‘view’, especially by a State Government whose measure of success depends upon meeting the transportation challenges of a growing population while cleaning up Puget Sound, imperiled because of unsustainable land use patterns and our dependence upon the automobile. Larida Passage is exactly the kind of development that addresses these sustainability issues. 141 residential units will be built on 2.34 acres, instead of 63 acres in suburbia, or 332 acres in Thurston County. PLUS 42,000 square feet of retail and 24,000 square feet of office space, 513 parking places, plus a public viewing plaza, trail connection and pedestrian corridor will also be hosted within the 2.34 acres. A green building that conserves energy and water, and is located close to existing public infrastructure will also reflect these environmental values. Residents, workers, and customers will have real choices to park, walk, bike, and ride the bus to limit their auto use. Spending by local residents will invigorate the local economy and support the downtown merchants.

It has taken the state 100 years to spend 18 million dollars and it hasn’t yet completed its plan for Heritage Park. The city cannot wait 100 years to implement its vision for downtown! We must face our challenges now. Olympia is the economic, cultural, and historic center of South Puget Sound. We are an environmentally conscious community that deserves to be given the choice to live an urban lifestyle that supports the conservation ethic. This is the vision of the Olympia Comprehensive Plan, and Larida Passage meets all the applicable land use, transportation, housing, sustainability, and design goals and policies it contains.

We must change the way we live, and this is how we do it.

We at The Olympia Standard would like to thank Mrs. Hawkins for taking the time to answer our questions.  This is the first in a series of interviews we’ll be doing on this topic right up until the hearing on September 30th, so stay tuned.

Discuss this interview here.