City of Puyallup press release.
Puyallup, WA – The Puyallup City Council has approved the sale of a parking lot in downtown Puyallup to a local developer, with the intention of bringing more downtown housing opportunities. This transaction is a key step towards realizing the vision of a more vibrant and walkable downtown with more options for people to live close to shopping and transit in Puyallup, which aligns with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
On Monday, November 1, 2021, Puyallup City Manager Steve Kirkelie signed a contract with Puyallup AOB Development LLC to sell the Administrative Office Building (AOB) parking lot. The AOB lot is the former site of the City Hall administrative offices. In 2009, the City moved their offices to its current location at 333 S Meridian, demolished the old building, and created a public parking lot of 103 spaces. The AOB lot is located near the intersection of Pioneer Avenue and 3rd Street SW (behind the Puyallup Public Library).
At the October 26th, 2021 City Council meeting, City leaders approved a purchase and sale agreement with Puyallup AOB Development LLC, an entity owned by McBride-Cohen Management Group LLC. This team met all the City’s criteria for development of the lot. Some of the criteria included knowledge and ability to access capital to complete the project, alignment with the City’s vision, and creation of a parking plan for the Senior Activity Center. Their proposal was selected out of four proposed Letters of Interest (LOIs), which were submitted to the City in March 2021.
Meredith Neal, Economic Development Director, comments on the sale. “The AOB lot, in my mind, is a catalyst development,” says Neal. “The property and its development will cause other developers in the region to give Puyallup a fresh look. They’ll see that Puyallup, and especially downtown, has a lot to offer.”
Mayor Julie Door sees the property sale as a benefit to local businesses. “This property, once it is developed into housing, will invigorate our downtown business community,” says Door. “More people living in downtown means more foot traffic to our shops and restaurants. This will create economic prosperity to our downtown businesses.”
The proposal from McBride-Cohen calls for a mixed-use development of 60 condominium units. The anticipated building design would be approximately four stories, with the first floor containing ground-level parking and the remaining three floors consisting of living units. Within the ground floor parking lot would be approximately twenty public parking spaces, which were negotiated by the City to be used by permit for patrons of the Puyallup Activity Center and when not in use for Puyallup Activity Center patrons, the parking stall will be available for use by the public.
Loren Cohen comments on his experience working with the City on the property purchase. “The City of Puyallup ranks up there with the best,” says Cohen. “They’re goal oriented and focused on timing and scheduling. From a developer’s perspective, every day that we’re not progressing forward is a day lost on the market. The City understands this and is focused on making sure this project moves forward.”
With the signing of the sale agreement, staff will now begin the process of working with McBride-Cohen to make sure that key milestones are reached in the development process. This includes holding a pre-application meeting and review of preliminary site plans. The City has created a special website page, which contains information about the project, important document links, and timelines to update the public. Please visit the webpage here.
