The shopping center is Cooper Point Marketplace at 1200 Cooper Point Road. It used to be home to Old Navy, Linens ’n Things, a post office branch and Famous Footwear.
Old Navy has moved to Westfield Capital mall, Linens ’n Things closed, the post office branch has moved down the street to Cooper Point Village, and the shoe store has relocated to Target Plaza, next to a Ross Dress For Less store.
Existing tenants at Cooper Point Marketplace include the office products store Staples, which is the focal point for a proposed redevelopment plan. The plan would relocate that store within the development, likely making more room for a new tenant, according to Olympia’s Community Planning and Development Department.
In August, representatives of Black Equities Group of Beverly Hills, Calif., the company that owns Cooper Point Marketplace, met with associate planner Shawn Burgett to discuss a renovation of the site, including moving Staples into the former Old Navy space, he said.
The meeting, known as a pre-submission conference, gives developers a chance to learn more about city development requirements before taking that next step.
“They were exploring what the process is with the city,” Burgett said about the meeting.
As part of the proposal, Staples would move into the vacant Old Navy Store space, which would be renovated to look like a Staples store facade, he said.
Once the Staples store moves, that space would be vacant, as would Linens ’n Things and the post office site, creating more room for a potential new tenant. The current Staples site measures about 69,000 square feet, city data show. The owners of Black Equities could not be reached for comment.
Ruth Pagel, the longtime owner of Wild Birds Unlimited, has been a tenant there for 16 years. She said she has heard that the owners are trying to bring an anchor tenant to the site.
Her business specializes in backyard bird-feeding supplies, as well as gifts and yard and garden items. Pagel said her business is not moving; she renewed her lease in April.
That area of Cooper Point Road or near it has experienced some retail growth in recent years, including Trader Joe’s, which opened near Black Lake Boulevard and Cooper Point Road in August 2009.
One reason the area is popular with retailers is because Black Lake Boulevard and Cooper Point Road rates as one of the city’s busiest intersections.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/bizblog
