Port staff members will discuss the option at their Monday commission meeting; the idea then will go before the commission at its Jan. 23 meeting. If the idea is approved, the developer, Lorig Associates of Seattle, is expected to make a presentation to the commission at a later date, said Mike Reid, senior manager of business development for the port.
As part of the option agreement, Lorig would pay the port $25,000 for the right to do its due diligence on the site, payable at the end of the one-year term, he said.
Development ideas for the property might include a hotel, Reid said.
Lorig CEO Tom Fitzsimmons said Thursday that it was too early to discuss development ideas, although he expects to do so with the port commission in two to four weeks.
The company will use its one-year option period to explore financing and building designs for the site, he said. If a project materializes and moves forward, Lorig will sign a long-term ground lease with the port for the property, Reid said.
This isn’t the first time that the port has worked with Lorig, or that a hotel has been pitched for East Bay. Lorig, too, isn’t a stranger to Thurston County.
Lorig has developed student housing at Saint Martin’s University, and Fitzsimmons was a Thurston County administrator from 1986 to about 1995, he said. Lorig, too, played a role in the City of Tumwater’s visioning process for redevelopment of the former Olympia brewery property.
Lorig produced a report that concluded redevelopment of the brewery site could include a combination of mixed-use and public space, but that financing of those plans could be a challenge.
Lorig also was among several developers who submitted development proposals in 2009 for East Bay. The port eventually signed an exclusive negotiating agreement with another Seattle developer, Tarragon.
Tarragon representatives at one point during the agreement period were set to meet with City of Olympia representatives to discuss a 232,000-square-foot hotel for the site, but that meeting was canceled. The port and Tarragon eventually parted ways because of the slow economy.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/bizblog
