Developer bids for bus depot

OLYMPIA — An Olympia developer has offered to buy the downtown Greyhound bus depot for a potential mixed-use development.

But the Dallas-based bus line’s company spokeswoman said Greyhound would need new space before considering any buyout for its depot at 107 Seventh Avenue S.E and Capitol Way N, along the southern edge of Sylvester Park.

Ali Raad of Raad Enterprises in Olympia said he made an offer of $400,000 to Greyhound in January. Raad said if he is able to buy the depot, he will seek to erect a multistory building, with two stories of underground parking. It would devote upper levels for apartments, lower levels for offices and street-level space for retail shops.

“I think if we end up doing this project, it will be a good asset for downtown,” Raad said.

He tried to renew his offer on Monday but Greyhound’s real-estate office rebuffed him.

Raad shared his Jan. 29 offer letter, which was his third offer, with The Olympian. It adds a wrinkle to ongoing efforts by Intercity Transit and others to encourage Greyhound to co-locate local and regional bus services at IT’s transit hub.

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird said last week he had secured $250,000 in a pending federal appropriations bill that could help Intercity Transit plan a new depot space at its transit hub at Washington Street and State Avenue. That appropriation still needs to pass several steps in Congress.

Raad owns the parking lot adjacent at Seventh Avenue and Capitol Way, and he is working with Chevron to clean up contamination on that lot resulting from a former gasoline station, his company’s most recent letter to Greyhound states.

Greyhound spokeswoman Ann Folmnsbee said it is premature to talk about selling Greyhound’s depot, at least until Congress appropriates money to Intercity Transit.

Raad, who has developed other offices downtown, noted that he’s offering more to buy the depot than its $257,350 assessed value.