Owner decides building’s fate

Our views

The Olympian • Published May 30, 2008

It makes perfect sense to move the Greyhound bus station to the Intercity Transit center in downtown Olympia. It also makes sense for South Sound developer Ali Raad to purchase the old Greyhound bus station across from Sylvester Park and turn it into a mixed-use building.

All eyes are on Congress to see whether federal officials will come up with the $1.85 million to build the new Greyhound station. That would create a centralized transportation hub in the heart of downtown Olympia. Out-of-town visitors would be able to climb off the Greyhound bus and hop on an Intercity Transit bus to travel to any location in the Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey or Yelm area.

If Congress comes up with the funds, then it’s up to Greyhound officials to agree to the move.

Congressman Brian Baird, a Democrat from Vancouver, got the wheels churning last fall when he secured $343,000 in federal funds for a multimodal bus station for Intercity Transit. Baird said the money would allow IT to design and plan for the co- location of IT and Greyhound Lines.

About the same time that Baird secured the funding, Raad announced his interest in purchasing the bus station.

Raad said he offered Dallas-base Greyhound $400,000 for the depot at 107 Seventh Ave. S.E. At that time, Raad said his plans were to erect a multistory building, with two stories of underground parking. He envisioned street level space for retail, some offices and apartments on the upper floor. Raad also owns an adjacent parking lot at Seventh Avenue and Capitol Way.

“I think if we end up doing this project, it will be a good asset for downtown,” Raad said. He has offered three times to purchase the building, but Greyhound has not made a commitment to move.

Raad might find himself at odds with the Olympia-based Art Deco Society of the Northwest. That organization considers the bus station, which opened in 1937, to be at risk of the wrecking ball. The building is listed as one of the top 10 endangered buildings in the state by the Washington Trust of Historic Preservation.

Joyce Colton, founder of the society, said the station is a real gem. Its rounded edges exemplify streamlining, a popular design technique in the 1930s, Colton said. Her dream is that the depot be saved as a restaurant or museum.

Raad has talked about saving the facade of the building if he gets to develop the bus station property. But Colton said the rounded edges of the existing building are what give it its beauty.

If Intercity Transit secures funding for the new transit station, if Greyhound agrees to the move and Raad purchases the bus station, he — as the private property owner — will chart the building’s future.

If the Art Deco Society of the Northwest is intent on saving the building as it is, the society needs to raise the money to purchase it. Then the society can ensure a direct voice on use of the property and renovation of the building.