Banking, beds, brew and bites

A downtown Olympia building, which was once home to Sears and a state agency, has finally become the Thurston First Bank Building, a long-awaited, mixed-use destination for the bank, a brew pub and 19 market-rate apartments.

The bank opened this month, Three Magnets Brewing Co. had a soft opening of its pub on Friday, while the restaurant portion of the business is set to have its soft opening Monday.

And the Franklin Loft apartments, which are on the second floor and became available in October, are filling up quickly, said Teri Haglund, a managing broker and property manager for The Rants Group.

The two, one-bedroom apartments went fast, leasing up within the first two weeks that they became available, she said. About half the apartments, mostly studios, have been rented so far and she expects all of them to be leased by the end of the year.

Thurston First Bank President and Chief Executive Jim Haley, who toured the property on Wednesday, praised the city of Olympia for expediting the redevelopment process.

He also said the finished product has great implications for the revitalization of downtown.

A little more than a year ago, local developer Walker John, who was fresh off another project that renovated the Cunningham Building at Adams Street and Fourth Avenue, bought, along with his partners, the former state Department of Personnel building at Legion Way and Franklin Street.

Thurston First Bank and Security State Bank provided the renovation financing, the final tally coming in at just north of $5 million, Haley said.

The bank doubled its space and has room to expand, but the move is more than that, he said, emphasizing that the bank wanted to be a larger part of the community.

On that note, Haley made an announcement on Wednesday: although the doors at Thurston First have always been open to anyone, the bank has historically marketed itself as a business bank.

But now it’s going to embrace consumer and individual accounts to become more of a community bank, he said. In addition, the conference room will be open to other organizations, such as nonprofits, if they need meeting space.

Another idea is to use the lobby of the bank, which has a commanding view of Legion Way and Franklin Street, as a pre-reception meeting area for the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

Upstairs are the apartments, ranging from 415 square feet to 600 square feet. Three rent for $750 a month, while the others range from $925 to $1,025, Haglund said. There’s also a common laundry room and a soon-to-come workout room.

The south side of the building is home to Three Magnets Brewing Co., the vision of Nathan and Sara Reilly, who also run Darby’s Cafe.

The pub had its soft opening Friday and things went well, said Nate Reilly on Wednesday. The following morning he felt a huge sense of relief, he said.

The pub is open, the menu is gradually being rolled out and the all-ages restaurant portion of the business is set to have its soft opening Monday. They will begin with dinners and then eventually will expand to lunch and brunch.

Kitchen manager and Chef Nancy Bickell said the menu will emphasize fresh fish and seafood and locally sourced ingredients.

She called it Scandinavian-inspired food with a touch of the Northwest, such as a Reuben sandwich made with salt cod, pickled veggies and Gouda cheese on rye bread. And they plan to incorporate spent grains from the beer brewing process into breads and buns.

There’s also the lamb burger with feta cheese and lemon-mint marmalade, she said.

The first signature beer is the Rainy Day IPA, which includes an arrangement with downtown’s Rainy Day Records. For each pint of beer sold over the bar, 25 cents will be donated to a charitable cause of the record store’s choosing. Rainy Day has chosen The Northern, an organization that promotes all-ages events, Reilly said.

Hours are set to change at Three Magnets, but for the soft openings the business is open about 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., he said.

This story was originally published November 12, 2014 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Banking, beds, brew and bites ."