Developer picked for 180-unit Boulevard Road housing development
The city of Olympia has identified a developer for 10 acres of city-owned land abutting 3900 Boulevard Road Southeast.
The site is part of nearly 150 acres that had been slated for a subdivision before they were purchased by the city in 2016. The intention was to preserve the majority of the land as parkland, including the nearby LBA Woods, and use 10 acres for a multifamily housing development. The parcel was subsequently rezoned to Residential Multifamily, which allows up to 18 units per acre.
A proposal from Romano Capital, a Portland-based investment firm, seeks to build 60 townhomes and 120 apartments spread over six buildings of two and three stories. The project would include a 14,000-square-foot “neighborhood center” of commercial space, 370 parking spots, and several green spaces.
The city put out a request for proposals in January 2020. Romano Capital was selected from among four applications reviewed by a committee consisting of city planning staff and representatives from several advisory boards, including the one that oversees city dollars spent on affordable housing.
In addition to Romano Capital, the development team includes Aaron Angelo, the developer behind The Easterly Apartments on Eastside Street in Olympia.
Two of the unsuccessful applications came from developers who have previously built low-income housing in Olympia: Habitat for Humanity of the South Sound and Fourth Street Housing LLC, the firm behind Merritt Manor. The third was Commercial Properties Services, the firm behind Views on Fifth on Olympia’s isthmus.
The committee unanimously decided that Romano submitted the “most complete” proposal, according to a briefing from Amy Buckler, strategic projects manager for the city.
In response to questions from council members about affordability, Assistant City Manager Keith Stahley confirmed that the city will seek a covenant that restricts rents. As part of that negotiation, Stahley acknowledged that the city may get less than market price for the property, which is valued at $2.2 million.
“If we simply said go forward and build a market-rate project without any restrictions, we would get one thing for the property,” Stahley said. “We recognize that this is going to be part of the negotiation process, how much affordability do we get, what does that affordability look like.”
According to Buckler, the committee asked the developer to build mostly two- and three-bedroom units that would rent at $1,200-$1,400; the townhouses would sell for less than $390,000, according to the proposal.
Buckler described the city’s goal as “maximizing the number of affordable units for working-class families,” defined as making between 60-80% of Area Median Income, which in Thurston County is $52,000-$69,000 for a family of four.
The city did not take any action on Tuesday. The next step in the process would be to enter into an “exclusive negotiating agreement,” under which the city would not entertain other offers and the developer would begin community outreach.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
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