Tumwater hotel identified for possible housing is in foreclosure, port officials learn
A Tumwater hotel on Port of Olympia-owned land that the owner hoped could be turned into affordable senior housing is now in foreclosure, the port commission learned on Monday.
Port operations and airport director Rudy Rudolph told the commission that the Oyo Hotel, near Interstate 5 at Tumwater Boulevard, is set to go to auction in May. There is no current purchase and sales agreement for the hotel or the underlying port land, he confirmed.
A foreclosure typically means the lender has taken steps to recover unpaid amounts on a loan by eventually taking over and selling the property.
Hotel owner Chami Ro confirmed the foreclosure Wednesday. She said she has a “plan” but declined to comment on it to an Olympian reporter.
A year ago, Ro and the Housing Authority of Thurston County struck a tentative $3.3 million deal to convert the building into housing for 58 low-income seniors, The Olympian reported.
But because the hotel sits on property owned by the port and adjacent to Olympia Regional Airport, it is encumbered by Federal Aviation Administration rules that restrict land near airports from being used for “residential” purposes, according to The Olympian.
Port Commissioner Joe Downing, who was slow to warm to the idea of housing there, later changed his mind, saying he wanted the Port to “do the legwork” to learn more about working with the FAA on the proposal, The OIympian reported.
That legwork continued at Monday’s port commission meeting.
Despite the Oyo Hotel’s status, the port commission still approved $25,000 in funding for a consultant to explore what it would take for the FAA to release the land for other uses.
The full cost of the Aviation Planning Group’s work is around $70,000, but the commission asked Rudolph to have the consultant do it in steps so that the port doesn’t have to commit to the full amount right now.
“I’m excited that we are figuring out how we can be at the table to address this great community need,” Commissioner Amy Evans said about housing.
But Commissioner Bob Iyall asked whether the consultant will be able to finish their work before the hotel is auctioned off in May.
“I’d hate to get going and then a couple three weeks down the road we get stopped on it again,” he said.
Evans said she still considers it money well spent because the port will be able to use the consultant’s information in other areas.
“We will be able to apply this to our FAA property overall,” she said.
Downing said the hotel is on the very fringe of FAA jurisdiction, so maybe they will make an exception this time.
“I’m enthused as well,” he said.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
