Fire-damaged Olympia business demolished Monday, and owner hopes to rebuild elsewhere
The 50-year-old business Pete Lea’s Automotive Medical Center was demolished Monday and the owner has no plans to rebuild in Olympia.
On an early morning in December, someone set fire to an under-construction apartment complex next to Pete Lea’s, burning the apartment complex nearly to the ground. The automotive shop and several other businesses were damaged.
Though no one was hurt, some people’s livelihoods were.
Sarah Sullivan, Pete Lea’s office manager, said though the decision was difficult for Pete Lea to make, he has no choice but to move the business his father started in 1971 out of downtown.
Sullivan said Lea was out at the business going over permits before the demolition Monday morning.
She said the business blames both a lack of insurance money from the fire as well as the damage done to downtown Olympia by vandals who live on the streets.
Sullivan said the family-owned business can’t afford to rebuild in the same location because the COVID-19 pandemic pushed costs of construction materials up and insurance doesn’t cover it anymore. But she said in the past few years the business also saw a lot of damage and destruction from people, too, leading to a strain on customers who were concerned for their safety.
Sullivan said she and Pete used to meet with the mayor and city council monthly regarding issues in the downtown core and that the city leaders said they were working on a solution. But a solution hasn’t come yet.
“The progression of destruction keeps getting worse and we’re done with it,” Sullivan said.
In response to the news, city spokeswoman Kellie Purce Braseth said it was heartbreaking to see the damage Lea’s building took from the fire.
“Pete Lea’s has been a valuable business in our downtown for many years,” Braseth said. “He had a loyal customer base and was well known and respected by city employees.”
Braseth said the city is continuing to respond to the effects unsheltered homelessness is having on downtown and is trying to find more emergency housing and permanent shelter for people. She said the city will be sad to see the staple business leave.
“Nothing would please us more than for Mr. Lea to rebuild and re-root here in Olympia,” she said. “However, we wish him well and hope he has great success wherever he chooses to go.”
Sullivan said the family is currently looking to rebuild somewhere in Tumwater or Lacey, so they won’t be too far. They’re waiting to see if building materials and other costs go down before beginning the process, but they have to do it within the next 18 months for insurance purposes.
“We’ll do our best and hopefully be able to rebuild,” Sullivan said. “As of right now we don’t know the future of it, and it’s kind of scary.”
Until then, she said the business will open up a temporary location across the street from the old site at 106 Olympia Ave. NE. Sullivan said it will be open in three to four weeks and already has a list of customers waiting to be seen.
“We’ve had great support from the community,” Sullivan said. “I miss my customers, I miss everybody. That’s something we’re looking forward to.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 12:17 PM.
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