194 days of construction is coming to the Port of Olympia. Here’s the plan
The Port of Olympia commission on Monday voted unanimously to award a tenant improvement contract to transform a coffee roastery into its next headquarters and commission meeting space.
The work is expected to take 194 days, or until May 2027.
The building was previously owned by Dancing Goats Coffee until the West Coast operations of the business were acquired by a Sumner-based coffee roaster in fall 2024. That roaster did not need the building, so a little more than a year later the port bought the property for about $2 million, The Olympian reported.
The $5.25 million tenant improvement contract was awarded to an Auburn-based contractor called Good News Group. They were one of nine bidders for the job, said James Sommer, the port’s public works program manager.
Good News Group was founded in 2008 and focused on hotel renovations, Sommer told the commission. They later expanded to do commercial and multifamily construction, and expanded again in 2013 to include government and public works projects, he said.
The bids ranged between $5.25 million and $7.5 million, Sommer told the commission.
“The lowest five bidders were all within $150,000,” Sommer said. “So if you average the lowest five bids, it’s a spread of about 1.5% which is phenomenal when you’re talking at this high of a level. So gives me great confidence that we got good numbers. We defined the scope well, and we had a well-developed solicitation package.”
The winning bidder also came in under the $5.5 million budgeted for the project, he said.
“The shell of the building itself will get some minor upgrades like windows and some different exterior doors, but most of the work happens inside,” Sommer said.
Port officials have long considered the roastery for future use over some costlier alternatives, according to information included in the meeting agenda materials.
The construction of a new waterfront center was considered, although that cost was estimated at $20 million, according to the port. The port also was paying $450,000 a year for its current offices on Columbia Street Northwest, as well as for the commission meeting space and a maintenance shop.
Leasing the former roastery to another tenant was estimated to generate $55,000 in revenue per year, according to the port.
“While beneficial, this revenue did not offset the long-term savings achieved by consolidating port operations into a single port-owned facility,” the port information reads.
Commissioner Sarah Montano said she was pleased the winning bid came in under budget, while Commissioner Joel Hansen echoed Sommer’s comments about the bids themselves.
“I’ll just make the comment that in my experience with the bids coming in with such a small spread, that it really does show good work done by staff in defining the scope and preparing the (bid) package,” Hansen said.
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