Buyers bid on Tumwater brewery properties

After sitting empty for more than a decade, the former Olympia Beer brewery property may have finally found a handful of buyers — but at bargain prices.

The site was divided into four parcels for a public auction Wednesday at the Red Lion Hotel in west Olympia. Three of the four parcels received bids that were significantly below market value.

The seller is an ownership group led by Capital Salvage. The seller reserved the right to accept or decline bids.

Located south of Custer Way along Capitol Boulevard, the brewery closed in 2003, four years after Miller Brewing took over. At the time, Miller had sought $15 million for the property.

The biggest bidder at Wednesday’s auction was the LOTT Clean Water Alliance, a nonprofit company that handles wastewater management in urban Thurston County. LOTT offered $500,000 for “Property 2,” 22.2 acres at 4090 Capitol Blvd.

Property 2 includes two industrial warehouses and was valued at $2,978,600 by the Thurston County Assessor. The auctioneer had started the bidding on this lot at $5 million.

LOTT executive director Michael Strub said the company wants to use the land for a new water treatment plant, but he expects the sellers to reject the low bid.

“That was certainly a bargain,” Strub said of the price. “If it isn’t accepted, we’ll be talking more with them.”

No bids were offered for the main brewhouse facility, a 7.2-acre site labeled as “Property 1.” The property at 100 Custer Way SW is valued at $1,750,150.

“Anyone here just for the brewery?” asked auctioneer Bret Richards, who received no response to Property 1.

The few dozen attendees could get a peekaboo view of the vacant brewery from the hotel’s conference room window while the auctioneer from Texas-based Hudson and Marshall chanted a steady stream of numbers.

Tumwater residents Greg and Joan Cearley offered $42,500 for “Property 4,” an undeveloped 1.03-acre lot at 4401 Cleveland Ave. SE.

The couple came to the auction out of curiosity. They live nearby and hope to build a retirement house on the site if the seller accepts the bid. According to the county assessor, that property is valued at $213,650.

“I like the view of the valley there,” said Greg Cearley, who was surprised at the auction’s low bids — and thought the city of Tumwater missed an opportunity to make a deal for itself. “For half a million dollars, where are you going to get something like that?”

An undisclosed bidder offered $32,500 for Property 3. Located next to Property 4 on Cleveland Avenue, this undeveloped lot measures just under 1 acre and is valued at $205,400 by the county assessor.

Potential buyers were asked to pay a 10 percent deposit. All sales will include an extra 5 percent “buyer’s premium fee” with a closing deadline of Dec. 18.

The city of Tumwater declined to participate in the auction. The city’s goal is to find a partner who can pursue redevelopment in the brewery district, a spokesperson said.

The brewery district is bordered roughly by Tumwater Historical Park to the north, the Tumwater Valley Golf Course to the south, the cemeteries on Cleveland Avenue to the east, and Interstate 5 to the west.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 10:53 AM with the headline "Buyers bid on Tumwater brewery properties."