Developer sees finish line for vacant tower on Olympia isthmus

The vacant nine-story tower on downtown Olympia’s isthmus may be nearing the end of its days as the city’s biggest eyesore.

Capital Investments LLC has plans to renovate the controversial Capitol Center building into an office center with retail, housing, a parking garage and a restaurant.

In a best-case scenario, construction would begin in the next six to eight months and the finished project — named The Views on Fifth Avenue — will have a tenant by early 2017, said developer Ken Brogan.

The number of residential units will depend on whether a state agency agrees to move into the building, Brogan said. Without a state tenant, the building would have about 90 apartments along with about 16,000 square feet of retail space.

In addition, plans for a three-story parking garage at 410 Fifth Ave. recently went before the city’s Site Plan Review Committee. The developer is still working on securing permits.

An existing single-story building will be demolished to make room for the 126-stall parking garage, which may include a restaurant on the top floor. Plans also call for a skybridge or similar structure that would connect to the tower.

“We’re about 30 days from having a good solid set of drawings for the entire project,” Brogan told The Olympian this week, noting his investment of $20 million into the project. “I sure hope that people would appreciate that we’re willing to invest this much money in downtown Olympia.”

Located on the isthmus between Capitol Lake and West Bay, the nine-story Capitol Center building has been dubbed by some as “the mistake by the lake” for its appearance and how it taints the scenic view.

However, the building’s mid-century modern style made it an architectural trendsetter as Olympia’s first high-rise when it was built in 1966.

The building has sat vacant since 2006. For several years, local activist groups such as the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation have been calling on the city to tear it down to make room for a new park on the isthmus.

In 2015, state legislators declined a city request for funding to help buy and demolish the privately-owned building. Last fall, the building was part of a selling point for the creation of a Metropolitan Park District, which voters approved in November. Some supporters had said the extra tax revenue could go toward acquiring the building.

Also in 2015, the city demolished two other vacant buildings on the isthmus: the former Thurston County Department of Health building at 529 Fourth Ave. W. and the former Thurston County Housing Authority building next door at 505 Fourth Ave. W. At a celebration in November, Jerry Reilly of the park foundation reminded people that more than 5,000 residents had signed a petition seven years earlier to support a new park and civic space on the isthmus.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Developer sees finish line for vacant tower on Olympia isthmus."