Stalled Tacoma apartment project is for sale. Who will take on transit-oriented site?

The owner of an unfinished apartment site next to the Tacoma Dome Station says the project is available for someone to take on.

Last fall, Tacoma Trax, 415 E. 25th St., was obtained by the original developer’s lender, Los Angeles-based Parkview Financial, at foreclosure from Seattle-based GIS International Group and DMG Capital Group.

In response to questions about the site this week, Parkview CEO Paul Rahimian told The News Tribune via email, “The project is currently for sale.”

He added, “We are in the process of increasing density from 115 units to 202 units. We believe with the increased density, the project is worth significantly more.”

Rahimian did not disclose details of what the new asking price would be.

City of Tacoma media representative Maria Lee told The News Tribune in response to questions that the site’s primary building permit was extended this summer until Oct. 16 to align with the project’s plumbing permit.

She added that the proposed changes to units had not been submitted to the city.

“The proposed changes would be submitted under a field revision and, as of today (Tuesday), a field revision has not yet been submitted or approved,” Lee said via email.

She noted there is no minimum or maximum density requirement for the project, located in the Downtown Mixed Use zoning district.

“Once a field revision is submitted, we expect a four-week review time, but that depends somewhat on the extent and scope of modifications,” Lee added.

Parkview placed the sole bid on Tacoma Trax and a completed Kent apartment site, Madison Plaza, in November 2023. Parkview obtained the two sites for $39.9 million and paid another $4.2 million to Trax’s ground leaseholder.

The two apartment sites were cross-collateralized in the same $54.5 million construction loan and at one time a ground lease for both projects.

GIS International Group and DMG Capital Group had sold the land beneath the developments for Trax and Madison Plaza to Safehold to help fund construction along with obtaining the construction loan.

The Tacoma site was one of the first high-profile transit-oriented projects launched in the city. Plans called for a six-story building with five stories of residential units over ground-floor retail and underground parking with 53 spaces.

There also was to be an indoor farmer’s market, according to the project’s early promotions in 2016.

Amid the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tacoma project broke ground in January 2022. By that time, GIS CEO Eugene Gershman told The News Tribune that they were exploring options instead of the farmer’s market , adding that “the market will tell us who the best tenant is.”

Work on the apartments stopped by the end of that year.

Parkview Financial in February 2023 filed a petition to appoint a receiver in King County Superior Court against the developers over claims of nonpayment.

The developers owed a principal loan amount of $36.2 million in addition to past payments due.

News Tribune archives contributed to this report.