KGY radio might go silent Saturday as move begins, west Olympia flooring biz to close

Local radio listeners might not hear KGY or its sister station KAYO Saturday afternoon or evening because the stations are moving their broadcast equipment, said Nick Kerry, general manager for both stations. And the move is a portent of moves to come.

DJs at the stations have been announcing the transition, saying one or both might be periodically off the air on Saturday.

The equipment is being moved to Bush Mountain Drive, near Mottman Industrial Park in Tumwater, Kerry said.

The fact that broadcast equipment is being moved leads to another question: Is the radio studio, which has sat perched on the north end of the Port of Olympia peninsula since 1960, moving too?

Kerry said they intend to move at the end of the year. That’s when its ground lease with the port expires. Kerry said the port has not offered a lease extension nor does he expect them to.

“Our position at the end of the year is we would like to gracefully exit the building and have it become the property of the port,” said Kerry.

He has identified an 1,800-square-foot studio space in downtown Olympia, but he declined to name the spot because he hasn’t signed the lease yet.

The ground lease with the port states that when the business leaves the property, it is responsible for “removing the improvements” to the land, which, according to Kerry, would mean tearing down the building east of Anthony’s Hearthfire Grill.

Kerry said they have “respectfully pushed back” on that notion — not only because he doesn’t want to do that to the building, but also because he can’t afford to and that effort would affect his timeline to move, Kerry said.

He believes the building is in good enough shape to be of future use.

The port is trying to determine that right now, said Warren Hendrickson, the port’s director of operations. It is undertaking a structural analysis of the building that isn’t complete yet, he said.

Meanwhile, a parallel process is being played out on whether the radio studio building is historic.

On Friday, Aug. 9, the Washington state Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted to designate the property as historic, Kerry said. He believes that distinction is largely honorary, while a local designation would be more restrictive. However, Kerry believes the local effort has been “tabled,” he said.

Flooring business will close

LL Flooring at 1520 Cooper Point Road SW is liquidating its inventory and will close as part of a previously announced bankruptcy filing.

LL Flooring Holdings of Richmond, Virginia, announced that the company and certain of its subsidiaries have begun voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

As part of that situation, LL Flooring has entered into an agreement with Hilco Merchant Resources to assist the company in its recently initiated store closing sales at 94 of its locations.

“Those 94 stores will remain open and serve customers through this closing process,” the bankruptcy announcement reads.

About 300 stores and the online site will remain open, according to the company.

Bank wants to be downtown

Washington Federal Bank , which does business as WaFd Bank , wants to open a staffed branch at 406 Water St. SW in downtown Olympia, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Anyone who wants to comment on the application can send those comments by Sept. 4 to the regional director of the FDIC at 25 Jessie St., Suite 2300, San Francisco, CA 94105-2780.

Fundraising

Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma has announced a “saving lives campaign” to raise $3 million in support of expanded hospital and emergency department services, the hospital announced.

“Many individuals and businesses, including partners at the Kelsey Foundation, Murphy Company, Sierra Pacific Industries, Our Community Credit Union, and Timberland Bank have launched the campaign with lead gift commitments totaling $2 million,” the news release reads.

If you would like to give to the campaign, learn more at the Summit Pacific Medical Center website .

Real estate transactions

Arts Industrial Park at 6221 Rich Road SE, south of Yelm Highway, has been sold for $4.8 million, the commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap announced.

The undisclosed buyer paid cash for the 63,500-square-foot property. That buyer also plans to spend about $1 million on renovations and improvements, according to the announcement.

Matthew Herman and RJ Vara in Marcus & Millichap’s Seattle office, had the listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership.

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If y ou know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling, or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Rolf Boone at rboone@theolympian.com.