5 Neighborhood Centers have the potential to succeed, says Olympia planner

Olympia identified five locations the city considers ideal for its Neighborhood Centers during its Land Use and Environment Committee meeting yesterday, July 21.

Puget Pantry, San Francisco Street Bakery, Westside Co-op, Handy Pantry and Kellerman's Corner have potential for great success for the Neighborhood Centers project, according to Community Planning and Development senior planner Cari Hornbein, who gave an overview of the analysis of the project.

"I've shared in the past that we've had a vision in place for over 20 years for the development of Neighborhood Centers throughout Olympia. And they haven't come to fruition as we had hoped," Hornbein said.

She said Olympia hired consulting teams, MAKERS Architecture and Urban Design and Leland Consulting Group that Olympia, in December 2021, to evaluate market conditions, neighborhood characteristics, and analysis of challenges and opportunities within each of the centers.

In evaluating each center, the consultants looked at the criteria based on:

• People – population of employees
• Physical form in terms of age and quality of the buildings,
• Potential for development, including zoning, land availability and market strength
• Commercial uses and public attractions
• Accessibility to pedestrians and frequency of transit
• Equity – socio-economic factors, people of color, people living in poverty and environmental exposures

She said there are many factors that the consultant looked at in defining a thriving center, but the top two that came out were number of businesses or attractions and excellent pedestrian/bike/transit access.

Future potential

Consultants saw that the presence of some local entrepreneurial activities in Puget Pantry gives a potential opportunity for live/work or residential businesses.

Hornbein also said there was interest in developing the former convenience store and gas station at the San Francisco Street Bakery, but the toxic clean-up has hindered efforts. Consultants believe it has the potential for more extensive development.

She added that parking lots and pedestrian improvements – with a sidewalk – would add opportunities to the center of Westside Co-op.

According to the consultants, Handy Pantry has limited opportunities unless the neighborhood considers a substantial upzone.

The consultants noted that Kellerman's Corner has a 20-acre site southwest of the intersection and the wooded areas to the north are possible development sites. 

Hornbein said the consultants recommended:

• Considering proactive efforts for those with good potential – Puget Pantry, San Francisco Bakery, Westside Co-op, Handy Pantry, and Kellerman's Corner.
• Taking a measured approach for those with less potential, such as Fones, Pit Stop, Frog Pond and Wildwood.
• Removing neighborhood center designation for those with least potential such as Victoria Square, Cooper Point, Yauger and Capitol Mall.

Hornbein said they are targeting to develop an implementation framework, recommendations and strategy before the end of this year. 

She added they recently conducted a citywide pop-ups workshop and they are currently holding an online survey, which the city asked its community members to participate, ending on Friday, August 5.