Firm hired to complete environmental impact statement for Tumwater Brewery District

The Tumwater City Council approved a $290,000 contract with BERK Consulting to complete a planned action environmental impact statement (EIS) for the redevelopment of Brewery District. 

The district covers the area around the former Olympia Brewery, as well as the properties surrounded by Custer Way, Cleveland Avenue and Capitol Boulevard. 

A planned action EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of potential developments within a defined area so proposals consistent with the EIS can proceed without going through an individual review process under the State Environmental Policy Act.  

The council approved the contract at a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Assistant City Administrator Kelly Adams told the city council that completing a planned action EIS has been in the city’s plans since 2025, and work on the EIS is picking up again after receiving a new round of funding. 

Adams said BERK Consulting, which was chosen as the firm, was a subcontractor in the initial work for the project. The firm developed initial scoping, and brought together a policy and technical work group to get started.  

Under the new contract, the scope of the firm’s work is divided into two tasks, the first being to define the coverage area and initial coordination. The firm would hold an initial kickoff meeting, a 21-day public scoping period, and reactivate two volunteer advisory bodies the city formed in 2025. 

Task two involves the preliminary draft and final EIS, which analyzes diverse factors raning from water to sewer, transportation, land use and socioeconomics. 

Adams said the plan is to have the draft prepared by summer 2027 with a  final version in December 2027.

After finalization, the city council would need to adopt the planned action EIS as an ordinance. City administration aims to complete the entire process by December 2027. 

Funding for the contract is supported by a $286,000 grant secured through Rep. Beth Doglio's office and $42,900 from remaining funds of an earlier phase of the project. 

Redevelopment roadmap 

Tumwater also received a $100,000 planning grant to support a roadmap for Brewery District. 

In a news release, the city stated the grant is going to be used to develop a guide that will detail processes and strategies for redeveloping  brewery properties.  

The guide is going to contain permitting processes, infrastructure requirements, how to sequence action, funding strategies and plans to help coordinate among agencies. 

The grant comes from the Community Economic Revitalization Board of the Washington State Department of Commerce. The grant required a $25,000 matching fund from the city. 

“The brewery properties are complex on so many levels,” Adams said. “With the right tools at hand, the (city) aims to create an opportunity for positive development and livelihoods that meet the challenges of a quickly evolving regional and global economy.”