Thursday, October 1, 2026
The long-dormant Olympia Brewing Company site is a key part of state legislation, which aims to breathe new life into the once iconic property near Tumwater Falls.
House Bill 1742, which was approved on a 92-2 vote by the Washington State House of Representatives on Feb. 13, seeks to help communities redevelop distressed urban properties, including the brewery location.
The bill would establish the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Urban Design within the Washington State Department of Ecology. The center would be tasked with supporting innovative building and landscape design projects aimed at improving the environment, public health and urban livability.
“This is an opportunity for Washington state to be a leader in sustainable architecture and urban design by forming a center focused on new ways to innovate in urban spaces,” said Rep. Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy), who is sponsoring the legislation, in a statement after the bill cleared the House of Representatives.
“It’s time to reimagine how we build in our cities so they become healthier, cooler and more enjoyable places for people to live.”
The bill, which is headed to the Washington State Senate for further consideration, calls for a program that would provide competitive design grants and competitions as a means to encourage redevelopment of distressed or underused properties.
The first design competition would focus on redeveloping the Olympia Brewing Company property. The brewery was shuttered in 2003 a few years after it was acquired by Pabst Brewing Company.
Dye said redevelopment of the brewery site presents an opportunity to reconnect the community with a location that played a central role in the City of Tumwater’s identity.
“This legislation helps create a pathway to bring that area back to life in a way that honors its history while building something sustainable for the future,” Dye said.
HB 1742 is scheduled for a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Local Reps. Beth Doglio and Lisa Parshley are also sponsoring the legislation.
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KentReister
That AI image looks bad, it looks like a flooding hazard, and the river appears to be straightened, which is bad for our environment. (My statement here is about the image itself and is not commentary on the bill).
Tuesday, February 17 Report this
Carolyn Byerly
It's such a relief to see legislative support for some kind of action that might address the sad situation with our old brewery site. I hope it gets through! (p.s., it would benefit many communities, not just our own.)
Tuesday, February 17 Report this
olyhiker
What is this going to cost? We don't have enough $$ as it is.
Tuesday, February 17 Report this
citizenken
KentReister, that image seems a post-apocalyptic amalgamation of the old old site (the brick buildings downstream) and the newer old site (up hill of the falls), located near some fantasized stretch of the river but no where near reality. The actual Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls is one of the most beautiful spots in the urban core of Tumwater/Olympia. The Brewery and it's associated upstream infrastructure, with proper rehabilitation and redevelopment, especially if done in coordination with the removal of the 5th Ave Dam and the Deschutes estuary restoration, could be the crown jewel of the Tumwater/Olympia region. I hope it comes to fruition.
Tuesday, February 17 Report this
JHermes
Do they envision Tumwater having a mass of skyscrapers like in the background in the image? Looks like an urban hellscape
Image aside, I hope that there's a partnership with the Nisqually Tribe, since the Nisqually people have lived on and cared for this land and these waterways since time immemorial [text from NTPS Land Acknowledgement].
It's obviously beyond time to do something positive with the old brewery, and the tribal leaders know a thing or 2 about large-scale development, environmental stewardship, and cooperation.
Tuesday, February 17 Report this
BobJacobs
Cleaning up this site for development would be extremely expensive and the development would add traffic to an area that is already a big bottleneck.
A better option would be to raze the structures, add fill as a pollution cap, and make it a park.
Bob Jacobs
Tuesday, February 17 Report this
JohnGear
Responding to
1) What is this going to cost? We don't have enough $$ as it is.
2) Cleaning up this site for development would be extremely expensive and the development would add traffic to an area that is already a big bottleneck. A better option would be to raze the structures, add fill as a pollution cap, and make it a park.
Response: I must vehemently disagree. Throughout Washington but especially in this capital region, budgets struggle because our urban centers are way too underdeveloped and have far too much land devoted to ornamental green space instead of housing and mixed use developments.
Since WWII, we have vastly expanded our footprint while population increases at a much slower rate, meaning that our per-capita infrastructure costs climb much much faster than our ability to pay for them.
If you want healthier budgets, healthier people, and less traffic, then you need to support maximum usage of land within the urban growth boundary, especially a prominent spot like the Oly brewery site. It would be budgetary malpractice to turn that into more park, not to mention the beautiful Tumwater Falls park is already right there.
Everytime we don’t build housing in the urban core, we increase the pressure to push housing out info our farm and forest land, and we thus increase pollution, reduce public health, and further mortgage our future on an unwinnable financial scheme, because development along the edges costs vastly more to service than growth and development in the urban core. We have grown ourselves to the edge of bankruptcy, chasing development and impact fees as a sugar high but taking on long term liabilities that dwarf the quick fix fees.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
RondaLarsonKramer
Thank you, Rep. Doglio and Rep. Parshley, for helping with this. It is wonderful! And thank you, JohnGear, for your insightful comments.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
GinnyBanana
Before crabby people start complaining about how much developing the old brewery site might cost or what the development might change to the site, we should be grateful that the horrible eyesore will finally be turned into something useful. Aren't we all tired of the wreck it's become? I'm ashamed of seeing this derelict in Tumwater. We should all applaud the effort to tear it down and replace it with something - anything - that would be attractive. Tumwater has nothing at the moment to attract the passing tourists or even us locals. Surely having a new development there would be much better than the ratty, broken buildings we have now. Let the developers invest their money in Tumwater for the benefit of the community. We can have our say later on what the developers want to put there. I'll be so happy to see that mess go.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
Porter
10 to 20 years before the start of anything unless its an AI datafarm
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
Linl
What is Pabst’s responsibility to the property? Shouldn’t the company be financially responsible for the sale, reconstruction or dismantling?
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
Snevets
I too look forward to the progress on this project. Thank you @JohnGear for your insight, I couldn't agree more.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
Southsoundguy
Would be a good site for manufacturing, provided the government can streamline the redevelopment process for a business.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
johngreen
Better to repurpose old builds than destroy habitat to build new ones.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
OlyBlues
City of Tumwater officials should be so thankful that after YEARS of failure the state comes to bail them out. So many mediocre "leaders" in Tumwater over the years with no vision and poor leadership. They got very lucky.
Wednesday, February 18 Report this
AnnofGreenGables
As a brewery family it is fantastic to finally see something done with this once beautiful site. I couldn't agree more that Tumwater let the ball drop when the brewery closed and has ignored it ever since. I avoid the area as much as possible not because of the traffic but because I'm ashamed our elected officials have shirked their duty to do something about this tragedy for 25 years! And to those who say we don't have the money, I say we have managed to give every big business and wealthy person in this state billions in tax breaks and incentives over the years instead of focusing on the infrastructure and needs of the rest of us. A beautiful building with grounds (and maybe retail/visitor/park areas) open to the public would be a wonderful addition for all of us! Thank you to all the reps that are pushing this bill.
Thursday, February 19 Report this
789meow
PAPST Brewing did a "hostile takeover" of Olympia Brewing around 1984. Then the brewery was used to produce contract brews and soda pop. Under the PAPST years, a lot of beverages were bottled on production lines many said should be in a museum. PAPST used the brewery up to the point they would have to invest so they decided to sell. 2000-2001 Phillip Morris/Miller Brewing bought. Miller was in planning stages with cities, Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey, to bring the artesian well online with theirs. Then Phillip Morris sold their brewing interest to South African Breweries, with contingents that nothing could be brewed there again. So here we are.
Think it is great rehab this historic place.
Thursday, February 19 Report this
KinesthesiaAmnesia
I think there might be an important piece of info missing in this story: as far as I know the upper brewery property is still privately owned, so what is the state proposing to do about that? Is a Republican suggesting eminent domain?
I'm glad there's a concerted push to do better things with that special place. I remember when the brewery was the lifeblood of Tumwater, and the owners and employees were so proud it. Now it guts my soul when I see it's tagged, rusting carcass. Also the whirlpool of sadness it seems to pull towards itself - Falls Terrace Restaurant, when the heck are ya ever gonna reopen?! What is up with the lot on the corner of Capitol and Custer where the old restaurant burned down and it's been for sale for a long time? How many of you have seen the destroyed back of the old brewery office building next to Schmidt House? Like yikes on trikes, this involves so much more than just the big brewery buildings that are visible from i5.
Thursday, February 19 Report this
twgg499
"The brewery was shuttered in 2003 a few years after it was acquired by Pabst Brewing Company. " This is not true. Miller purchased the brewery from Pabst, but after Ecology declined to expedite their application to increase discharges into the Deschutes River, they sold it to an entity that intended to bottle water but became bankrupt. Pabst still owns the Olympia Beer brand but no longer brews it.
Friday, February 20 Report this
olydobbie
If there is any confusion, this article refers to the yellowish large facilities in the area of Custer Way SW, and Capitol Boulevard SE. It does not mean to address the red brick 1906 buildings (the Old Olympia Brewery) which is across the Deschutes River from Tumwater Historical Park, near the south end of Capitol Lake.
Sunday, February 22 Report this
PissAnt
I don't think its prudent to create a whole new Government department to design a use for this building. But I do like the idea of someone designing something to be done in this building. We need less government agencies, not more. They seem to be so hungry for control over the site that they are going to the extreme to do anything like create a new bloated administrative beauracracy for it.
Monday, February 23 Report this
TSunshine
I would like to just say "bravo" to John Gear's comment. I am a new resident of this area and came from an area in South Carolina that had empty textile mills just standing there. But through creative thinking, fund raising efforts, the generosity of many generous donors, grants and competitive bidding those beautiful old structures have had new life breathed into them. They have been used for mixed use space, condos, food and entertainment venues, breweries, wineries, art galleries, concert space, the list is endless.
When I first saw the brewery, I immediately said to a realtor I had just met that it was a tragedy for it to be sitting there decaying and someone should revitalize it. He gave me a brief history, so I do understand somewhat what has happened with it. But to allow that piece of history to continue to decay when it could be used for so many wonderful things that would enrich this area.
Infrastructure and cost are always the first things that come up. I would challenge people to change their thinking to, "how can I help make the area I live and work in better for everyone."
Tuesday, February 24 Report this
SecondOtter
In my opinion, the Falls Terrace Restaurant should be torn down, too. They closed during the pandemic and honestly, having eaten there twice, I was NOT impressed by either the food or the service.
The lot should then be 'developed' solely as an overlook of the Falls itself. At the northern corner of the Falls terrace parking lot is the spot where Ezra Meeker determined was the terminus of the Lewis and Clark expedition in Tumwater. He had a marker put there but it's been moved to closer to the Falls.
As for the South Pacific Restaurant on the corner of Capitol and Custer, it went under years and years before hand. Brewery workers used to walk there for a quick lunch but it never was very successful as the parking lot was so small and hard to get into. I ate their once and vowed never again. The owner tried for years to sell it but refused to do anything to improve it or even repair the equipment or furnishings. It was so dilapidated and equipment broken down, no one with a brain would buy it.
Finally, one night...and this is only rumor, mind you, but a few people were said to have been hired to torch it. No one has ever been charged with arson.
The property itself is useless. Again, it's because it's so small, oddly shaped, with a dangerous drop off behind it, and just too hard to safely enter and exit. Even a taco truck won't have enough room.
Friday, March 6 Report this