Owner wants to convert an 85-year-old downtown warehouse into eight workspaces

The Olympia Site Plan Review Committee heard on Wednesday, April 26, a proposal to divide an 85-year-old warehouse located at 304 Olympia Avenue NE into eight workspaces.

Project Architect Josh Gobel said property owner Mike Auderer has been mulling over different ideas for the use of the building, located in the "Art/Tech" district.

Gobel described the building as structurally simple, with 20-foot bays and high clerestory windows. The goal is to turn each of those into a leasable space. Each one will have access directly to the sidewalk.

"We think it would be a great addition to the creative economy that we want to establish here in Olympia," he added.

According to Auderer, dividing the building into eight workspaces allows people to afford a reasonable amount of workspace they want and need. They do not have to rent the whole space.

Planning and engineering evaluation

Senior engineering plans examiner Tiffani King said any use other than the warehouse would generate more daily vehicle trips, triggering frontage improvement requirements.

She informed the applicant of the requirements for the site. Franklin Street and Olympia Avenue would be treated as commercial collectors, which is a 10-foot sidewalk that is already there with parking.

A bulb-out is required at the corner of Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street. Any sidewalk that is broken will need to be repaired.

A lighting analysis is needed on both streets to determine where and how much lighting needs to be installed for streetlights.

King pointed out that there is a safety hazard in putting too many curb cuts, as the applicant suggests. "Normally, we only allow one curb cut per premise. We would be looking at one curb cut versus seven or eight."

She suggested creating a loading or unloading zone area to help facilitate the tenants. "The ability to do all those curb cuts is not something that transportation and engineering can support."

Olympia's assistant planner Casey Schaufler said the project is subject to design review, and because it is in the downtown district, it would also be subject to board-level review.

The old building is exempted from parking requirements, but Schaufler said the occupancy change would require bicycle parking.

"If we are looking at mixed retail, at least two short-term bicycle parking spaces within 50 feet. It depends on the number of tenants and how you set it up," Schaufler told the applicant.

Olympia Historic Preservation Officer Holly Borth said the old structure was built by AJ Phillips construction company, which also did many other buildings around town.

She said there is a potential that the building could be listed in the Olympia Heritage Register, which would then allow the owner to apply for special valuation tax incentives to reduce property taxes.

Another potential incentive is the National Register, which gives federal historic tax credit that would help reduce income taxes on the property.