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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.

John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.

Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.

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The Biz Buzz
Get the most up-to-date news, insights and analysis of Tacoma, Pierce County and South Puget Sound business.
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Tacoma Elks: no sale; local group decides not to buy historic temple
Posted by Dan Voelpel @ 10:32:55 am

Sirius Real Estate Group this morning withdrew its bid to buy the vacant 1916 Tacoma Elks Temple, 565 Broadway, according to company spokesman Jim Dugan.

Sirius had until Friday to complete its period of due diligence and determine whether its plans, reconstruction costs and financing would work. But it didn't need that long to decide that it couldn't access the amount of financing necessary to rehab the building in the current market, Dugan said.

[More:]

Sirius "is not going to purchase the building at this time," Dugan said, but the principals, Ken Abbott and Trevin Anderson, would continue to explore ways to make the project work and could make another purchase offer in the future if market conditions change.

Dugan said the decision had nothing to do with the integrity of the building and everything to do with finding "the funding necessary to make the site work."

So the Elks Temple goes back on the for sale market. And its future remains in doubt.

Late last month, the plans developed by Sirius became public when one component of their concept – a bus terminal in and adjacent to the ground floor of the Elks – required action by the Pierce Transit board.

The board decided to spend the next year evaluating whether to abandoned it transit hub at South 10th and Commerce streets downtown and invest in a new, larger, indoor terminal at the Elks. It's unclear if Pierce Transit will go forward with its research now.

Sirius's plans also called for a high-end restaurant in one upper floor and an architectural firm's office in a middle floor.

Categories: Downtown Tacoma, Economic Development • 3 comments

COMMENTS:

scottsch111 @ 11:19 - Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 Email
So the banks are chicken, but could the City provide the loan? Tacoma has a lot more to gain from the project than a bank does.
Dan Voelpel @ 11:33 - Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 Email
The City of Tacoma had $1.1 million in a pool for federal funds that it makes available as loans for economic development projects. The City unofficially offered to make that fund available to Sirius Real Estate Group for the Elks rehab. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to close the gap. Last year when I interviewed Homer Williams, principal of Williams & Dame, which owns the Elks Temple, he estimated the reconstruction costs of the Elks at somewhere near $8 million.
scottsch111 @ 11:43 - Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 Email
Thanks Dan. Maybe I'm naive, but $8 million just doesn't sound like that much money for a project that saves an important and beloved historic building, beautifies a major Tacoma gateway, and helps to revitalize an area that could use it. Tacoma spent many times that amount on other recent projects. It just seems like Tacoma could find a way to help Sirius make it work, especially if Pierce Transit was also a contributor.

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