Article by Todd Matthews

The continuing saga surrounding the future of an 80-year-old, 12-story historic downtown building took a surprising turn as two developers with seemingly different interests entered into an agreement that could turn the Winthrop building into a four-star, historic hotel.

News broke yesterday afternoon during the Tacoma City Council study session that developer AF Evans signed a letter of intent giving developers Tim Quigg and Chester Trabucco 30 days to decide whether to purchase the building from AF Evans.

The deal was contingent upon City Council passing a resolution last night directing City Manager Eric Anderson to negotiate a $1 million Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) loan with AF Evans should hotel development plans fail.

Quigg and Trabucco are expected Friday to put $250,000 toward a $6.1 million purchase price for the hotel, according to Trabucco. Trabucco also told councilmembers that Coast Hotels, which owns the Paramount Hotel in Seattle and Benson Hotel in Portland, has joined his partnership with Quigg.

"Our confidence level is extremely high that we are going to deliver a hotel for you," said Trabucco.

The Quigg/Trabucco deal also calls for development of alternative affordable housing for current Winthrop residents who would be displaced should the building be converted into a hotel.

Councilmembers sharply divided on the issue voted 5-4 in favor of the resolution last night, allowing both developers to move forward with their indidual visions -- yet putting much of the responsibility on the Trabucco/Quigg partnership to pull together a plan to purchase the building by Oct. 18. If the group backs out, AF Evans would retain its purchase and sale agreement with the building's owner and begin negotiations with the city manager for the $1 million UDAG loan. AF Evans plans to develop the building into a blend of market-rate and low-income affordable housing, with improvements to commercial spaces onsite.

Support for turning the Winthrop into a four-star historic hotel has grown in recent months. Proponents say the building was designed to be a hotel, not the high-density, low-income housing building it is today. They also argue that restoring the Winthrop would compliment current investments in the Theater District, including a $5.1 million renovation of the Pantages Theater across the street. And nearby merchants have complained the building is poorly managed and contributes to crime, drug-use, and other nuisance behaviors in the neighborhood (See "One Downtown, Two Different Pictures," TDI 7/20/06).

During last night's meeting, Councilmembers Jake Fey, Rick Talbert, Sprio Manthou, and Mayor Bill Baarsma voted against the loan resolution.

Councilmember Talbert argued that the issue was between two development interests -- and not the City of Tacoma. "Private parties should be allowed to work out their deals," said Talbert. "The City of Tacoma should not be in the middle of this private arrangement between these two parties." Talbert also argued that the city should not be committing funds to "something that does not exist" -- referring to whether the building would become a hotel or low-income and market-rate housing.

But Councilmembers Tom Stenger, Bill Evans, Connie Ladenburg, Julie Anderson, and Deputy Mayor Mike Lonergan supported the resolution.

Deputy Mayor Lonergan expressed concern over what he saw as two sides -- AF Evans supporters and Quigg/Trabucco supporters -- creating "good guys and bad guys" in the debate. He argued that voting for the resolution would help improve conditions at the Winthrop, and disagreed that last night's vote was a "no-brainer" in order to see the Winthrop restored as a hotel. "I would call this a brainer," he said. "Use your brain and vote for this. Take a step forward for the Winthrop."

Still, the resolution passed last night would still give the city control over whether to approve the loan. Specifically, the resolution states, "any final written loan agreement and development agreement between the City and AF Evans must be approved by subsequent resolution of the Tacoma City Council prior to execution by the City" and "approval of this resolution does not bind the City Council to approve any loan agreement or development agreement with AF Evans."

Developments yesterday were the latest in a series of ever-changing news about the future of the Winthrop (See "A downtown corner at a crossroads," Tacoma Daily Index 9/7/06).

In June, AF Evans received a state loan that would have completed funding for the original cost of the project -- $21 million. However, by the time the loan was approved, construction costs rose and a funding shortfall existed. The purchase agreement expired in July.

On Sept. 1, city leaders announced AF Evans negotiated a new 60-day purchase agreement with the building's owner, Al Hanson, to develop the building.

On Sept. 12, councilmembers were expected to vote on the loan resolution but instead postponed the vote in order to create a resolution outlining a loan that was contingent on AF Evans working with another developer to turn to the building into a hotel.

In the meantime, Quigg and Trabucco have been meeting with Tacoma residents, architects, and community activists interested in restoring the building as a historic hotel.

This article originally appeared in the 20 September 2006 edition of the Tacoma Daily Index