Figure to restore Winthrop higher than expected

Restoring rooms in the Winthrop apartment building to the status of four-star hotel rooms might cost 35 to 40 percent more than initially projected, according to one city official.

City staff delivered an update on the Winthrop to Tacoma City Council’s Neighborhoods and Housing Committee Oct. 16. Ryan Petty, director of the Community and Economic Development Department, said the team led by developer Tim Quigg of Gig Harbor has hired Absher Construction to do cost estimates on renovating the former hotel.

Petty described the building as “a Christmas tree with all the ornaments.” He noted the current estimate to restore the rooms. “Their numbers are way too high,” he said.

Petty was at a meeting earlier that day with Quigg and some of his potential investors. He said it had “an optimistic tone.”

The Quigg group must make a $250,000 payment into an escrow account this week, as part of an agreement made with Oakland developer A.F. Evans last month. Evans still has an option to purchase the building, which expires Oct. 28. Petty said Evans still appears set on buying the building.

Mayor Bill Baarsma speculated that Evans is not as excited by this prospect as they once were.

He noted that Coast Hotels has publicly expressed interest in joining forces with Quigg. Baarsma said the Vancouver, B.C.-based chain has overlooked Tacoma over the years, opting for locations in Seattle and Portland instead. He said that if Coast does come aboard, he feels confident the plan to restore the Winthrop as a four-star hotel will move forward.

Ric Teasley, who oversees housing programs for Community and Economic Development, discussed efforts to relocate Winthrop residents if the Quigg group ends up going ahead with the hotel plans.

There are about 180 federal Section 8 housing vouchers set aside for the building. Michael Mirra, executive director of Tacoma Housing Authority, has asked the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to agree to split these among five or six different locations. If HUD refuses this request, it is possible the vouchers could be eliminated, Teasley said. Or, HUD could designate some vouchers as portable, meaning the holders could move anywhere in the United States and use them.

Teasley said affordable housing providers and for-profit developers are interested in working together to create housing for Winthrop residents.

Baarsma said a restored Winthrop Hotel could employ 200 people. He suggested current residents of the building could be hired for these positions.