Puyallup council approves mixed-use redevelopment of AOB lot, directs staff to address senior parking

Puyallup — The Puyallup City Council voted 6-0 April 29 to authorize a development agreement and a purchase-and-sale for a mixed‑use project on the city‑owned AOB lot at Third Street Southwest, while directing staff to return with specific measures to mitigate lost parking for the Puyallup Senior Activity Center.

The developer, Urban Olympia, will pay the city the lot’s appraised fair‑market value, $1,900,000, and agreed to construct right‑of‑way improvements along Third Street estimated by staff at about $295,000. City Manager Steve Kirkley said the developer will install 29 angled stalls along Third Street and that “at least 20 of those are reserved for senior activity center” use Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., via a city permit program.

Why it matters: The AOB site has been identified in the city’s downtown plans for decades. Council members and residents framed the vote as a balance between adding centrally located housing near transit and protecting parking and access to an active senior center and nearby downtown events.

City staff and the project team described the proposal at a public hearing. Steve Kirkley said the project footprint is the 1.1‑acre AOB parcel across from the library and less than a half‑mile from the Sounder station. Paul architect Ron Thomas and owner Walker John (Urban Olympia) described a four‑story building with ground‑floor commercial space, resident amenities and structured parking. Kirkley said staff’s engineering estimate for the developer’s publicly funded street improvements is about $295,000 and that the city’s appraisal is $1,900,000.

Kirkley said the proposal asks for several code departures, including a requested parking ratio of 0.7 spaces per residential unit using the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) parking‑generation guidance rather than the city’s standard requirement, and modest reductions to buffer and setback standards. “This request is in line with that ITE manual,” Kirkley said of the 0.7 ratio. Staff also described a request to reduce a required 12‑foot landscape buffer to 8 feet (a 4‑foot reduction) and to allow slightly shorter parking stall dimensions than the current code.

The project team estimates approximately 100 parking spaces inside the building for residents in its garage; they told council that 29 angled stalls would be created in the public right‑of‑way and that 20 of those would be reserved for senior center patrons during weekday business hours. Ron Thomas described the design intent as an articulated brick facade that “activates” Pioneer and Third streets and adds new housing close to downtown businesses and transit.

Public comments at the hearing were split. Representatives of the Puyallup Main Street Association and the Puyallup Chamber of Commerce supported the redevelopment as a way to bring downtown housing and customers to local businesses. Allison Schafer of the Chamber said the project would “directly contribute to addressing Puyallup’s growing housing needs.”

Residents who regularly use the senior center urged stronger guarantees about parking. Diane McGraw said the senior center was a lifeline for members and warned, “If we come and we can’t find a close parking place, we go home, and it’s gonna kill our senior citizen place.” Louella Thurston said the center’s parking is full on program days and that 28 new spaces proposed with the project would not meet demand. Other speakers, including condo owners and regular senior‑center attendees, warned that spillover parking during concerts and farmers market events already strains downtown parking.

Council members pressed staff and the developer for tangible follow‑ups. Several asked staff to return quickly with additional parking‑mitigation options, possible city‑owned lots for senior parking and ways to increase ADA‑accessible stalls near the center. City Manager Kirkley said staff would study options including using nearby city parcels, shifting city parking designations and increasing ADA stalls and would report back to council.

Council debate also referenced statewide policy. Councilmember Adler noted recent state legislation and said that some parking‑minimum reductions are being driven by state guidance for transit‑oriented development; other members said the city must act to ensure seniors are accommodated in the near term.

The council’s formal action approved the development agreement and the purchase‑and‑sale; the vote was 6 in favor, 0 opposed (Councilmember Whiting was excused). The resolution authorizing the development agreement directs staff to return with implementation details and makes the sale subject to the development milestones in the agreement.

What comes next: The development agreement includes target milestones that staff described as roughly a three‑year construction window with an outer limit of roughly 4½ years; if milestones are not met the agreement may be voided. Staff will return with a parking‑mitigation plan and options for short‑term senior parking while construction and long‑term demand are addressed.

The city will also finalize the purchase and sale agreement and proceed with required ministerial steps before building permits are issued.