Temporary Olympia Ice Rink Coming Soon

Above: Scheduled to open November 16, a temporary ice rink currently being installed in downtown Olympia is anticipated to draw families and improve business in the downtown area.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Superhero Night? Rock n' Roll Live Music Night? Princess Night with the Lakefair Court? 

Get ready for some fun times in downtown Olympia this winter. 

A new park located on the isthmus at 529 4^th Avenue West will become a covered, temporary ice rink from November 16 through January 6.

The rink area is 4,000 sq. ft. and will hold a maximum capacity of 125 skaters. 

In comparison, the iconic Rockefeller Center ice rink in Midtown Manhattan is a little over 7,000 square feet and has a capacity of 150 skaters at one time. 

So move over New York - here comes Oly on Ice!

When the City of Olympia held a brief event this past July in 91 degree weather to celebrate the beginning of the project, it was hard to imagine.

But now, cooler, foggy mornings have set in and City of Olympia Parks & Recreation staff are busy setting up the tent and equipment.

General admission prices with skates range from $12 and lower for youth, toddlers, foster, military, first responder families, and seniors. There will be day time skating hours, cheap skate nights, 10-skate passes and group rates.

Free public parking will be available at the two lots to the immediate east and west of the ice rink. Free street parking can be found along Capitol Lake. During evening and weekend hours, additional free parking is available at all City of Olympia managed lots and metered spots. There are also pay-to-park lots neighboring the rink.

There is no ice rink parking across the street at Bayview Thriftway or other private lots adjacent to the rink.

Temporary restrooms will be available during the run of the ice rink.

To offset the rink’s costs and keep admission fees accessible, the city actively gathered partnerships to pull it all off.

Community sponsors include a mix of large and small local and regional businesses, including the Olympia AutoMall, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Network, Propel Construction, TwinStar Credit Union, Browsers Bookshop, OBEE Credit Union, Graphic Communications, Capital Medical Center, Anthony’s Homeport/Hearthfire, and the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation, among others.

Business sponsorship categories ranged between $400 and $10,000. Depending on the amount contributed, businesses have at least one opportunity to have a table or tent set up at the venue sometime during the run of the ice rink.

“We definitely see this project as a great way to involve local businesses and organizations,” said Anna Robinson, marketing program specialist with City of Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation.

“Even the businesses that aren’t in a position to join us as sponsors are really excited about it. Bringing a fun, family-friendly activity to downtown during what is normally a pretty quiet time of year around here really seemed to resonate with people,” she said.

At the ceremony in July, former City of Olympia Mayor Bob Jacobs spoke on behalf of the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation. The space that became a park was the result of a lot of hard work.

Jacobs thanked the Trust for Public Lands for their assistance in obtaining a $600,000 grant from the Thurston County Conservation Futures Fund, which the Foundation turned over to the city for capital expenditures at the park.

Foundation board members and other donors also provided a $100,000 cash donation to the city for the park’s capital expenses. He also thanked parks staff for working with the Foundation on park design and improvements.

The park is so far unnamed. At the time, Jacobs suggested that it be called the Capitol Olympic Vista Park, in honor of it being in the center of the beautiful view from the State Capitol Building to the Olympic Mountains.

The park is near the privately owned nine story Views on 5th, a mixed use development currently under construction.

The city estimates that 10,000 skaters will visit the rink over the course of the seven week season.

Above: Former City of Olympia mayor Bob Jacobs, right, plays a game of bean bag toss with Luke Burns, City of Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation staff, on July 26 at the city’s new park on the isthmus in downtown Olympia.

For more information about hours and other frequently asked questions, go to OlyonIce.com

For more information about downtown Olympia, the area known as the isthmus, the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation, parks, and Views on 5th, go to Little Hollywood at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and use the search button to type in key words.

Olympia Port Votes for “Acceptable Cargo”

Above: The meeting room was packed with community members wanting to provide comment to Port of Olympia commissioners on the topic of “acceptable cargo,” Monday evening. The commissioners passed a resolution affirming their continued acceptance of ceramic proppants and other “safe and legal” cargo, such as military cargo, energy products, forest products, and agricultural products.

By Janine Gates

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The Port of Olympia may need to find a larger room for its commission meetings as community interest increases in its policies, finances, and business decisions.

At least six Port staff willingly gave up their seats to accommodate the crowd. Jeff Smith, port finance director, rolled out more chairs as community members continued to file in and sit in chairs and on the floor or stand lined up along walls for the three and a half hour long meeting Monday night. 

Among other business, on the agenda was a discussion and vote on acceptable cargo. 

The resolution was written in response to the week-long November rail blockade of a Union Pacific train leaving the Port of Olympia carrying ceramic proppants and centered on the Federal Shipping Act of 1984 that states “terminal operators cannot unreasonably discriminate in the provision of terminal services.”

The resolution also makes several statements regarding its expectations for law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction to promptly take appropriate action in the event protest activities violate local, state and/or federal laws.

Port staff, rail blockade protesters, water protectors, longshore workers, Vietnam veterans, tribal members, students, youth, and elders all spoke to their perspective on the issue. 

Throughout the evening, 46 individuals spoke at public comment opportunities.

Many urged the commissioners to not rush to a vote, while others, many of them longshore workers, urged them to make a decision, get on with other issues, and enjoy the holidays.

Addressing port safety issues, Port of Olympia human resource staff member Jeri Sevier read a prepared statement detailing current working conditions for port staff, foreshadowing possible future legal implications if the situation does not improve.

“….As leaders of this Port, I am sure you find it to be very concerning – that your employees are enduring intimidation and harassment. Protesters have broken our windows, sprayed graffiti on our building, an employee being attacked and harassed while driving Port vehicles through town.

“Almost daily I am getting reports of employees being flipped off, being yelled at while entering the Port building or by driving a port vehicle. You as our highest leadership at the Port understand the impact your actions – or inactions have had on the hard working loyal employees that are doing their jobs day after day – all to make the Port successful. 

“The Port staff feels unsafe in our current working environment in the City of Olympia. We as employees set aside our personal beliefs to fulfill the mission of the Port.  I ask that you, as a Commissioner, set aside your personal beliefs and start doing what is right for the Port of Olympia and its employees.”

Later in public comment, port citizen advisory committee chair Frank Gorecki suggested that staff travel in pairs with cellphones, call 911 as needed, and take photographs of any threatening behaviors. He also wanted to know the City of Olympia’s response to city police Chief Ronnie Roberts’ statement.

Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts denounced the Port of Olympia and its acceptance of ceramic proppants during a council meeting on November 22.

As discussion began on the resolution, Commissioner Joe Downing added an amendment, adding brief language for the inclusion of alternative energy products as acceptable cargo, along with conventional energy products, such as the ceramic proppants, military cargo, forest products, and agricultural products. The addition was approved by all commissioners.

Above: Port Commissioner E.J. Zita reads prepared remarks at Monday night's meeting. Zita illustrated her points against the resolution’s passage with a PowerPoint presentation.

Susan McRae spoke and presented the commissioners a stack of papers which she said contained over 800 signatures of residents of Thurston County.

The title of the petition is, “No Oil Fracking Sands at Our Port,” and reads, “We, the residents of Thurston County, demand the Olympia Port Commission no longer allow oil fracking sand or any cargo related to the extraction of fossil fuels to enter our Port. We want a port that doesn’t significantly contribute to climate change, the single greatest national security threat to the United States. We urge the Port to protect our climate. Native treaty rights, communities, water and wildlife and transition to sustainable economic practices that will not devastate the beautiful planet we live on.”

McRae, as did many other speakers, took issue with the resolution, and its phrase “safe cargo.”

Quoting a portion of the resolution, McRae said that while the port cannot unreasonably discriminate in the provision of terminal services, “it is not unreasonable to reject fracking sands. Fracking sands are unsafe because of how they are used and what they are used for. They cause great harm to our environment and endanger our national security….We need the Port to have a long term vision, looking to a sustainable future. We need an open dialog about the Port’s operations and the future.”

One longshore worker called the petition a slippery slope.

“…I’m just trying to make a living, send my kids to college, and retire with dignity.…(all this divisiveness) is jeopardizing our abilities to provide for our families.”

Helen Wheatley presented testimony saying that the resolution is a misinterpretation of the Federal Shipping Act and illogical that the port could accept and handle any and all cargo that is safe and legal. She also took issue with the Commerce Clause, and the cited RCWs, which she said are irrelevant to cargo.

She said the purpose of the Shipping Act of 1984 was to regulate shipping practices, not cargo.

“It was an effort to create sustainable competition and discusses the relationship between the port to the carrier or person, not the carrier’s cargo. This law is no threat to the Port, as Rainbow Ceramics would have to press its case and risk the possibility that the Federal Maritime Commission or a judge might well find the port’s refusal to take its cargo is “reasonable.

“If you want to require openness to certain forms of cargo, be honest and say that you are choosing this path, and allow the public to consider the matter on its merits. Don’t hide policy making behind a cloud of statutes that dissolves under scrutiny….”

Speakers pointed out that port executive director Ed Galligan has declined cargo in the past, such scrap metal. In that case, the port did not have the adequate infrastructure to contain it, it was oily and would have caused environmental contamination of the terminal, and the noise that would have been produced in its processing would have been disruptive to nearby neighborhoods.

“When we say we don’t want fracking sands to come through the Port of Olympia, he (Galligan) says that we have no choice - the Port has to receive any cargo that is “safe and legal,” as if the ships carrying proppants just show up. The truth is that it was on the Port’s own initiative that Rainbow Ceramics, the proppant company, was solicited,” said Pat Rasmussen, who has repeatedly asked for Galligan’s resignation.

“The Port is not an island, the City of Olympia is not an island…you should have turned down the proppants due to inadequate infrastructure…If you needed an additional warehouse, the shipper would have to put up the money for that. Environmental concerns are paramount but somewhere along the lines, economically reasonable, adequate considerations need to be made,” said Denis Langhans.

Langhans was referring to the need for an additional warehouse to store the proppants. A port request in 2014 for $50,000 to build a warehouse was refused by a previous commission, with Commissioner McGregor in the minority of the three member commission. Proppants currently sit outside in bags on marine terminal property under black tarps.

One Vietnam veteran spoke to the port’s past acceptance of military cargo.

“When I see a Stryker going down I-5, I see a trail of bodies. When I see proppants, I see villages being destroyed, the climate being destroyed….” He urged the commission to appreciate what water protectors are doing.

“If Olympia wants to be competitive in the future, it needs to invest. We cannot be left behind. We need to start making these shifts to make Olympia an economically viable place to invest in the future,” said Marles Blackbird, a Hunkpapa Lakota tribal member of the Standing Rock Lakota Nation.

Longshore worker Jim Rose said that if the Port of Olympia doesn’t accept the cargo, they will go to Everett, Seattle, or Grays Harbor to do the job. 

If that happens, “we’ll get in our cars, burning fossil fuels, running up and down I-5,” he said.

After hours of debate, Mike Cox, a lifetime resident and graduate of Tumwater High School and The Evergreen State College, urged the commission to make a decision. 

“There’s no reason to talk about this anymore…Make a decision! Don’t sit there and let them fight each other,” he said, motioning to the crowd. “Do your jobs, worry about other issues, and get through the holidays….” 

The final resolution passed, with Commissioners Bill McGregor and Downing voting yea, and Commissioner E.J. Zita voting nay. 

Galligan said that the port is in the process of scheduling upcoming discussions with both the Squaxin and Nisqually tribal councils.

It was the last port meeting of the year.

Above: With no time left on the clock, Olympia resident T.J. Johnson rushes to present commissioners and port executive director Ed Galligan with glasses of water and urged them each to drink it if they thought fracked water was safe.

Ho-Ho-Hobo: The People’s Holiday Stand

Above: Tim and Charity were making wreathes at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand located near Old School Pizzeria in downtown Olympia on Thursday. Charity says this was her second wreath. “The first one took me an hour and a half but it was fun! This will be a tradition, even if we have a home,” she laughed.

By Janine Gates

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Ho-Ho-Hobo…no, that’s not a tastless joke…it’s the name of a fun, innovative wreath stand created by and for the street community, who make the beautiful holiday wreaths at the stand with love and humor in downtown Olympia.

Located in the parking lot of Old School Pizzeria at 108 Franklin Street between 4th Avenue and State Street, the wreath stand's hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., everyday except Wednesdays, until Christmas. 

Wreath stand volunteer Walker Stephens and a crew of others serve hot drinks and help members of the street community make the wreaths out of natural and found materials.

Donations for the wreaths are accepted on a sliding scale, but Stephens recommends $30. For that amount, $5.00 immediately goes to the person who made the wreath, $5.00 goes toward the person who collects brush for the wreaths, $5.00 goes toward gas and supplies, $10 goes toward laundry, and $5.00 goes toward a grand prize and holiday party. All additional profits go back into the community.

The project is into its second season. Last year, the stand sold 400 wreaths, which put $2,000 directly into street people’s pockets. 

A woman named Charity was busy making a wreath, her second one. 

“My first one sold already!” she said, with a beautiful smile. Charity said she is from Spokane and has been homeless for four years. She’s been in Olympia since October.

“...Homelessness just kind of happened, and it stays that way without you realizing how long it’s been….”

Above: Sean McCartney made a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobos stand. He is homeless and is willing to do odd jobs such as putting up Christmas lights.

Sean McCartney also made a wreath and said he stayed at Salvation Army on Wednesday night. He was third to the last one in before the shelter said they had no more room. He said he felt lucky, and tried to give his bed away to an older gentleman who couldn’t get in, but the man wouldn’t take it.

McCartney says he has been clean and sober for over just over two years. He doesn’t have a telephone with minutes on it, but asked Little Hollywood to let readers know that he is looking for work and willing to do odd jobs such as putting up Christmas lights. He is raising funds so he can get to California to see his sister’s wedding in a couple weeks. He said interested folks can stop by the wreath stand on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. to meet him and chat.

Asked how he got involved organizing this activity, Stephens said that wreaths are the tree spirits’ way to welcome vulnerable spirits into the warmth of the home.

“I’m housed now, but I haven’t always been. This is to empower unhoused community members to advocate for themselves. Providing this service offers a little extra bump,” said Stephens.

Stephens said that due to city ordinances that criminalize survival, camps face constant evictions and sweeps, leading to ruined equipment. He was incredulous when he heard that the City of Olympia recently asked for bids from firms for up to $250,000 to clean up the mess caused by these evictions and relocations.

“It’s a mess street folks are proud to clean up themselves given the opportunity. Last year, our real focus was collecting soiled wet blankets and jackets. Through wreath revenues, we provided transportation and money for the laundry mat,” said Stephens. He is doing that again this year.

New this year is a competition for best wreath maker. Anyone may vote once per day from now until Christmas, and the overall winner will receive $200. Downtown workers and residents are encouraged to stop by regularly, and check out the constantly revolving selection of wreaths. Some wreaths are particularly stunning.

The wreath stand is also excited to repeat last year’s successful Christmas party with pizza provided by Old School Pizzeria. The idea is the spirit of giving: it is a party thrown by the street community, for the larger community. 

Connie Phegley, owner of Old School Pizzeria, is also vice-chair of the downtown Olympia Parking & Business Improvement Area (PBIA) board. The PBIA is a self-taxing district of over 400 downtown businesses. She is supportive of the Ho-Ho-Hobo stand, and offered up two business parking spaces for the effort. 

Phegley was also present at Thursday evening's neighborhood meeting to discuss the temporary use permit for Interfaith Works to open a daytime warming shelter. The PBIA board thanked the City of Olympia for its financial support of Interfaith Works at a recent council meeting.

“Street dependency presents many difficult realities that our business community struggles to address. We are very encouraged by Interfaith Works creating, and the greater community supporting, a safe and clean space for people to go during the day in the cold winter months for shelter, warmth and access to bathrooms and social services,” the board wrote in a November 22 letter to Olympia city councilmembers.

The group is accepting donations of warm survival supplies, interesting brush, such as pine, twigs, and holly, terracotta pots, candles, wreath frames and craft materials, and old campaign signs, which are perfect for cutting up to be used as name tags for the wreaths.

“It is a joyous opportunity for our community to get together and know itself better,” said Stephens.

To be on Ho-Ho-Hobo all volunteer staff, go down to the booth and sign up!

Above: Walker Stephens, in green coat, and volunteers keep the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand productive. It is located in the parking lot next to Old School Pizzeria on Franklin Street, and just behind Dumpster Values in downtown Olympia. Walker is grateful to Old School Pizzeria and Bar Francis, a coffee shop inside Dumpster Values, which is providing the stand with hot coffee at cost.

Chambers Prairie Grange Rezone Passes Tumwater City Council

Above: Long shadows are cast across the Chambers Prairie Grange No. 191 on Thursday morning. The Tumwater City Council passed a rezone for the property, which stands at the crossroads of Yelm Highway and Henderson Boulevard. Owner Tom Schrader is now looking for a suitable local business that will honor the spirit of the rezone, and accommodate a community service in the 106 year old building.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“Within Grangers, ideas are born, and in the Grange, they become a reality,” reads a slogan in a vintage Washington State Granger’s guide. 

That slogan takes on special meaning now as Tom Schrader moves closer to his dream of converting the vacant 106 year old building into a vibrant place of community once again. 

Schrader and his wife, Tiffany, purchased the property last year and have worked with neighbors to address their concerns regarding its future use and traffic.

City of Tumwater council members passed a comprehensive plan amendment at their October 25 meeting, changing the zoning of the Chamber Prairie Grange, located at 1301 Yelm Highway SE, from single family low density (SFL) to community service (CS).

Under the SFL zoning, the former Grange could have been torn down to build four to seven homes or duplexes, among other uses. The zoning change to community service limits how commercial the site could be developed and protects the property from becoming a gas station, a mini-mart, or a five story commercial building.

Several spoke in support of the rezone, including Dave Nugent, president of The Farm homeowners association, an adjacent subdivision.

Nugent addressed the council, saying The Farm board is so confident in Schrader’s dedication to the Grange’s future that a developer agreement is no longer needed. To determine the project’s impact, Nugent asked for the city's assistance in monitoring traffic patterns before and after completion of the project.

Lloyd Flem of Olympia, a retired professional planner who served on Olympia’s planning committee in the 1990s, said the rezone was a perfect example of adaptive reuse to preserve an important piece of the community’s history.

Schrader announced at the meeting that he and his wife would most likely not sell the property as planned, but select and help manage the business that ends up there.

“We are really happy for everyone - neighbors, friends, family, and community - that we can now do something on that corner that will be a place for the community!” said Schrader after the meeting.

Schrader has tried to garner the interest of local businesses in his idea to convert the building, while retaining its historic character, into a coffee and sandwich shop and meeting place, but has found it to be a tough sell without knowing whether the rezone would pass.

“I have spoken with a lot of local businesses - Batdorf & Bronson, Meconi's, Vic's Pizza, Olympia Coffee Roasters, Budd Bay Cafe, Dancing Goats, Starbucks, Cutter's Point, and Royal Bean Coffee. I have also been contacted by Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Taco Time, and Chipotle too,” says Schrader, who quickly added that he is not interested in those latter fast food businesses.

“There wasn’t much teeth in my sales pitch or delivery before, but now I can move forward,” he said.

Before any further physical change to the building can take place, such as putting on a cedar shake roof, Schrader needs to have a tenant in place, so that changes are made to fit the specific requirements of the new business.

“In the next few weeks, my wife and I will decide the best fit for the property and our community. It's an important corner, and I want to be known as a responsible and sensible person. I want to see people there, and have it be a happy place!”

The Washington State Grange came into existence Sept. 10, 1889 as a protest by farmers against intolerable conditions – against poverty, extortionate taxes, freight rates and mortgage interest, and government control of state government by selfish interests.

The Chambers Prairie Grange, No. 191 Patrons of Husbandry principal place of business was the hall, located on what was then called Route #2 in Thurston County.

According to its nonprofit articles of incorporation, the Grange’s purpose was to “educate along the lines of social, moral, and educational betterment,” and “to inculcate into the minds of the membership the benefits of cooperation.”

Little did Grangers know that decades later, Tom Schrader, with his infectious energy and enthusiasm, would be saving their most treasured asset - their building - to become a place of community, cooperation, and commerce once again.

For more photos, history, and current information about the Chambers Prairie Grange, Tom Schrader, the rezone effort, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine. Previous stories are dated November 29, 2015 and May 28, 2016.

Above: Tom Schrader holds a Grange piece of history: an old Olympia Federal Savings and Loan Association check register, found in the Chambers Prairie Grange building after he took ownership of it last year.

Capital Mall Goes Green with Trail Project

Above: Kevin Johnston, general manager for Capital Mall in Olympia, Washington. Johnston and his executive team brainstormed a concept to create an eco-friendly, one mile trail with public amenities on mall property, along with other safety improvements. They entered the idea into a contest for national mall managers, and won $350,000 from corporate executives for their innovative idea.

Mall Makeover Could Increase City's Bottom Line

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

If you don’t go to the mall on Olympia’s westside, maybe now you will.

That’s the hope of Capital Mall general manager Kevin Johnston, who is creatively embarking on a one mile, multi-purpose trail project that will encircle the 65 acre mall property.

Johnston and his executive team recently brainstormed the idea and entered it into a “Shark Tank” type contest for national mall managers. With a catchy presentation and a homemade video about the project using a drone that flies over the proposed path of the trail, they beat out several other proposals, and won over the judges. 

Their innovative thinking earned them $350,000 from corporate executives toward construction of the project.

“....We thought, ‘Let's do something Olympia-ish.’ We jogged into the presentation and wore T-shirts that said Capital Trail on them,” Johnston laughed.

The project will improve and increase public access to and from the mall property by providing much needed walking paths from the surrounding city sidewalks. Six motion-activated, signaled crosswalks will be installed at each major traffic entrance and in busy areas.

Even as Johnston gave Little Hollywood a tour of the property in near 70 degree sunny weather on Thursday, pedestrians were seen bushwhacking through the green belt from city sidewalks to access the mall property, walking around traffic to enter the main building.

The trail is proposed to be made pervious, with recycled, rubberized mulch, and will include benches made with recycled wood and metal, pet sanitation stations, picnic tables and stretching/pull-up areas. It will connect to existing sidewalks and new walkways that will be constructed to create a continuous loop.

People will be welcome to relax and rest, or eat lunch in currently underutilized grassy areas by Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse and Bar in the southwest corner of the property and 24 Hour Fitness in the northeast area of the property. The path will be in range of free Wi-Fi service from the mall. 

“It can be used for walking, jogging, exercising, and pets are welcome. It will be eco-friendly at every turn, constructed using recycled material wherever possible and include solar power lighting,” said Johnston, bursting with enthusiasm.

The trail will also be accessible in the evening. Asked about security, Johnston said the entire trail will be lit with lights low to the path, and mall security personnel drive around multiple times throughout the property, day and night.

In an outlying area called the Promenade, a ramp will be built to connect businesses such as TJ Maxx, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Ann Taylor Loft, Chico’s, and the locally owned Artist’s Gallery, to the main mall.

Johnston says no trees will be cut down for the project. A wetland near 24 Hour Fitness will be protected.

Capital Mall management already hosts about 120 or so morning walkers per day who walk or stroll through the mall before shops open. Members of the popular ritual, seniors and others looking for a safe place to walk, have long asked for an outdoor trail.

The economic benefits of the trail for the mall and the city could be significant.

“We project that we can bring at least, or more than, 100 extra people per day to the property by creating better access and providing a place for people to spend time exercising, jogging, and walking. If we convert 30 percent of them to customers, we can add an additional one million in sales per year. This will translate through to an increased tax revenue for the city,” said Johnston. He estimates that the amount to the city could be about $125,000 per year.

Johnston says he is looking forward to meeting with City of Olympia public works and parks, arts and recreation staff in April to see how access to city sidewalks can tie in with Yauger Park and the McLane trail system.

He has met with Renee Sunde, the city’s economic development director, who has already briefed councilmembers about the project at a meeting of the Community Economic Revitalization Committee. Sunde is excited about the project and sees it as a win for everyone.

To see how they can all partner together, Johnston is also looking forward to meeting with the West Olympia Business Association in a few weeks and local service clubs like Rotary and Kiwanis. 

To raise more money for the project, sponsorship opportunities will be available for extra public amenities such as benches and trail markers.

“There’s a lot of potential to expand this idea,” said Johnston, who says he expects to speak to a council subcommittee in late April. He hopes to begin breaking ground soon, while the weather is favorable.

Above: Overall Capital Mall site improvements are being planned. This intersection on Capital Mall property is one area that will be improved with a new pedestrian walkway made of stamped concrete, colored concrete, or a combination of concrete and tile or pavers.

Capital Mall Facts and Future

Indoor malls were in their prime in the 1960s and 1970s. Built in 1966, South Sound Mall in Lacey, the area now anchored by Sears, Target and Kohl’s near Pacific Avenue and Sleater Kinney Road, was the Northwest's first indoor mall.

Times have changed, and malls across the country struggle to survive. Online retail options and other factors have dramatically changed consumer shopping habits, leaving brick and mortar stores to creatively adapt, or fail. 

Built in 1978, Capital Mall is centered on Olympia’s westside, bordered by Cooper Point Road, Black Lake Boulevard, and Capital Mall Drive, near the interchange of U.S. Highway 101 and I-5.  

At just over 789,000 square feet, it’s currently comprised of 112 stores and just over 3,500 parking spaces.

The mall currently has 4,000-5,000 visitors on an average day, and is poised for more growth as it caters to an affluent shopper. With an expanding economy and workforce in Thurston County, the mall is well-positioned to capture its share of the growth.

The property has seen some renovations and expansions, particularly in 2002-03 with the addition of the 14 screen Century Theatre multiplex, and the additional parcels added in 2003 called the Promenade.

The mall was quietly bought by Starwood Capital Group from Westfield in November 2014. Starwood Capital Group, a subsidiary of Starwood Hotel and Resorts, focuses on community centers.

Johnston, who has lived in west Olympia since 2002, was hired by Westfield about six months before the sale to Starwood. The company did not rebrand itself as a Starwood property, instead preferring to keep a lower profile, and emphasize a local flavor.

Miss Moffett's Mystical Cupcakes, a local business famous for their appearance on the television show “Cupcake Wars,” is happy to be at the mall, and just signed a long term lease, said Johnston.

“Our mission is to identify with the local community. We didn’t want to rebrand as a Starwood property. The Westfield corporate brand was a turn on or a turn off, depending on what side of the argument you’re on, but we found an overwhelmingly positive response when we took the big ‘W’ signs down. We wanted to go back to what the mall used to be in the day when it was just called Capital Mall,” explained Johnston.

Anchored by JC Penney, Macy’s, Best Buy, REI, Total Wine & More, Old Navy, and Century Theatre, the space is 94 percent occupied, ranking second highest in occupancy for the Starwood chain of 29 community centers.

The mall is currently receiving a B minus grade by the International Council of Shopping Centers, a group that grades retail malls. The grade is based on the amount of sales per square foot.

While the mall’s sales are proprietary, Johnston says he needs to increase sales about $10 - $20 per square foot to improve the mall’s grade. The trail idea was one way to improve its grade, and Johnston is open to more ideas. 

To improve the mall’s bottom line, Johnston is looking forward to the opening of Dick’s Sporting Goods, currently under construction. Future projects include adding an exterior restaurant and the possible relocation and revitalization of the existing food court. He has plans to install LED lighting in the parking lots, which will save the mall about $50,000 in energy bills.

“This team thinks a lot about community. It’s good for Capital Mall to be recognized as part of the community rather than a corporate brand, you know what I’m saying? So it benefits us because we live in the community and it also benefits us, obviously, because it’s going to help the popularity and profitability of Capital Mall. It’s a win-win….” said Johnston.

Above: Standing on an underutilized greenbelt around the perimeter of the mall’s 65 acre property near Forever 21, REI, and Red Robin, Capital Mall general manager Kevin Johnston motions toward Yauger Park on Cooper Point Road. Johnson envisions a possible trail connection from the mall property to the park and a larger network of trails.