Above: With his back turned to the former Chambers Prairie Grange, owner Tom Schrader says the building on the corner of Henderson Boulevard and Yelm Highway in Tumwater will be demolished. Schrader is in negotiations with
Starbucks to create a new 4,000 square foot building with a drive-thru on the property.
Owner in Negotiations with Starbucks for Property Use
Site Plans Still Uncertain
By
Janine Gates
Little Hollywood
A Little Hollywood Land Use
Investigation
The 107 year old former Chambers Prairie Grange on
the corner of Henderson Boulevard and Yelm Highway in Tumwater will be
demolished, says building owner Tom Schrader.
Schrader’s decision to raze the beloved grange has caught many off guard, including City of Tumwater planning
staff and the city council’s citizen advisory planning commission.
Members of the city council and the city’s historic preservation commission have not been formally informed of Schrader's new intentions for the
building.
After weeks of hearing rumors, members of the city’s
citizen advisory planning commission were the first to hear about the change in
plans firsthand by Schrader during a public comment period at their March 14
meeting.
Their reaction, similar to that expressed by some
city staff and others already familiar with the news, was one of confusion and
disappointment, particularly since Schrader had wooed them all with his vision
of saving the building and converting it into a neighborhood café and
bistro.
The planning commission had recommended that
Schrader receive a comprehensive plan rezone for the property from single-family, low-density residential to community service, which was approved by city
council last October.
The prospect of tearing down the building is
unthinkable for many Thurston County historic preservationists and community
members who have generations of memories of the grange being used for community
meetings, weddings, dances and other gatherings.
Schrader met with several local
coffee businesses in the area to ascertain their interest in the property, but was unsuccessful in getting any of them to make a commitment.
At some point, Starbucks offered Schrader a contract
on the property at 1301 Yelm Highway.
Schrader gets upset at the suggestion that he obtained the rezone to increase the property’s
value and says the contract is not a done deal.
“I met with Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters three times,
Cutters Point Coffee twice, and everyone else at least once, so my effort has not
wavered from that desire,” he told the city’s planning commission on March 14.
Schrader said he has also received offers from fast
food restaurants such as Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and Chick fil-A, corporations that
have all expressed an interest in the corner for years.
“I could have gone with any of those, but I said no
to all of them. Starbucks is a coffee shop that has an area where people can
meet, with a social community area, and that was my intent for the grange
anyways, wasn’t it?” said Schrader.
He has expressed considerable frustration with the City of Tumwater and sought clarification on what he could do with the property. Schrader's plans call for the building to be demolished, the basement to be imploded and filled in, and trees to be removed.
Misunderstandings continue between Schrader and the City of Tumwater about the grange’s physical position on the property and the regulatory setbacks needed for sidewalks, landscaping and public works needs.
Above:
Tom Schrader met with City of Tumwater staff at an epic, two hour site review
planning meeting on March 2 to discuss Schrader’s plans to demolish the grange
and determine what he can and cannot do on the property. Developers and their
representatives present staff with preliminary plans at these meetings and
staff review regulations that may affect those plans. These type
of meetings usually last 45 minutes to an hour.
Schrader specifically mentioned in a previous
interview with Little Hollywood that
he did not want a Starbucks, a Texaco gas station, a 7-11, nor a Burger King.
“….I want something the neighborhood wants,” he said
in an interview with Little Hollywood
in November 2015.
Schrader is currently in negotiations with The Farm
Homeowners Association to purchase property adjacent to the grange property,
which he says would allow for a safer, better project.
Since he purchased the property in 2015, Schrader has worked with neighbors and residents of The Farm to appease their concerns regarding potential traffic and noise.
When asked by Little Hollywood if the city or a private entity could purchase the building and
save it, Schrader bristled and asserted that the building cannot stay where it
is.
Schrader said he doesn’t want to hear any “bleeding heart stories” about
the loss of the grange.
“I'm really not feeling too bad about whatever I do
with the old grange because nobody gives a damn! Where was everyone who cared
when I needed them? I have over $15,000 invested in architectural plans - remodel
plans already submitted to the city - a gas meter, electrical engineering, new
electrical meters, and I bought new cedar roofing.
“The building is in City of Tumwater
right of way and they will not let me remodel or keep the building where it currently
is - if I move the building, I will lose the basement, and the building won't
survive the move,” Schrader said angrily.
“I've had
building movers and general contractors do inspections on the structure, and
they will not guarantee the building would survive a move. In fact, they
wouldn't touch it unless I signed a waiver saying if the building imploded or
fell over, I wouldn't file a claim against them.”
Although the outside looks intact, Schrader has a carpenter inside the former grange, salvaging part of the
floor, which he says is not the original fir flooring. A maple floor was put over the old fir floor, maybe in the 1960-70's.
Schrader says he is keeping a lot of the old grange
materials and is working with Starbucks on a possible design.
During a March tour of the grange, Schrader said that
the new building will look like a grange, and wants it to be positioned lengthwise along Yelm Highway,
using the grange’s exterior wood paneling.
Inside, several new water leaks were seen dripping from roof to floor.
Schrader, who says he doesn’t like to visit the property anymore, or even call it “the grange” because the situation is so depressing, rushed to find containers
to catch the drips.
Schrader asked Little
Hollywood to not take any interior photos.
Above: On what was a forested lot last year, the new Starbucks and its drive-thru located on Cooper Point Road in Olympia is now surrounded by impervious surface. This Starbucks design is similar in size of what could be accommodated on Schrader’s property in Tumwater. Schrader has presented several architectural designs to Tumwater city staff and the parties have wrangled over setbacks and access to the site.
Property
Use Disputes
According to Schrader, the City of Tumwater is
making him move the building in 10 to 20 years, because it is three to eight feet
within the city's right of way.
The city has future intentions of adding another
left turn at the intersection of Henderson and Yelm Highway.
“The city won't give me a break on reducing the
setbacks. Any new building will be at least 20 feet from the sidewalk, which
puts the building in the middle of the lot, so you don't have room for parking
and the storm pond,” said Schrader.
The city says, yes, the building is in its right of way, but they were making regulatory exceptions, and working with Schrader to allow
the building to stay in its current location.
When Schrader took city staff off guard by unexpectedly
presenting them with preliminary plans to demolish the grange and replace it
with a new 4,000 square foot building and parking lot, the project became a typical new development that must adhere to current
setback and other development regulations.
The proposed Starbucks will have a drive-thru,
which was just one major sticking point at a March 2 meeting between Schrader and the
City of Tumwater development review committee.
Several city staff members met with Schrader for a two
hour meeting to examine Schrader’s latest architectural drawings and design requests.
Staff’s confusion on how Schrader got from Point A,
saving the grange, to Point B, demolishing the grange, was palatable, with at
least one staff member blatantly saying that he wanted the grange to be saved.
Schrader says a drive-thru is a mandatory feature
for Starbucks and says the corporation is willing to wait for as long as it
takes to get through the land use and design process.
“I need the city to help me design a project that’s
good for Tumwater,” said Schrader.
City
of Tumwater Perspective
The City of Tumwater has a different perspective on the whole matter but believes Schrader was sincere in his desire to save the
building during the comprehensive plan and rezone request process last year.
“Tumwater has always been and continues to be
supportive of retaining the grange building if possible. That being said, there
is no city requirement prohibiting demolition of the building. That is a decision for the property owner,”
said Michael
Matlock, community development director for the City of Tumwater, in an email
to Little Hollywood last month.
“….Retaining the grange building was much discussed
during the comprehensive plan and rezone request process and I believe all
parties have a strong interest and desire to see that happen.
“The city did not require him to demolish it. A
portion of the structure is in the city right of way. Initially, we told Tom he
would need to remove that portion from the right of way. We negotiated that
point and subsequently allowed that portion to stay in the right of way. Tom
told me that he had some further structural analysis done and it was just not possible
to retain the building,” said Matlock.
Asked about the drive-thru element, Matlock says a
drive-thru is allowed under the current zoning, but would be subject to
stringent design guidelines regarding placement and screening. It will not be
allowed between the building and the sidewalk.
“This is a challenging site to develop because of
its size and location. While we have had many discussions with Tom, we have not
yet begun the site plan review process to work through these issues,” said
Matlock.
City staff say that the new Starbucks, which includes a drive-thru, on Cooper
Point Road near Haggen’s grocery store is very similar in
size to the preliminary plans they have discussed with Schrader.
Grange
Building History
Located on the former Route #2 in Thurston County, the Chambers Prairie Grange No. 191 was built in 1910 on land donated by the Wickie Family.
The grange served as a vital community center for the area's farmers and their agricultural, social, educational and political activities.
The wooden, one-story, 5,668 square foot building sits on .91 acres and is remarkably sound, despite its age. It has been untouched by vandals and still features the original wavy glass windows. The basement still contains long wooden tables suitable for dining and entertaining.
The building is not listed on any historic register.
It sat vacant for years, but continued to be owned by the Washington State Grange until Schrader and his wife Tiffany bought it in late 2015.
Since then, Tom Schrader has worked to clear the grange
property of blackberry brambles and brush, scraped moss off the roof, hauled
away old appliances, and provided electricity and natural gas to the building.
The rezone to community service last October allowed 22 permitted uses but limited commercial development of the property.
The area has built up around the grange.
Northwest of the grange is the Briggs YWCA and the
137-acre Briggs Village.
Northeast of the grange was once the
Briggs Nursery. It is now Briggs East Village and a 200-unit development for
active senior adults called Silver Leaf.
East of the grange is the Tsuki Nursery, which is on
the market, listed and represented by Schrader, a commercial real estate agent
for ReMax/Parkside.
That latter property is currently in Thurston County
with Olympia Urban Growth Area jurisdiction zoned residential 4 – 8.
Jay Eaton, director of public works for the City of Tumwater, said in a past interview that the Yelm Highway and Henderson Boulevard intersection is currently operating at
an acceptable level of service.
“The projections out to 2040 show that, at some
point, the intersection level of service will fall below desirable,” he said.
About 30,000 vehicles per day currently use the
intersection.
Above: With a simplified, hand drawn sketch, Tom Schrader shows his vision for the future site of the grange property. He says he will
use portions of the grange's exterior wood paneling for the outside of a new
building. Pending the possible sale of an adjacent piece of property to
Schrader, siting logistics and details for the new development is still
uncertain.
Editor’s
Note: This story chronicles just a small part of a local land use project's complicated journey from idea to reality. Since late 2015, Little Hollywood has published three stories about Tom Schrader's ideas for the former Chambers Prairie Grange site.
Little
Hollywood spent three months investigating the update for this story,
meeting and checking in with Schrader on multiple occasions,
attending meetings, and communicating with city staff.
The story is not over, but it would appear that the possibility of saving the building's structural and spiritual integrity, is now lost.
For
more photos, information and previous Little Hollywood articles about the
Chambers Prairie Grange No. 191, Tom Schrader, the City of Tumwater rezone of
the property, and current and projected traffic levels at the intersection, go
to Little Hollywood’s stories:
