See Tacoma’s historic Washington Building’s transformation into The Astor apartments

Tacoma’s historic Washington Building is entering a new era with a new name.

Seattle-based Unico Properties, along with Pinnacle Partners, announced this week the completion of the building’s conversion to The Astor apartments, 1019 Pacific Ave.

The 1920’s era 18-story building now is home to 156 units, ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments.

Unico purchased the building in 2016 for $9.8 million, and renovations began in 2020 as a joint venture project for Unico and Pinnacle, a Qualified Opportunity Zone investment firm.

Work was done to preserve the site’s marble-clad lobby and terrazzo flooring.

The building now is home to a resident cocktail lounge in the building’s refurbished bank vault, among other amenities.

According to Friday’s announcement, “Residents will also enjoy a renovated penthouse with rooftop amenity deck, which was first home to Tacoma’s medical Scientific Zoo.”

The building, first dedicated in 1925, was at that time the city’s tallest building and the second tallest in the Northwest.

Before Unico and Pinnacle’s involvement, the former office building had fallen on hard times, with a weather-beaten exterior featuring broken terracotta masonry and vegetation growing from the masonry. Inside, office tenants struggled with a broken-down elevator.

Developers in 2018 received an 8-year multifamily property tax exemption to help with the property conversion costs. Under 8-year MFTEs, sites offer market-rate units.

The site started to come back to life through restoration and renovation as an Opportunity Zone project in 2020. Opportunity Zone funds are set up to invest in properties and redevelopment in economically-distressed areas. Investors can defer and potentially lower their capital gains taxes in exchange for the investment.

The developers in 2020 priced the project at $60 million.

Leo Backer, co-founder and managing partner of Pinnacle Partners, said in a statement Friday that through the Opportunity Zone investing “we’ve been able to partner with Unico on writing the next chapter in the nearly 100-year history of this historic property.”

He added, “We look forward to watching this redevelopment contribute to the vibrancy of downtown Tacoma.”

The site includes a fitness center, speakeasy-style bar, theatre room, penthouse lounge and “soon-to-come Great Room, allowing residents to work from home outside of their unit but within the building’s two-story historic bank space,” according to the developers.

Friday’s release added that later this summer, “Jin Jin Matcha, a matcha tea cafe, will occupy the corner retail space at the building, helping to further activate downtown.”

Unico’s and Pinnacle’s announcement noted that the building already had its first tenants. According to The Astor’s website, rents range from $1,447 -$1,500 for studios and one-bedrooms to more than $3,000 for two bedroom-two bath units.

Unico worked with the City of Tacoma for the adaptive reuse and achieved landmark status for the site from the National Park Service and the city.

“As a longtime investor in Tacoma, we’re excited to deliver a project alongside Pinnacle Partners that brings to life some of the region’s richest history,” said Gina Pfingston, Unico Investments and Development manager, in a statement.