Some wanted Tacoma floral shop on the historic register. Plans now call for apartments

The site of a Tacoma floral shop once the focus of historic-preservation efforts will be developed into apartments, according to documents seeking a property-tax break for the project.

The property at 201 N .Yakima Ave. was home to the former Wahlgren Florist Shop building. On Tuesday (Feb. 28) it is up for an eight-year multifamily property tax exemption at the City Council meeting.

The florist building in 2021 was the focus of local historic-preservation efforts to save it from demolition. The City Council in April 2021 unanimously voted against a resolution adding the shop to the local historic register as a city landmark.

Before the vote, some council members cited the timing of the preservation efforts, which came after the developer had purchased the site, as the reason they voted against it.

A&A Property Holdings LLC of Federal Way, affiliated with Aleksey Guyvoronsky, purchased the site in July 2019 for $900,000. Demolition permits for the former floral shop and a neighboring house were filed in November.

Attorney Jessie Clawson, representing Guyvoronsky at the 2021 council meeting, told the council, “The property was zoned for density prior to my client’s purchase. The current landmarks situation came well after he purchased it.”

Clawson added, “He had no idea that this building would ever be considered as a landmark, or he never would have purchased it.”

The project, listed as Park View Apartments in city permits, is now up for an eight-year multifamily property tax exemption, which allows for all market-rate units.

The project’s MFTE paperwork filed as part of the the council’s agenda lists the following estimated units/rents:

▪ 53 studio units, 355 square feet, $1,500.

▪ 30 one-bedroom, one-bath units, 515 square feet, $2,400.

▪ 7 two-bedroom, one-bath units, 730 square feet, $3,200.

The development will include 45 parking spaces and 1,700 square feet of commercial space.

The site would receive the first eight-year MFTE approved this year, with three, 12-year versions approved since Jan. 1.

The 8-year MFTE allows for a development to be all-market rate, as opposed to the 12-year version that calls for 20 percent of the units to be rent-restricted for 12 years.

In 2022, 11 apartment projects in Tacoma received the eight-year version, and 22 projects received the 12-year version, according to the year’s City Council agenda items. Additionally, one project switched from an eight-year to a 12-year version, and another project switched from its original 12-year version to an eight-year MFTE.