By Jack Stubbs
Gig Harbor—the name of a bay on the west edge of the Puget Sound and a city by the same name in Pierce County—recently had a commercial property change hands.
On June 25th, a commercial property sold for $13 million, or roughly $382 per square foot, Pierce County records show. The buyer was the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District (PenMet Parks) based in Gig Harbor, and the seller was the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound Inc., based in Tacoma.
The subject property, located at 8502 Skansie Ave. shares the same address as the Harbor Christian Center Church. According to public documents, the two-story property totals 33,992 square feet and sits on just over six acres.
The property is just under two miles northwest of downtown Gig Harbor, and also sits in close proximity to Gig Harbor High School and Discovery Elementary School. Harbor Christian Center is also roughly eleven miles from the Point Ruston waterfront resort in Tacoma via State Route 16, where a number of properties changed hands in a sizable transaction last fall.
In mid-September 2018, California-based CWS Capital Partners acquired six different properties at the Point Ruston Resort—including the 173-unit Copperline at Point Ruston Apartments—for a combined $101.3 million from Bellevue-based JLW PR Management Inc.
More generally, the city of Tacoma has seen a number of commercial properties trade over the last couple of months, particularly in the medical/health sector. On May 2nd, Encino, California-based property development company the Moss Group spent $38.3 million, or approximately $615 per square foot, to acquire a 62,200 square foot Class B office/medical building—which houses the CHI Franciscan Rehabilitation Hospital—located at 815 S Vassault St. from Birmingham, AL-based Capital Growth Buchalter (CGB).
In late April, Olympia, Washington-based Berschauer Group Inc. acquired a 172,773 square foot office/medical property—located at 1149 Market Street and home to the Franciscan Service Center—for $11.5 million from Wisconsin-based Physicians Realty Trust, a REIT that specializes in the healthcare industry.
In another transaction that recorded in mid-May, Comprehensive Life Resources, formerly known as Comprehensive Mental Health, sold off its former health center in Tacoma located at 1305 Tacoma Ave. S. for $13.4 million.
The mission of PenMet Parks is to enhance the quality of life on the Gig Harbor peninsula by providing park and recreational opportunities for all of its citizens by crafting partnerships with volunteer and government organizations, acquiring assets, developing and maintaining high-quality facilities and preserving open space, according to the company’s web site.
PenMet Parks is responsible for the planning, acquisition, construction and maintenance of park, open space and recreation facilities in the unincorporated areas outside of Gig Harbor city limits, according to the company’s web site, and provides management within 325.6 acres of parks; 143.23 acres of natural areas; 112.8 acres of special use facilities and 14.7 miles of trails.
Perhaps motivated in part by the scenic location of Gig Harbor on the Puget Sound, PenMet Parks has plans in the works to capitalize on the open space in the city. In February 2018, the company released a “District Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan.” The initiative—developed with the input and direction of local recreation leaders, stakeholders and residents through a number of community meetings—is a six-year strategic plan for enhancing park and recreation amenities for city residents with community-driven parks, trails and open spaces, according to the company’s web site.
