Pierce County business park project now includes more buildings, jobs, maybe a farm store
Amended plans under review in Bonney Lake for the Peak 410 business park include expanding the site along with adding more jobs and taking on more infrastructure work.
While the business park’s plans for occupants haven’t changed, its scope and cost have.
The park will feature “a range of employment and other economic activity, including light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse/distribution, retail and related office uses,” according to its plan.
The new plans submitted to the city this spring call for a project area of 64 acres, up from 50, providing for a building area of just over 1 million square feet among 10 buildings, up from 850,000 square feet across five buildings in its initial concept.
The proposed amended agreement says the project represents a “$200 million investment” in Bonney Lake, covering multiple parcels along state Route 410. That’s up from a previous projected cost of $115 million.
What’s new
Some new elements include a drive-thru coffee shop in the last phase (seen in lower right corner of project map) and two new buildings in the southwest corner of a roundabout at 224th Avenue East and state Route 410.
One of those buildings is listed as a proposed 44,870-square-foot Wilco Farm Store, with 150 parking spaces; the other is a 30,000-square-foot building next door.
Lauren Balisky is interim planning manager for the City of Bonney Lake. She told The News Tribune on Monday in response to questions, “The City has not received an application or pre-application request from Wilco itself to develop the southwest corner,” at the roundabout.
Balisky added, “The City did receive a schematic/conceptual site plan, traffic impact analysis and wetland memo from the Peak 410 developer ... of what could be developed at that location.”
“Wilco is not a party to the development agreement and is not obligated to apply,” she said via email. “The schematic allows the City to evaluate the various uses proposed for the entire area covered by the development agreement and potential impacts.”
If Wilco did decide to build, it would be the Oregon-based retailer’s third Pierce County location, after Puyallup and Gig Harbor.
A June 20 briefing memo from Jason Sullivan, interim Public Services director for the city, outlined what had changed in the project since its initial Oct. 2022 development agreement.
Sullivan stated that the updated size-scope “reflects the addition of new parcels and changes in property ownership.”
The project with its multiple buildings is now estimated to bring in 800 jobs, up from 700.
The proposed amended deal includes multiple property transfers and additional infrastructure improvements to be completed by the developer.
Among those is “the construction of a new force main to serve the Mountain Creek neighborhood to connect it to the new sewer line within the project boundary,” according to Sullivan’s memo.
The project also would complete 100th Street East road construction on the south side of state Route 410.
Among the property transfers for infrastructure development:
▪ A portion of 224th Avenue East right-of-way would be vacated, and new right-of-way dedicated for the 224th Avenue East and state Route 410 roundabout.
▪ New easements established for proposed buildings with existing easements released.
▪ Perpetual stormwater detention for the city’s Decant Facility provided by the developer.
▪ City would transfer a portion of its adjacent property to expand one of the proposed stormwater ponds.
▪ Rights of way for the project’s street extensions would be dedicated to the city.
Project’s leader offers details
The project’s property owners are a collection of LLCs, and the project is overseen by Peak Design, led by Chris and Rylie Leier, who also own STL International Inc. The company, based in Bonney Lake, makes Teeter inversion tables and exercise equipment.
Chris Leier spoke to the Bonney Lake City Council during Peak 410’s hearing July 23, noting, “I think we have like 60 permits with the city at this point, all for various things.”
He said the first building “hopefully” would be completed by Oct. 1.
Explaining the growth of the project, he noted that it allows for “two more buildings on the north side of the freeway, and then a whole commercial development on the south side of the freeway.
“And it really encompasses all of the usable land that touches our core project and extends the benefits to those properties,” he added.
One reason for the expansion is to spread the costs and bring an extended timeline and and additional sixth phase, now running through December 2031 with the completion of the final phase.
“Money is very expensive to borrow right now,” he told the council. “And the cost has doubled, essentially, for everything. Building costs have doubled, the infrastructure costs have doubled.”
He noted that the development team’s “initial investment on this was going to be $8.3 million, and we’re around $15 million now for all your infrastructure.”
He added that “by extending this development agreement to these other pieces of land, it allows us to spread that over more square footage, and bring in more opportunity utilizing those dollars that are being been spent.”
The amended development agreement is tentatively on the council agenda for approval Aug. 13, according to the city’s website. The project’s traffic impact analysis is still under review.
Its revised Determination of Nonsignificance in its environmental review was issued July 3, with submitted appeals accepted through Aug. 8 and a final decision issued by Aug. 12.
