Tenino area farm changes course, Tumwater eyesore turns 10, more apartments for Olympia’s east side
Hillside Farms, a Tenino operation that once irked area residents because of alleged noise, appears to have started over by submitting plans to Thurston County for an events center and lavender business, according to a county notice of application for Feb. 7.
The center intends to “host private social events, such as weddings, birthdays, celebrations of life, non-profit (gatherings)“ as well as operate a farm store selling products made of lavender grown, processed, and packaged on the property, the application says.
The application is under review by the Community Planning & Economic Development Department and the outcome has not yet been determined, according to the county.
“This Notice of Application is to allow appropriate local and state agencies, tribes, and property owners within 500 feet of the project site to provide comment,” the notice reads.
The first comment period ends at 4 p.m. Feb. 27. County officials say there will be more opportunities to comment because the proposal will come before the county hearing examiner.
Send your comments to Senior Planner Kraig Chalem at kraig.chalem@co.thurston.wa.us.
Other business happenings
South Pacific, a former Cantonese restaurant at the corner of Capitol Boulevard and Custer Way in Tumwater, has now been closed for 10 years.
The business closed in late 2013 or early 2014, according to previous Olympian reporting. As of this writing, South Pacific still has a Facebook page.
The South Pacific building was damaged by fire in 2020, but otherwise not much has changed at the site since it closed. The property remains for sale at $950,000, according to commercial real estate business Prime Locations.
Tumwater historian Don Trosper said the first building at the site was built in the late 1930s, about the same time that the Capitol Boulevard bridge and its totem poles were built.
The site has been home to several businesses, he said. The Chicken Coop, a more upscale restaurant called the Oregon Trail, a jazz nightclub named Red Kelly’s and finally South Pacific, Trosper said.
Trosper recalled eating at South Pacific, saying he enjoyed the “pupu platter,” a selection of meats and vegetables prepared and served as a kebab.
911 Driving School, which operates driving schools across multiple states, including in Washington state and Thurston County, is set to move its Lacey school into a former bank branch building at 749 Sleater Kinney Road, according to city of Lacey information.
The owners of the local driving school could not be reached. Umpqua Bank used to occupy the building until it moved to a location on Woodland Square Loop.
Total Renal Care, a subsidiary of DaVita, proposes to partially relocate three dialysis stations from DaVita Lacey Dialysis at 5200 Yelm Highway SE to DaVita Olympia Dialysis Center at 335 Cooper Point Road NW, the state Department of Health’s Certificate of Need program has announced.
The estimated cost for the project is $34,052, according to the state.
The comment period for the proposal ends on or before March 11. Send comments to fslcon@doh.wa.gov or ashley.noble@doh.wa.gov.
The Lansdale Pointe Apartments, which intend to build 162 units at 911 Burr Road SE, has received land-use approval, the city of Olympia announced.
Burr Road is located between Pacific Avenue Southeast and Interstate 5 and is west of the Olympia Food Co-op.
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If you know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling, or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Rolf Boone at rboone@theolympian.com.
