Will anyone pay up for beleaguered Tacoma Town Center parcels? November auction looms
The site, a portion of which is at the center of an ongoing contractor's debt collection lawsuit, is now listed as 'in foreclosure' by Pierce County on the seven undeveloped parcels.
The parcels' delinquent property taxes total more than $600,000.
To be considered in foreclosure, a property has to be three or more years delinquent in payment and owe more than $100 cumulative.
The 6.4-acre Tacoma property is bordered by South 21st to South 23rd streets and from Jefferson to Tacoma avenues. The project has just one building completed by the original developer (who is not part of the property-tax foreclosures) at the planned six-building campus.
Boise-based Galena Equity Partners took on the development via affiliated Tacoma Town Center Partners LLC in 2021 after original developer Bellevue-based North America Asset Management (NAAM) was unable to generate sufficient financing, including EB-5 investment.
Plans for the multi-phased project called for hundreds of apartments, office and retail space, accompanying infrastructure and a public plaza, at a cost of more than $300 million.
After preliminary work and various permit filings, Galena faced financial struggles in both Washington and Idaho, including a more-than $10 million judgment against it for breach of contract with NAAM.
Tacoma Town Center Partners LLC for now is tied to six of the seven vacant parcels. It conveyed the seventh early last year to Kurtin Properties of San Diego.
For the seven parcels in arrears, 'By law, the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer must begin the foreclosure process by filing a Certificate of Delinquency on each of the delinquent properties with the Superior Court in Pierce County,' according to the county's website.
In this case, those filings could begin in May, with a potential auction this fall.
Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Marty Campbell, in an emailed response to questions about the properties, offered a timeline for the process, which allows for ample opportunity for property owners to pay up.
▪ Starting in January the Foreclosure Avoidance Team provides guidance to individuals subject to foreclosure.
▪ In February, a special tax statement is mailed 'with enhanced text advising the taxpayer to pay the 2022 and prior amounts before April 30, 2025,' Campbell wrote. Payment must be with cash or cashier's check.
▪ Another letter is sent mid-April 'warning that they have up to close of business on the day before filing, May 8, to pay,' he wrote.
▪ On May 9, a Certificate of Delinquency is filed in Pierce County Superior Court, which begins the property-tax foreclosure lawsuit. By that point, 'all tax years plus foreclosure costs become due, and payment may only be made by a party with a recorded interest ...,' he wrote. Title reports are ordered and persons with interest in the properties and lienholders receive notification.
▪ Nov. 3 is the final date to redeem a parcel from property-tax foreclosure, with payments due by close of business, 4:30 p.m.
▪ Final collection involves putting the sites up for auction on Nov. 4, with the auction held online via the county's contracted vendor, Bid4Assets.
Meanwhile, a local contractor's pursuit continues for money owed for stormwater-pond overflow and piping work to connect the site to the city's stormwater system.
Puyallup-based Northwest Cascade entered into the work contract around the end of August 2022 and filed a lien claim for more than $200,000 in February 2023 after nonpayment.
In December, NWC received a judgment against Kurtin Properties in Pierce County Superior Court, the result of an earlier order of default against Kurtin issued in September.
December's judgment noted NWC was entitled 'to foreclose its claim of lien ... against the property and the interest of Kurtin Properties, Inc. and against the interest of any persons claiming under it ... .'
An attorney for NWC, Michael Murphy, told The News Tribune in early January via email that counsel for Kurtin had reached out to request 'time to market and sell the property before a sheriff's sale.'
'Northwest Cascade will be moving forward to get its attorneys' fees awarded and an order of sale entered, but has agreed to defer a sale for 3 months,' he added.
Murphy confirmed those next steps in a court filing Feb. 6 and stated 'NWC will not schedule a foreclosure sale until March 13, 2025 or later.'
Any sale would include addressing the past-due property-tax assessment on that parcel, as property tax liability follows the parcel. The Kurtin property, 2112 Jefferson Ave., is more than 2.3 acres. It owes a total of more than $250,000 in past-due property taxes, with an assessed value of more than $4.8 million, according to county records.
As for the original Tacoma Town Center Parcels LLC, the entity failed to file its annual report by January 2024 with the Secretary of State's office, leading to an administrative dissolution in May. In October, it was reinstated, with a new principal office address listed as private equity firm's FrontRange Capital's office in Denver.
Previous reporting from The News Tribune contributed to this report.
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