Up to 9 restaurant/tenant spaces being considered in Tacoma Mall ‘village,’ records show

New renderings show what’s ahead for the new “lifestyle village” planned for Tacoma Mall, with space for multiple restaurants across two buildings.

Permit applications were filed mid-May with the City of Tacoma for Building A and Building B, one more step in a multi-year process to transform the mall with new venues.

Last fall, The News Tribune reported on the latest evolution of the mall’s new village and buildings.

The new buildings would be in the parking lot area to the west of the mall’s newest retail buildings that include Total Wine & More, Nordstrom Rack, Ulta Beauty and Kohl’s.

Building A, with an estimated construction cost of $3.5 million, would hold four tenant spaces and separate kitchens. Building B, located directly across from Building A, shows five tenant spaces, also with kitchens, and a patio area, with an estimated construction cost of $2.5 million.

Documentation submitted by the project’s structural/civil engineers describes Building A as “approximately 16,500 gross square feet of retail and restaurant area.” It describes Building B as “approximately 10,500 gross square feet of retail and restaurant area.”

The renderings show the potential for outdoor dining at both buildings, but actual layouts only show dedicated patio space with Building B.

Plans for a separate drive-thru site, first submitted in November 2022, were not included in this round. That site has been proposed north of the two new buildings.

A media representative for the mall’s owner, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, declined to offer updates on the project “at this time.”

As for when construction will start, it’s going to be awhile.

Both buildings list a tentative construction start date in mid-September, though those dates routinely change depending on the amount of city planning staff reviews.

Maria Lee is a media representative for the City of Tacoma. In response to questions about the project, Lee said, “The permits are still awaiting the payment of the plan review fees. Then, they will be routed for review.”

Once routed, staff have up to eight weeks to review, “with subsequent reviews being six weeks each,” she added. Those types of building permits, she noted, “are averaging just under 2.9 review cycles overall right now.”

The timeline she offered does not include the time taken by the mall’s team for revisions and resubmittals.

“Before the building permits can be issued, the site development permit needs to be approved and issued. That permit is in its second review cycle (projected to be done in late June or early July),” Lee added.

“If additional revisions are required, it would be another four weeks for the third cycle, plus their design team’s time.”

Redevelopment started before the pandemic

In 2018, Simon submitted initial plans to the city to add more external retail and restaurant sites next to the main mall property. The plans included replacing the space formerly occupied by Sears and its auto center and space to the west.

Sears, one of the mall’s anchors, closed in 2018 and was demolished in April 2019.

Those plans have evolved over the years and through the COVID-19 pandemic, as the mall worked to add exterior shopping strips following Sears’ departure.

While gaining new sites such as Nordstrom Rack and a small-format Kohls, plans for a potential movie theater eventually fell through.

As for the mall’s main building, it has attracted multiple new vendors in recent years, including Jollibee (a Filipino fried chicken chain), Uniqlo (international apparel retailer) and Miniso (variety store retailer of Asian-themed products geared toward younger shoppers).

Additionally, a Pier I Imports site, not owned by the mall but in close proximity, closed in early 2020. That led to an overhaul and two new vendors (Xfinity Store by Comcast and Jersey Mike’s Subs) and a drive-thru Chipotle, which relocated to the building space from an interior Tacoma Mall location.

If that seems like a glut of new restaurants, it’s worth remembering there are new people anticipated to be moving in close by.

Plans remain in the works to demolish an existing office building near the mall to create Avanti Apartments, 4218 S. Steele St., which is set to include ground-floor businesses as live/work spaces and 171 market-rate units.

Those permits are awaiting resubmittal/revisions, according to status listings on file at the city’s website.

News Tribune archives contributed to this report.