The developer of Point Ruston, an urban village located along a mile-long stretch of the Commencement Bay shoreline and on the former Asarco smelter site, announced this week it has begun construction on the project’s first mixed-use building.
Copperline Condominiums, the mixed-use building now under construction, will include a total of 143 residences, 25,000 square feet of commercial space and 350 parking spaces in a secured structure. Residences are one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes ranging from 793 to 3,061 square feet with completion planned for late 2009.
When complete, the Built Green project will combine urban living, shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation on a 97-acre site that spans the boundary between the City of Tacoma and the Town of Ruston, next to Point Defiance Park, Zoo & Aquarium and the Tacoma Yacht Club.
Point Ruston’s master plans include approximately 50 acres of publicly accessible areas and open spaces, including view corridors, pedestrian and vehicle access, recreational facilities, park areas, public art and a mile-long “Waterwalk.” This pedestrian path, encompassing more than 10 acres and averaging 100-plus feet in width, will complete the link between Point Defiance Park and Ruston Way’s popular promenade and restaurant row.
“After all of the community participation in creating a plan and a vision for redevelopment, the start of construction is very exciting,” said Mike Cohen, president of MC Construction and managing partner of Point Ruston LLC. “I am very appreciative of the opportunity to participate in creating a new Northwest destination for tourists and residents alike.”
Cohen expects to start construction of several more neighborhood commercial and retail buildings in late 2009, including a four-star, 150-room Point Ruston Silver Cloud Hotel that will include a restaurant, lounge and conference facilities. Point Ruston LLC is also developing Stack Hill, a neighborhood of 35 single-family, custom homes above the waterfront site, where the smelter’s 562-foot stack once stood before it was demolished in 1993.
Cohen, president of MC Construction Consultants Inc., agreed to purchase the former Asarco smelter property in 2005. His real estate partnership, Point Ruston LLC, took ownership of the site in 2006 and assumed responsibility for completing the site cleanup under supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
