The downtown Montgomery Ward Building offers another chance to serve Olympians

Vancouver

T.The construction boom of the 1920s brought the Montgomery Ward building in downtown Olympia to life. Almost 100 years later, the same building is getting a fresh face as it is experiencing the same construction boom. And for another 100 years, the stories that historians write of downtown Olympia will be heavily laden with the name Walker John: the developer who worked to revitalize downtown Olympia almost block by block. His latest project at 317 4th Avenue East is no exception.

Just days before it was fully completed, Walker carefully redesigned the historic four-story Ward building while maintaining the commercial native design and even the tile mosaic of the facade. The space is now called Annie’s Studios, a tribute to Walker’s mother Anne John, a prolific painter, and requests to rent 18 studio apartments and 11 work / office studios for businesses and artists alike are being accepted.

You may already be familiar with the red brick building that now houses The Gyro Spot on the ground floor, and which is based on another Walker project, Annie’s Flats.

Constructed in 1928, the building was the home of national department store and catalog retailer Montgomery Ward, one of the first chain stores in Olympia. When Aaron Montgomery Ward started the company, the dry goods mail order concept was the first of its kind.

By 1883, the company’s catalog, known as the Wish Book, had grown to 240 pages and 10,000 items. It wasn’t until 1896 that Ward encountered his first real competitor, the Sears Catalog, and by the mid-century both catalog retailers owned properties in downtown Olympia. (In the interests of local trivia, Walker and his firm Urban Management Co. LLC have now renovated both retailer heritage sites in Sears and Montgomery Ward.)

The building was later home to the Olympia Vocational Technical Institute (OVCI), established by the Olympia School District in the fall of 1962. OVCI later became South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC). Over the past several years, the occupancy of various restaurants, art and entertainment residents on 317 4th Avenue has increased and decreased but never really reached its full potential. And then this story stops. To make room for the next …

Annie’s Studios

Annie’s Studios, a newly renovated, ultra-urban living and working space, is located right on 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia. Photo credit: Teri Haglund

When you first step into Annie’s Studios, you get a breathtaking view of a building that has been breathed new life. The occupancy concept is unique for downtown Olympia and combines rooms for living and working. The foyer opens immediately to a gallery space, which, according to broker Teri Haglund, offers commercial tenants the opportunity to use it as a space for exhibitions, office parties or even as a community event or a craft center.

When asked about the details of the gallery design, Teri continues that they are not set in stone, and that’s part of the beauty of the early lease in the new space. Use is artistic or business, and at this point the gallery is every artist’s dream: a blank canvas.

The building looks spacious, light and airy, and natural light pours in from above. The center of the building was opened to reveal a multi-story staircase (there is an elevator too), and the artistic and caring craftsmanship of yesteryear is still prevalent in today’s work. The stairs are made of old wood from the inside of the building, complemented by a violet heart wood cladding. There are four stories about brand new constructions and each one is really special.

Teri says the renovation team has worked so hard on this building over the past few years that she imagines it might be hard for them to say goodbye. Now that it is time for the new tenants to say hello, the team will be setting off on another Walker John project in our beautiful city. There were seven of them now.

The property known as Annie’s Studios, the latest project completed by Walker John and his company Urban Management Co LLC, offers residential studios and business / artist studios. Photo credit: Teri Haglund

The 11 working studios in the building range from 150 square feet to 365 square feet. “We have already received applications from a massage and body movement person and a local fly-fishing supplier,” reports Teri. “Art media will be very diversified here.”

The work studios have access to the laundry, the shared bathrooms, the wet rooms with washbasins and even an event kitchen and the gallery areas.

The residential studio apartments are between 400 and 570 square feet. Although each unit is unique, they all have high ceilings and exposed woods. Together with the plumbing and plumbing, this design style creates an ultra-urban feel. Each of them has a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom. Options range from dining countertops to kitchen-style kitchens. All units are equipped with the large floor plan with an open concept.

Walker’s company and its design approach are thoughtful. When he invests in urban landscapes, he does so with the community in mind. Teri says he’s approaching development by revitalizing entire blocks because he appreciates the European lifestyle of urban, walk-through communities.

Walker is a third generation developer. His family shapes the Vancouver, Washington waterfront and the Salem, Oregon mall. Closer to home, the Seabrook family built a seaside community, and now Walker’s focus has been on revitalizing downtown Olympia. There’s a good reason the Olympia Downtown Alliance named him Person of the Year 2019 because he works hard to combine community, culture and convenience in everything he touches.

Walker isn’t afraid to jump either, as Annie’s studios are the first of their kind in our region to balance work and life in one building. As the son of an artist, Walker values art and what it takes to create it, so he has created a space that this can be done in the Montgomery Ward building for at least another 100 years.

For more information on leasing options, visit Urban Management Co LLC, Urban Olympia, or Teri Haglund at 360.742.4877