February 19, 2018
A Detailed Look at the Audacious Real Estate Play Unfolding in Tukwila
From the Puget Sound Business Journal, 2/18/18
Everything about the recent $4.25 million sale of an old Tukwila motel on Highway 99 last month looked ordinary except the buyer: Forterra. With a bold plan and financial backing from prominent Seattle venture capitalists Tom Alberg, Nick Hanauer and others, the land conservation nonprofit bought the Knights Inn to turn it into an international market for dozens of immigrant-owned businesses. It will be called the Wadajir International Market.
Forterra’s long-range plan is more audacious: Help the immigrant community buy the property and build a large residential and commercial project on the site. Zoning would allow a six-story building with a couple hundred apartments.
Pacifica Law Group is serving as pro bono legal counsel for the Abu Bakr Islamic Center for this project.
