Chelan PUD Narrows Finalists to Repurpose 5th Street Campus

There are now two proposals being looked at for the future of the Chelan PUD Fifth Street office complex.

An evaluation team recommended the two highest scoring proposals out of four that were being considered Monday.

Dan Frazier with the PUD says the strength of one of the groups on the short list - GTS - was its qualifications as a developer.

"This group has done like size and like scale projects before," said Frazier. "It was very consistent with the community vision. In fact, if you looked at the renderings there, (it has) a lot of the same type of flavor of the community vision document in terms of the massing of the buildings."

Frazier says the strength of the other finalist - Steinhauer Properties - is its extensive experience working on the type of project envisioned for the PUD site.

“Their projects that they put in their proposal of similar type really spoke to the team in terms of what was there, how they would address barriers.” Frazier said. “The project scale really fits the site. It felt like a pretty natural scale for the site.”

The PUD will now receive public comment on the top two proposals through July 5, before further discussions with the two firms on the short list.

On July 18, PUD staff will seek commission approval to engage in further discussion with the shortlisted firms and request that they provide additional information regarding their proposals for final selection.

Chelan PUD is moving out of the Fifth Street campus at the end of next year, when it'll open up its new headquarters in Olds Station.

The rundown of the proposals from the two remaining firms in the running for the project.

GTS/Avara/Graham Baba:

• Four LEED-certified new buildings: A YMCA facility, 100+ unit multi-residential apartment building, 240,00 square-foot mixed-use office and a 3,000 square-foot café
• Two renovated and adapted buildings for mixed-use offices and education
• Underground parking, plus diagonal spaces along N. Wenatchee Ave for Riverside Playhouse parking

Steinhauer Properties:

• All new buildings: A YMCA facility, 172-unit residential apartment building, 211-room upscale hotel
• Indoor/outdoor dining, retail and maker’s space
• Greenspace and above-ground parking

The evaluation team involved in re-envisioning Chelan PUD’s Fifth Street campus recommended the two proposals Monday. The team includes Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority, City of Wenatchee, Wenatchee Downtown Association, Chelan PUD, and Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The proposal from GTS included a cash outlay of $4 million while Steinhauer Properties would spent $6 million on the project.

The criteria used to rank the four proposals under consideration was based on the plan developed by the community advisory committee in 2019. Priorities in that paln included: Project vision and overall project concept, financial feasibility, the developers’ experience with projects of similar scope and scale, and community benefit -- including support for existing uses, public services, and job creation.