Bridge Industrial Warehouse Project

To see the permit applications and status for the project, visit our Customer Access Portal and enter parcel 0220131132 into the search field on the upper right. You do not need a permitting account to view active permits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will the buildings look like when the project is complete? 

The proposed buildings are all about 40 feet in height, with loading docks on two sides and office spaces / pedestrian entries on both corners. (Building D only has truck loading on one side.) The buildings will be concrete with glass windows at the corners. Buildings will have metal siding accents. In short, the buildings will look like other warehouse buildings in the region.  The buildings are designed to be “solar ready” so that tenants may add solar infrastructure should they choose to do so. 

What will the site look like when complete?

The main part of the site (outside the wetland) will be mostly buildings, surrounded by passenger vehicle parking and truck/container areas. The central portion of the site is a good example:  

Passenger vehicle areas and the perimeter of the site will be landscaped. The site includes a “through street” from South Burlington Way to South 35th Street, connecting the site to the Sounder Station and the neighborhood to the south with a 10-foot sidewalk and street trees between the buildings and the railroad tracks.  

What conditions did the City place on the permit for this project? 

Based on information gathered in its SEPA review, the City placed conditions on the permit. These conditions must be related to the environmental impact of a project and meet the requirements of Washington state law. In this case, the City placed conditions on the permit relating to air quality and greenhouse gases; urban forestry and vegetation; environmental health; and traffic condition monitoring, intersection modifications, new signals, street connections and sections. 

How will the developer protect the environment and sensitive wetlands on the site?

Prior to approval of development permits, the applicant was required to complete the associated environmental review in compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and complete a Critical Areas Permit related to the wetland and forested area on the western portion of the site.  

The Critical Areas Development Permit decision was “approved with conditions,” which means the project has been reviewed for compliance with the Tacoma Municipal Code for critical areas and, if built with certain conditions, the development may be approved. Conditions include:  

• Completing restoration, enlargement, and enhancement of the wetlands and stream
• Protecting the Garry Oak trees on site and providing excess plantings to compensate for the one being removed
• Preserving and enhancing the steep slope and treed areas on the western portion of the site
• Recording these protections permanently on the title to the property
• Providing monitoring of all plantings until they are well established

The associated SEPA Environmental Determination is a “Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance,” (MDNS) which means the project, as revised and with the additional studies that have been reviewed, is not likely to have a significant adverse impact on the elements of the environment that are reviewed under SEPA, as long as the project meets certain conditions (mitigation) for the impacts. Mitigation under SEPA includes the following:  

• Clean-fuel construction equipment and no-idling rules on the site
• 30% tree canopy coverage on the development portion of site, with payment in lieu of plantings for a portion of the tree provision
• Traffic monitoring as the site is built out, with caps on trip generation
• Construction of a new north access road for trucks to reach South 35th Street, intersection improvements at 35th and Union
• Improvements to South Madison Street
• Public bicycle and pedestrian path along the north-south road
• Pedestrian improvements (sidewalk connections, rail crossing, bicycle lanes) on several streets and at several intersections

These improvements must be in place or paid for before any of the buildings may be permanently occupied.  

What legal challenges have there been against the project?

There have been two notable challenges against the project.

1. The permit was issued April 21, 2023, and was subsequently appealed to the City’s Hearing Examiner. The appeal hearing concluded on August 4, 2023. Recordings of the hearing are available through the Hearing Examiner’s Office. Read the Hearing Examiner’s decision that was issued October 5, 2023. The full land use permit can be accessed from https://aca.accela.com/TACOMA/Default.aspx by entering “LU21-0125” in the search field. Documents are located under the “Record Info” tab. The documents are the files that are part of the project record, which were used in making these decisions. Documents that are not part of the record have been archived.  

2. In December 2023, The Washington State Department of Ecology issued the project coverage under the Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP) which included an administrative order with the project’s permit coverage. This order had conditions Bridge Point Tacoma had to follow to protect water quality when working on a contaminated site, as well as conditions to mitigate air quality and traffic impacts from diesel trucks. Bridge Point Tacoma appealed its permit coverage and the traffic and air-quality related conditions in the administrative order, although both the order and permit coverage remained in effect during the appeal process.

On November 21, 2024, and as part of an initial settlement agreement, Bridge Point Tacoma agreed to withdraw its appeal and pay Ecology $8.95 million to address traffic and air pollution in South Tacoma. The Department of Ecology will gather community input on how the settlement funds should be used to best address air quality and traffic concerns through mitigation projects.

The Department of Ecology staff will make the final determination about how to utilize the funds in compliance with the settlement agreement. Again, Ecology indicated they will coordinate with the City and other agencies in conducting community outreach, but City staff will only have a supporting consultation role and will not be leading this process.

Learn more about the settlement and what happens next.

How will the groundwater on site be protected? 

Any water that isn’t surface water will infiltrate into the groundwater—in other words, any runoff from the site that isn’t directed to the stream will seep into the soil and become groundwater. The stormwater system is designed to collect the runoff, filter it, and allow it to disperse back into the stream or into the ground.  

Is the Council going to look at zoning in the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection (STGP) District? 

Yes. To conduct a thorough zoning review to analyze the potential impacts that additional industrial development could have on groundwater infiltration in the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection (STGP) District, the Council enacted a one-year district moratorium on certain industrial uses, including underground storage tanks, metal recycling and auto wrecking facilities.  The moratorium was then extended for an additional six months, expiring on September 20, 2024. Additionally, as a part of the Council’s STGP District zoning review, the City, in collaboration with Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, will conduct a type of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) within the district.

In winter and spring 2025, there will be numerous public meetings that will include public comment or public engagement opportunities connected to the HIA. To learn more about the project, future public meeting announcements, and to sign up for email project update, go to South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District project web page.

How will developers safely handle contaminated soil at the site?

A portion of the site has been remediated in the more than 20 years ago through CERCLA (Federal EPA Superfund program). Contaminants were placed on a capped portion on the north side of the site. This portion of the site is part of the proposed light industrial and warehouse development.  

As part of the cleanup, the owners (and subsequent owners) are party to an agreed order and institutional controls for the site and will continue or complete remediation as part of redevelopment. Under the review and authority of the EPA and the Department of Ecology, they will have specific work plans, worker training, and contractual obligations for work on that portion of the site.  

How do the traffic conditions work? 

The site is designed so that big trucks are directed toward the north, to the closest access for SR16, and away from South 56th Street and South Tacoma Way. The site is also designed so that business parking stays on site, with spots for about 1,250 cars plus parking and storage for trucks and trailers.  

Street improvements will need to be finished before the buildings can be used. When buildings are inspected for occupancy (meaning a user can open the business, have employees/customers, etc.) one of the checklist items is completion of required mitigation. This means that buildings cannot be used until, for example, the intersection at South 35th Street and South Union Avenue is completed.  

The applicant is required to monitor the traffic generated by each tenant and then report back to the City as to how much of the “allowed” traffic is being used up. If the trip generation exceeds thresholds the development or the street improvements will have to change. More detail on traffic can be found in the SEPA decision and the associated traffic impact analysis (TIA).   

 What will happen with the wetland? 

The stream at the base of the hill, the wetlands that are associated with the stream, and much of the adjacent forested hillside are all protected areas under the City’s Critical Area Protection Ordinance. The applicant is required to restore and protect these areas forever by placing restrictions on the property title for the site.  

Once development permits are approved, the owner will start removing debris and invasive plants from the area. Then the area will be replanted and maintained with native plants. The property owner is required to report to the City every year for ten years about the maintenance and survival of the plants and the conditions of the stream. 

Outside of the stream/wetland, the site is designed so that any runoff from buildings or paved areas will maintain the amount of water in the stream, and that the water entering the stream is clean of any contaminants.