Not Your Mother's Proctor

Are y’all up for a little conspiracy theory talk?

Have you ever wondered why development has been going gangbusters in all of Tacoma, except for Proctor? It’s our own yuppy heaven. 1.8 kids, 1.4 dogs (lab or golden retriever), 1.1 Volvo per household. Property values have boomed. Zoning allows for buildings up to 45 feet high, but we haven’t seen any new development in that area in over ten years. Well one of our fine readers was doing a little digging into the Proctor mixed use zone and discovered an interesting trend. Five names kept repeating themselves in the property records: Kuester, Evans, Pijanowski, Lyon, and Proctor Partners.

What do these names have in common? Erling Kuester is a realtor and a partner in Proctor Partners. Bill Evans is on the City Council and a partner in Proctor Partners. Jeffrey Lyon is the Chairman & CEO of GVA Kidder Mathews, is on the Tacoma Economic Development Board for Tacoma / Pierce County, and is also involved in Proctor Partners. Cherlyn Pijanowski appears to be the spouse/partner/girlfriend of Erling Kuester. Why does this connection matter? Last year Bill Evans got into a bit hot water when he tried to get a 10 year tax abatement on a proposed condo project in Proctor next to his Northwest Shop. The City Attorney took the position that he had to either leave the partnership or leave the city council before it could be considered. The idea was shelved and he kept his position in both. Proctor Partners or its members own most of Proctor. Evans is connected to Proctor Partners, but sits on the City Council. No new development in Proctor.

So how does this effect us? Proctor is effectively owned by a relatively few number of people that are all tied together. This includes the residential properties across from Metropolitan Market. Bill Evans is one of those people, but for political reasons he won’t touch it. His current City Council term is set to expire in 2007. Conflict of interest ends in 2007.

Be prepared for a Proctor building boom in 2008.