A second look at "Chopp Tower"
Plus an unlikely truce in the EV wars, income tax tweaks and pension sweeps, data center lobbying wars and impatient pups.
Driving north into Seattle, a big building on your left gives off Batman vibes — an art deco monolith that looks out of place perched on the nose of Beacon Hill. That’s the Pacific Tower, and it’s one of the stranger state-leased buildings in Washington’s real estate portfolio. The lease is now getting a second look because it’s underused and quite expensive.
It’s in the state’s embrace because of the late House Speaker Frank Chopp, who envisioned it as a hub for medical education and nonprofit community-building. In 2013, he spearheaded a 30-year lease, managed by the state Department of Commerce, with terms that left lawmakers and bureaucrats scratching their heads then, and now.
The unusual deal involves the state leasing most of the tower from a City of Seattle-chartered Preservation and Development Authority, including the stunning views from the top-shelf 8th floor, with Pacific Medical clinics leasing a sliver of the building.
What’s most unusual is that lease money effectively becomes part of a grant-making machine, with Pacific Hospital PDA dolling out $5 million in grants — half of its total budget — to a host of health care, social services and advocacy nonprofits. The operation is classic Frank Chopp (RIP), who used his considerable heft to leverage state resources to boost nonprofits.
