Proposed Tenant Wants To Open Coffee Shop At Town Center

First came a library. Then came a plan for .

Now, it looks as if the first retail tenant at University Place Town Center could be a coffee shop.

The University Place City Council is scheduled to discuss tonight a proposed lease with an unnamed retail tenant to locate into a space in the University Place library/civic building.

According to a report from City Attorney Steve Victor, “the proposed tenant, a Washington corporation that desires to lease Retail Unit A for the operation of a coffee shop with additional amenities for parents.”

Victor, UP’s chief negotiator on the project, added that the condition of the retail units do not include an electrical panel, ventilation system duct work or a bathroom, which the city is prepared to provide in order to make the space leasable at a cost not to exceed $35,000. The proposed tenant will cover the cost of the balance of the improvements needed to make the retail space ready.

The coffee shop is the first retail business that has been proposed, at least publicly, at the mixed-use development off Bridgeport Way West since . The restaurant chain ultimately earlier this year.

“The development and operation of such a commercial business in the Library/Civic Building by the tenant is entirely consistent with, and will assist in furthering the goals of, the Town Center Plan,” Victor wrote. “It is in the best interests of the City of University Place and its citizens to execute the Lease Agreement.”

The University Place City Council is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m., tonight, an hour later than it usually meets.