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Fri. September 14, 2007, 10:34am PDT
Downtown business owners get legal on the Olympus
Downtown business owners Laura Hanan and Kris Blondin are suing the owners of the Olympus Hotel for improper management. Todd Matthews reports in the Tacoma Daily Index that both are seeking accountability for what they see as a drain on their business and downtown neighborhood. From the article:
The plaintiffs also allege the defendant has failed to provide adequate security, repair, maintenance, and tenant management in compliance with local, state, and federal laws. In addition, Hanan and Blondin say "active drug dealers with outstanding criminal warrants" reside in the Olympus and "are trading in illegal drugs on the premises," according to the suit.
Considering the local, and downright dangerous, backlash that shoved Laura from her frequent publications of local nuisance activity, it's great to see them team up and take their issues to court. No building or business owner downtown should be able to sit idly by if their neglecting to take responsibility for that which they gain a profit from especially when it adversely impacts others nearby.
Good luck to Laura and Kris and here's to hoping this action will encourage other downtown stakeholders to be vigilant toward making a safer and more welcoming downtown at all hours of the day.
Link to legal complaint (PDF, 140KB)
Thanks Erik!
Comments (9) | To Top
9/14/2007 @ 12:15pm
There certainly are alot of pictures that are going to be coming up at the trial. Should be interesting.
The sad thing is that the Olympus Hotel was supposed to be a model historic restoration in downtown Tacoma.
Gutsy urban pioneers? Laura and Kris. Both willing to locate at a time downtown where very very few would.
by Erik B.
9/14/2007 @ 12:54pm
who is pulling the puppet strings over at hotel olympus?
by RR Anderson
9/14/2007 @ 1:55pm
M&M Properties, Inc. out of Alaska.
by KevinFreitas
9/14/2007 @ 5:04pm
I thought the Koean Women's Association was going to purchase the Olympus.
Article- http://www.iexaminer.org/archives/?p=741
"and among other low-income housing facilities it has built, was awarded $1.5 million from the state this year to purchase the Olympus Hotel in Tacoma to provide low-income, multifamily housing and lease out space to help sustain KWA services."
by morgan
9/14/2007 @ 5:08pm
Where am I going to get some good crack now :(
by intacoma
9/14/2007 @ 8:49pm
Because of problems in the neighborhood, the New Tacoma Neighborhood held a forum on March 30, 2006 at City Hall from 5:30 to 7:30 p..m. where many of the problems of the Theater District were discussed.
The Olympus Hotel was mentioned several times. as trouble spot. Yet, that was a year and a half ago. How frustrating.
-Erik B.
by New Tacoma Neighborhood Report on Crime and Nuisance Behavior in the Theater District on March 30, 2006
9/14/2007 @ 8:59pm
Here's a portion of a September 3, 2006 column in the TNT:
"But like the rest of downtown, the Olympus fell on hard times. The hotel became a flophouse, the Mirror Room a go-go bar. It all closed in 1974. Recently, attempts by small merchants and restaurateurs to reclaim the street from the punks, drunks and druggies have met with only mixed results.
With Coyne’s Olympus renovation and another new restaurant, The Matador, joining existing places like Vin Grotto and Meconi’s by year’s end, they might have a fighting chance."
-Erik B.
by TNT's Peter Callaghan on the Olympus Hotel
9/15/2007 @ 8:00am
@ 4 (morgan)
i called kwa friday morning, asking about the status of that, as it's been talked about for some time. i spoke with the exec. director, who said the organization was still negotiating with the owners, and it "has been a slow process." she was genuinely surprised about the news of the lawsuit. she asked me to forward the article to her. i also sent her a link to the court doc kevin posted on his site . . . --TODD
by OddTodd
9/30/2007 @ 4:12pm
The trial appears to be set for 1/30/2008 in Pierce County Superior Court.
I hope there can be a settlement on the use of the building and ownership to acheive a win/win/win/win.
by Erik B.