Tri-Cities micro-apartment developer looks to convert Walla Walla motels next
A developer with multiple micro-apartment projects in progress in the Tri-Cities is looking to expand to a new city.
Fortify Holdings is hoping to convert two aging and already closed hotels in Walla Walla into micro-apartments.
In all, it would bring about 110 units to the community about an hour drive east of the Tri-Cities.
Fortify’s Tri-City based Regional Manager Robert Jacobs told the Tri-City Herald they’re still in the early stages of permitting for the Walla Walla properties.
They plan to turn the Travelodge at 421 E. Main St. into 45 tiny apartments, according to environmental impact documents filed with the Washington state.
And the property will be renamed The Vintage North.
The Motel 6 at 305 N. 2nd Ave. will be turned into 64 units, and called The Vintage East.
Tri-Cities expansion
Fortify has several Tri-Cities projects in the works, with The Franklin, which was the old Best Western Plus Columbia River Hotel in Richland., and The Q, the Kennewick Quality Inn, expected to open later this year.
Their other Tri-Cities properties are the Days Inn in Richland and, in Pasco, Fortify has purchased the Loyalty Inn and the Rodeway Inn.
The conversions will bring more than 700 units online among the five properties they’ve begun to renovate. About 360 units will be at The Franklin and The Q, which are the largest of their properties.
Apartments will be mostly upscale studios from 250 to 300 square feet, with a few one-bedroom apartments available.
Fortify has made a big push into micro-apartments in Eastern Washington, with projects in the Tri-Cities and Spokane.
While none of the micro-apartment communities have opened yet, they do operate more than a dozen traditional apartment complexes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
In their bid to corner the market on high demand, small apartments, they have run into some roadblocks with riverfront properties.
Fortify approached the Port of Kennewick about a major renovation to the Clover Island Inn, at an estimated cost of $20 million, and Richland with a bid to buy the Riverfront Hotel.
At both properties they wanted to convert the hotels into micro-apartments and add entertainment spaces, businesses and restaurants as part of larger development partnerships.
In both instances, their plans were dealt major blows as city and port officials voted to prevent the aging hotels from being converted to apartments.
Fortify has come back with proposals to just operate the hotels as-is, with the possibility of extended-stay options, but no plans have been finalized.
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
