SEQUIM — Serenity House of Clallam County has completed the purchase of the yet-to-be-renamed Kite Girl Plaza at 577 W. Washington St. as the future location of the agency’s Sequim thrift store.
RE/MAX Fifth Avenue brokered the sale by the Robert and Edithanne Rittenhouse Trust of Santa Cruz, Calif.
The transaction includes the large retail building, which has been vacant since the closure of Swain’s Outdoor, plus professional offices, including those leased by In Graphic Detail and KSQM 91.5 FM Radio.
“Having such good tenants in place as neighbors is a real asset as we prepare to move to this historic location that is part of Sequim’s agricultural history,” said Brando Blore, president of the Serenity House Board of Directors.
“We will also utilize some of the available vacant space in new ways to support the agency’s mission of preventing and ending homelessness.”
“It is a wonderful, spacious location for the Serenity shop, with a huge amount of parking,” said store manager Belica Muñoz.
“We’ll have more room to receive donations and display merchandise, and more work space for our volunteers and more shopping for our customers.”
In February, the city of Sequim purchased Serenity House’s current thrift store building at 215 N. Sequim Ave. and the adjacent apartment building on the corner of Cedar Street for a new City Hall complex.
The sale to Sequim provided funds to pay off the mortgage on those properties and make a downpayment on the new property, which also has a mortgage.
The agreement with the city allows Serenity House to lease back the Sequim Avenue properties for up to three years, giving the agency time to obtain new sites from which to continue serving the Sequim area.
Blore, who led the search of Sequim commercial properties, thanked other board members, including Rob Tulloch and Chris Melly, and architect Roy Hellvig, who prepared thorough site and cost comparisons.
“There’s so much work that goes into these negotiations, and we are very motivated to do the best job we can for Serenity House,” Blore said.
“We did our due diligence and made this selection, knowing how important it was to get the right property for the thrift store.
“We still need to replace the housing, and we are looking at all the possibilities, including partnering with the Housing Authority and other organizations.”
For more information about Serenity House, visit serenityhouseclallam.org, email serenity@olypen.com or phone 360-452-7224.
