Tukwila Storage
Three-story climate-controlled self-storage · Tukwila, WA
Tukwila Storage is a three-story, 794-unit self-storage building in Tukwila, Washington, just minutes from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It sits in an industrial area off Interurban Avenue near the Green River, so the setting felt like a natural fit for the building type. We designed it for Brixx Development, and it opened as Public Storage.
This was the first project we completed with BRIXX, although we had worked with them before as part of another development team. It was permitted before the 2021 IBC took effect, when a Type IIB self-storage building could only be three stories (the 2021 code allows four), so it is three stories of steel construction. There is a street-facing office up front, and a loading bay and rental parking in the back.
BRIXX actually started with a different site a little farther up Interurban. We had a test fit back on that one in four days, and when a likely wetland turned up on it, BRIXX moved on to this site: a 1.86-acre truck and equipment yard with streets on three sides. By then our team had already completed a number of self-storage facilities, so we were able to move efficiently while still making sure the layout and operations worked.
Project Stats
Status | Completed - January 2024
Location | 6221 S 143rd St, Tukwila, WA
Building Size | 103,547 SF
Site Size | 1.86 acres
Number of Units | 794
Stories | 3
Construction Type | Type IIB, Steel Stud Construction
Zoning | C/LI (Commercial/Light Industrial), Design Review
Operator | Public Storage
Design Schedule | Apr 2019 - Apr 2021
Permitting | Apr 2021 - Sep 2022
Construction Schedule | Sep 2022 - Jan 2024
Why Self-Storage?
Self-storage has become a real necessity in a lot of communities, especially as people live in smaller homes, move more often, and need flexible space that doesn't come with a long-term commitment. It fills a gap that housing and commercial space can't always solve, whether it's for residents who are downsizing, families in transition, small businesses needing inventory space, or contractors storing tools and equipment close to the jobsite.
Because these facilities are so operations-driven, having an experienced architect on board makes a big difference for the developer. A team that understands self-storage can design a layout that maximizes rentable square footage, improves circulation and security, and supports long-term efficiency, all while meeting zoning, fire/life safety, and code requirements without unnecessary redesign. It also helps avoid expensive surprises during permitting and construction, since the building systems, access points, and site constraints are coordinated early and intentionally. In the end, good design isn't just about how the building looks. It directly impacts how well the facility performs, how smoothly it gets built, and how quickly it can start generating revenue.
About the Design
Three Stories and a Lower Option
The zoning on this site allowed up to four stories or 45 feet, but the building code at the time capped a Type IIB storage building at three. We explored a number of ways to get more building on the site, including taking the lower part of the building up to three stories and a "bridge" option that added a bigger piece of building. Ultimately we and the owner decided on the lower option, because it had a lower construction cost.
Big Units Down, Small Units Up
We put the larger units on the ground floor and the smaller ones upstairs. Someone renting a big unit is usually moving a lot of stuff, and they shouldn't have to make 20 elevator trips to do it.
Building on River Soils
The geotechnical report found soils near the river that could settle in an earthquake, so the building sits on aggregate piers under a mat foundation. When the first cost estimate for that ground improvement came in, it was figured on the whole building area. We pointed out that the piers only go under the footprint, which is about a third of that, and the number came way down.
Breaking Up a Long Building
The exterior design took a lot of collaboration and fine-tuning between BRIXX, di'velept, and Tukwila's zoning department. We went back and forth quite a bit to land on a solution that met the code, stayed within a tight budget, and still had enough variation to keep the building from feeling like one huge box along the highway. Interurban Avenue is a major corridor through the area, and the building runs diagonally along it, so we had a big opportunity to shape how the project is experienced from the street.
To break down the massing, we divided the building up in a few different ways. A darker base wraps the perimeter at Level 1, and the colors shift at Level 2 and up to help visually lighten the upper floors. Along Interurban Avenue the facade is broken into five sections with varying heights that alternate between dark and light color schemes, which gives the elevation more rhythm as you drive by. On the north side we added a patterned accent wall made of one-foot-wide metal panels in alternating colors. It adds texture to what would otherwise be a long, flat facade.
Site Work and Stormwater
The site needed several stormwater systems, and those played a big role in how we approached the landscaping and overall site design. The project also rebuilt half of the street along both S 143rd Street and S 143rd Place.
Working With the City
Design Review
The site is zoned C/LI (Commercial/Light Industrial), and the building went through Tukwila's design review. BRIXX filed the application electronically in the summer of 2020, in the middle of the COVID shutdowns, and the Planning Commission held the design review hearing online in March 2021. Most of the city's comments came back on the fencing: a sight-obscuring fence around the vehicle parking and a decorative black metal fence along the streets. Core Design, the local civil engineer, handled a lot of the back-and-forth with the city. The design took longer than expected because of that back-and-forth on the exterior. Once the exterior was approved, things moved quickly and we pushed through construction documents.
Permitting
Permitting was led by BRIXX, talking directly with the city and the plan reviewer. For much of the process our role was to support that effort with plan updates, clarifications, and responses as needed. As the review comments got more detailed, we got more directly involved, and it became a real back-and-forth with the city on items that needed design clarification or a code interpretation. Most of the planning and permitting approvals ran through the COVID years and took a long time. Ethan Barley, our project manager, kept following up with the city to keep the project moving. (There is more on how we handle city reviews on our services page.)
Construction
Construction Phase
We stayed involved through construction administration. Ethan made monthly site visits from his home base in Portland, Oregon, to track progress, confirm design intent, and help address field conditions as they came up, and we answered RFIs and reviewed submittals so the work stayed aligned with the documents while still being buildable in the field. A big part of that involvement was coordination with the city when real site conditions didn't match what was expected. Most of those conversations were about the stormwater system, since grading and utility locations landed differently than originally planned.
Construction Schedule
Construction took longer than a typical self-storage project, mostly because of a few stop-and-start moments along the way. Starting in the middle of a Seattle winter didn't help either; constant rain made concrete work hard and created some delays early on. The site also brought a few surprises, including stormwater issues and a conflict with an existing overhead power line (the south wall of the third floor was pulled back a foot to clear it). We worked closely with Perlo to solve those in real time and keep the project moving while staying true to the design. In the end Perlo did a great job pulling everything together.
A Collaborative Effort
Tukwila was a Salt Lake City architect working on a Washington site, so the local team mattered. Core Design handled the civil, landscape and survey work and much of the back-and-forth with the City of Tukwila, Terracon sorted out the soils, and Perlo Construction built it. BRIXX set the goals and kept the project going through some long COVID-era reviews.
Thanks to everyone who worked on Tukwila. Their names and links are below.
Stakeholders
Design Team
Construction Team
Owner | Brixx Development
Operator | Public Storage
Structural | HW Engineering
MEP | Royal Engineering
Civil, Landscape & Survey | Core Design
Geotechnical | Terracon
General Contractor | Perlo Construction
Architecture Project Management
Architecture Team
Principal in Charge & Architect of Record | Jarod Hall
Project Manager | Ethan Barley
Support Staff | Jeremy Larsen
Project Scope
Site Studies | Test fits on two Tukwila sites, then layout and unit-mix options for the one that was built.
Approvals | With BRIXX and Core Design, through Tukwila's design review and Planning Commission hearing, then the building permit.
Building Design (SD, DD, CD) | We designed the building from the earliest layout studies all the way through construction documents. Our process usually starts with a simple question: is the site even viable for what the client needs? For this project, that meant looking closely at the parcel constraints and confirming we could fit the amount of rentable square footage BRIXX needed for the project to pencil. Once we knew the numbers could work, we tested multiple internal configurations to land on the right unit mix and circulation plan, including the corridor efficiency, the size and spacing of the units, and how customers would move through the building, while coordinating the structural layout and construction type so the design stayed efficient and cost-conscious. Through design development we tightened up the building systems and exterior design, coordinated life safety requirements, and kept the project aligned with both zoning and operational needs, then carried it through a full set of construction documents so it could move into permitting and pricing with confidence.
Construction Administration (CA) | Monthly site visits, RFIs and submittals through substantial completion.
Looking Ahead
BRIXX has come back to us for test fits on a number of sites since Tukwila. What they tell us they value is how fast we can analyze a new site, so they can make a go or no-go call and move on to the next one if they need to. Tukwila started exactly that way.
If you have a site you want tested before you spend real money on it, we would like to help you talk it through. There is more of our work on the self-storage page, including P82, another storage project in the Pacific Northwest.