Co-op Clash

Residents of the nonprofit Apex cooperative in Belltown are locked
in a legal battle with a furniture-store owner and a developer over the
future of their hundred-year-old building.

The Apex, at Bell Street and First Avenue, is one of the city’s
oldest co-ops, founded with city and federal funding in the early
1980s. Members of the co-op own the upper half of the building, while
Jim Egbert owns and operates Egbert’s, a furniture store on the
building’s ground level and in the basement. Apex
members—artists, educators, social workers, and truck
drivers—pay a deposit and monthly dues ranging from $235 to $529
to effectively purchase their units—extremely affordable,
considering the Apex’s prime downtown location.

In 2006, developer Saltaire Construction bought the lot on the north
side of the Apex to build a 34-unit condo complex. The company also
approached Egbert, hoping to purchase his space. In June 2007, Saltaire
partner Gerry Lacaille met with Apex members to discuss his project,
talk about his potential plans for Egbert’s space, and to see if the
co-op was interested in selling the building. This, Apex residents say,
is when things got testy.

Lacaille told the Apex residents that he wanted to open a restaurant
in the building and, according to Apex board member Sean Brailey,
“described himself as ‘the new sheriff in town.’ The Apex, as a
nonprofit, wasn’t part of his plan.”

Lacaille’s plan did involve turning some or all of Egbert’s space
into a restaurant, which presented some immediate problems for Apex
members. Costs for building improvements are split between the owner of
the ground-floor space and the Apex, and members were concerned about
the costs they might incur from having to bring the building up to code
to incorporate a restaurant. They also worried that the space would
turn into yet another noisy Belltown nightclub. Apex’s bylaws require
member approval for any change of use in the building, so when Apex
didn’t get the answers from Lacaille they were looking for, they denied
his request to change the space to a restaurant.

“They simply refuse to believe—which I take as an
insult—[that] we have plans… to introduce a first-class,
white-linen restaurant on the Egbert’s level,” Lacaille says. “I reach
out as a new neighbor… and I got backstabbed. If there’s tension
between the co-op and our plans, it certainly doesn’t come from our
side.”

Right now, things at the Apex are at a standstill, as attorneys for
Egbert and Apex try to sort out the situation. Ultimately, the Apex
would like to own the level Egbert currently occupies, but they say
they’re just as happy to have a restaurant move in, as long as they
know what they’re getting into.

Lacaille claims he’s no longer interested in buying out the Apex and
says the members should try to purchase Egbert’s space. However, Apex
members received a letter from Egbert’s attorney on May 5 telling them
they should not make an offer on the space because negotiations between
Saltaire and Egbert were still underway.

Brailey says Apex is interested in
codeveloping the building,
but right now they’re still trying to navigate an increasingly
difficult legal situation. Lacaille, however, seems far less open to
negotiation. “Change is inevitable,” he says. “Change will happen in
that building whether it’s under my
administration or Egbert’s
administration.”