| Windermere Key Realty will move from its longtime location in Key Center on the Key Peninsula to Wauna. Steve Skibbs, co-owner of the real estate agency, purchased the Brookside Restaurant, off State Route 302, and is converting it to an office that will include an open space concept, views of a creek that flows through the back of the property, and an outdoor picnic area.
Skibbs said the move will include adding several new agents, to a total of 18. Co-owner Joyce Tovey will retire upon the move, Skibbs said. Tovey, a 30-year real estate veteran, is the sole owner of the current building, which, according to reports, is up for sale.
“By moving to this new location, I increase the traffic in front of my business by two-thirds more,” Skibbs said. “I’m getting a substantial increase in visibility and also picking up customers who drive to Allyn and Belfair.”
Skibbs said he has been looking for property for some time, but zoning and pricing has limited the choices. He said commercial pricing on the relatively remote Key Peninsula for a while was higher than Gig Harbor, which generally has higher priced real estate.
Skibbs, who started out in the industry in 1972 in California, owns two other Windermere offices, in Gig Harbor and Port Orchard. He was the first broker to open a Windermere office in Pierce County (in 1988), and helped extend the Windermere brand into California several years ago. He has co-owned Windermere Key Realty with Tovey for nine years, and says the Key Peninsula is a growing market, due to having 47 linear miles of waterfront and a lot of undeveloped properties.
“We feel this move will make the agency even larger and more visible,” he said, adding that he planned to continue the level of community involvement the agency has had.
The change of the Brookside Restaurant to an office space brings down the number of sit-down restaurants on the Key Peninsula to four (including a bar & grill). Recently, the owner of another longtime area restaurant, the Huckleberry Inn, also placed her establishment up for sale in expectation of her retirement.
As for the local real estate scene, it may actually expand. Unconfirmed rumors say a John L. Scott office will open in Wauna, right next door to the new Windermere location. Skibbs said he’s heard the talks, and he welcomes competition—already, to the other side of the future Windermere is Green Acres Realty.
“It will be a one-stop shop,” Skibbs said. “(Competition) is good for the consumer and helps them make a wise decision by giving people choices and options. The (Key) Peninsula is growing not also in residents but also in businesses —hopefully there will be more growth coming here. I think we’re running out of lots in Gig Harbor and the future of the area is going in that direction, as well as to the Port Orchard market.”. |
