By Dylan Reubenking
dylan@yelmonline.com
Nearly two years after three businesses were destroyed at the Nisqually Plaza strip mall in Yelm, construction is underway for five new suites in the 900 block of Yelm Avenue East.
Happy Feet Spa, Red Nails salon and Freedom Training Center were all destroyed in a large commercial fire on Dec. 22, 2021. The construction in the area began in early August of 2023 and, according to City of Yelm building official Chris Vaccaro, is expected to be completed in April of 2024. The project will cost $1.182 million.
According to Freedom Training Center owner Melanie Medlock, none of the three businesses that were destroyed in the fire will be rebuilt. The “intention” is to build five new businesses, per Vaccaro.
The construction is not expected to impact traffic or parking in the area.
Firefighters responded to a structure fire call shortly after 1 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2021, and when crews arrived, they found the strip mall engulfed in flames. East Olympia Fire District 6, Lacey Fire District Three, the Olympia Fire Department, South Thurston Fire and EMS, and the Bald Hills Fire Department responded to the fire. No one was injured.
