The King Oscar Motel, located at 1049 Eckerson Road in Centralia, has been sold to Sage Investment Group, the third such purchase in the Harrison Avenue area.
According to the Lewis County Parcels website, Centralia 96 LLC, which is associated with Hubbard and Sage Investments, now owns the King Oscar.
Centralia City Councilor Max Vogt broke the news during his report at the end of Jan. 23’s city council meeting.
“As you may recall, there was a motion and an ordinance in the past, and there was a developer (Sage Investment co-owner Ross Hubbard) that came and wanted to turn the (former) OYO Hotel and (former) Motel 6 into market-rate apartments,” Vogt said. “And the council voted no, which would leave it either for motels or permanent supportive housing, and I was the person who voted definitely against that because I wanted to see market-rate apartments.”
All three hotels are within about a mile of each other in Centralia’s Harrison Avenue commercial district.
According to Vogt, Sage Investments now intends to convert all three into hybrid hotels-apartment complexes, with rooms available for both long- and short-term rentals.
In October of 2022, The Chronicle reported Sage’s purchase of the former Motel 6 with plans to turn the building into “nice, affordable” studio apartments, according to one co-owner.
However, after being involved with the purchase of the former OYO Hotel at the beginning of 2023 with the stated intent to convert it into permanent supportive housing, Hubbard asked the Centralia City Council to rezone the area around the hotel in October of 2023 to go the route of market-rate apartments instead.
Since that request was rejected, Vogt said that he, along with other local business owners, had been working with Hubbard and Sage Investments to see “how we can benefit our community by what (Hubbard) wants to do.”
He added Hubbard and Sage held no ill feelings toward the city for the council’s previous decision, saying Sage Investments now owns the King Oscar along with the former OYO and former Motel 6.
According to Vogt, Sage now wants to have 60 hotel rooms designated in each establishment still, totalling 180.
The Motel 6 originally had 122 total rooms, the OYO had 120 and the King Oscar had 93.
“They understand the loss of our hotel-motel tax, and they want to work with our community. That will benefit us,” Vogt said.
The rooms will be oriented toward parents with children traveling for sports tournaments coming to play in Centralia, according to Vogt, who said they will be affordable.
“If it goes that Sage does not put permanent supportive housing in these hotels, what will happen to the church project that wants to put its tiny homes for transitional housing? Poof, done, because the buffer will no longer apply,” Vogt said. “So we could get market-rate apartments, we’re going to get 180 motel units for our (lodging tax), and then hopefully the church will not need to change their zoning to do their project.”
During the Centralia City Council’s first meeting this year, the council heard and rejected a proposal by the Hope Housing Collaborative of Lewis County, which includes Harrison Square Presbyterian Church, among others, to reduce the minimum buffer distance requirement between two supportive housing facilities from 1,500 feet to 1,300 feet.
Hope Housing aimed to develop a tiny home transitional housing community on land Harrison Square Presbyterian Church owns, but the area is within 1,500 feet of the former Motel 6.
After the council denied Hope Housing’s request, the group was left looking for a new development site, as previously reported by The Chronicle.
Also affecting future uses for the hotels in the Harrison Avenue commercial district is Senate Bill 1042, which the Washington state Legislature passed last year. This bill, which has since been signed into law, dictates code cities in Washington must now amend their codes to incorporate development regulations, necessary zoning changes and other official controls for the conversion of any existing building into housing units.
“(SB 1042) basically allows motels and hotels in our commercial zones to automatically become multi-family housing if they choose,” said Vogt. “Now I know the city hasn’t officially said this is the correct interpretation of this, but I’ve been in contact with an attorney who has been in the Legislature … and he says, ‘absolutely, this is what this ordinance says.’”
This City of Centralia is also currently undergoing its 2024-25 Comprehensive Plan update, where reviews of both zoning codes and buffer areas will be undertaken to ensure city code aligns with state law.
An online survey is currently available for Centralia residents to submit comments pertaining to aspects of the Comprehensive Plan. To access the online survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WDXDQW2.
For information on the plan itself, visit https://www.cityofcentralia.com/563/2025-Comprehensive-Plan-Update.
The Chronicle reached out to the Fearey Agency, a public relations firm representing Sage Investment, for comment on the King Oscar’s purchase and Vogt’s claims at the council meeting, but did not receive a reply to requests for comment.
