The city of University Place will celebrate the groundbreaking of the first private development at its Town Center, Friday, June 22.

SEB Inc., the Tacoma-based developer and builder, has started construction on a five-story mixed-used building that will feature apartments and ground-level retail space. It will be be built atop the parking garage on the north side of the civic and library building. The sale closed last week.

The ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. at the construction site, located at 3609 Market Place West.

The building represents the first private investment in Town Center after the city borrowed more than $40 million in an effort to build its tax base and provide its residents a walkable downtown.

In addition, Frog and Kiwi, a coffee shop that will feature an indoor children’s play structure, opened last week and is planning its own grand opening.

The University Place Pierce County Library opened on the site in February 2011.

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