Giving up on downtown Tacoma? Not so fast …
DAN VOELPEL; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Has Tacoma’s renaissance receded into the dark ages? You might think so.
Foreclosures up 37 percent in a year. Megadeveloper Williams & Dame of Portland can’t figure a profitable way to save the old Elks Temple, so it puts it up for sale.
A glut of unsold condominiums have switched to apartments. Developers of several other announced downtown condominium projects have delayed construction or abandoned plans.
Talk of a boutique hotel on the Foss Waterway remains just talk as the investors can’t secure financing. A Foss office building, originally slated to start construction a year ago this month, must wait until 2009 at least for the market to recover.
Russell Investments says it may ditch Tacoma after more than 70 years.
But wait, dear pessimist, don’t give up just yet. I can think of 10 reasons you should remain bullish on downtown Tacoma.
1. McMenamins: Kicking tires
Just when you want to cry into your mug of Terminator Stout, word has leaked that Mike McMenamin, half of the Portland McMenamin Brothers historic inn and brewpub dynasty, plans to revisit Tacoma this week to tour a specific property with a potential investment partner.
Yes, the McMenamins have their hands full with new projects in Oregon. But McMenamin told me once that the brothers wanted a presence in Tacoma when the right timing, perfect location and corporate expansion workload all meshed.
2. UWT: The next generation
This fall, for the first time, the UWT will serve as a full four-year university when last fall’s first-ever freshmen class becomes sophomores. Look for a record 2,950 students.
3. Brooks Dental Studio: Filling a cavity
Dr. Jamie Brooks will open her chic dentist’s office Friday at 732 Broadway, the first stand-alone dentist in the heart of downtown.
All the new folks who have moved into downtown over the last few years made it possible for a dentist’s office to thrive, she said. Expect more service providers to follow the urban dwellers.
“We were really just drawn to the Theater District,” said Brooks, a Lakewood native and Bellarmine Prep graduate. “It felt a little more like a neighborhood. The people are very friendly and supportive and very confident about the future here. They seem to really care about the area.”
4. Cool New Eats: The Harmon Hub, Maxwell’s, Merende
Within the next four weeks, you can take your taste buds on a trip to three new downtown restaurants.
Pat Nagle, of the Harmon brewpub at the UWT, expects to open his Harmon with a twist, the Harmon Hub, on March 31. It’ll occupy the Tacoma Avenue space vacated by the St. Helens Café fish and chip joint. Nagle’s remake aims for a neighborhood hangout ambiance where you can get breakfast early and pizza and suds late.
Troy Christian, meanwhile, knows how to tease Tacoma’s taste buds. He did it as menumeister and manager with El Gaucho, Asado, Masa and next – Maxwell’s. Ground floor of the renovated Walker, that historic gray sandstone condominium at Sixth and St. Helens avenues. Reportedly, you’ll get a classy, art deco lounge experience. Look for it in early April.
Finally, Merende, will debut next month on Pacific Avenue in the space formerly known as Vin Grotto. Look for Mediterranean dishes courtesy of Jeff Bishop, previously the chef at Tacoma’s Il Fiasco and Gig Harbor’s Brix 25.
In the upward revival of cities, restaurants and artists tend to lead with retail and office space to follow, which makes this trio of new eats a good omen.
5. Hotel Murano: Kiss its glass
If you haven’t seen the glass art remake of the ol’ Sheraton Hotel, do. People will come here just to stay there.
“No time for the local museum on an overnight trip? Try lingering at your hotel.” (USA Today)
“With everyone from Dale Chihuly to Karen LaMonte … as well as a roster of international glass virtuosos, the hotel rivals an art expo in the breadth of work on display.” (Glass Quarterly)
Read the “Temple of Glass” story and see the slide show on
money.cnn.com. In it, Gordon Sondland, president of Provenance Hotels, says, “Art is sort of my drug.” Sure, and Tacoma gets to feel the high from it.
6. Pacific Plaza: Corporate HQ
So you can turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse if you’re PSC Structural Solutions, Absher Construction and BLRB Architects and have $32.5 million.
The current transformation of an early 1970s eyesore of a parking garage, South Park Plaza, into a pleasant contributor to the feel of downtown, by itself, should earn the partners raves.
But how about this? An out-of-town corporation has fallen for the new top-floor office space.
It hasn’t signed a lease yet, but brokers have completed a space plan and nearly finished a tenant improvement budget, which will set the stage for lease negotiations.
If it works out as expected, this multi-state company with more than 500 employees would bring its corporate headquarters to downtown next year.
7. Tall Ships: Part deux
How can 32 ships sailing into Tacoma’s Foss Waterway for a week of public tours and simulated gunbattles float your boat?
Block out July 3-7 for the sailing history, international music and food festival.
Remember this. The first time Tacoma hosted this event in 2005, we won the honor as Port of the Year among all the host cities for the traveling summer sailing event. Beginner’s luck? I don’t think so.
8. Love: Legislature-style
Your 2008 Legislature and Gov. Chris Gregoire must think of Tacoma as that lovable mutt they picked up at the pound. Because they did downtown right before the gavel came down Thursday. Give some love to Sen. Derek Kilmer. Sure he represents Gig Harbor. But the Democrat also works for the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County. That means keeping Russell Investments in downtown Tacoma makes up a key part of Kilmer’s nonlegislative duties.
He introduced a successful bill that means a corporate headquarters built downtown for Russell won’t have to pay sales tax – a $12.5 million savings, minimum.
Top if off with this: The Legislature squelched a bill that would have created a branch campus duplicate of UWT in Everett. Had it passed, the Everett version would have stolen both future funding and students and the singular statewide mission from Tacoma’s Institute of Technology.
9. 2008: The year of downtown living
Today, you have more diverse downtown condominium and apartment options than ever before – all without the pressure that if you don’t decide to buy tomorrow, the price will go up by $10,000 next week.
If you believe Doug Goodman and Bruce Mann, the two economists from the University of Puget Sound, our county’s home prices will bottom out around August through October. So start shopping for your new place downtown.
10. Going Straight: Luzonaramadingdong!
The Gintz Group closed Friday on the purchase of the historic Luzon Building, the Leaning Tower of Tacoma, at South 13th and Pacific Avenue. Ron Gintz predicts you will see staging for the building’s reconstruction into office condominiums by the end of April.
Dan Voelpel: 253-597-8785
dan.voelpel@thenewstribune.com
