Effort to keep Russell will pay off yet

There’s no second place when a city fights for a major employer: It either wins or loses – and Tacoma lost big last week when Russell Investments announced its move to Seattle.

In this case, though, there’s a consolation prize. The effort to keep Russell in Tacoma produced an extraordinary coalition dedicated to the economic health of the South Sound.

The Tacoma Partnership was launched two years ago by the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County and by its CEO, Bruce Kendall. The EDB enlisted U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, who in turn pulled together other city and political leaders, and went after federal funding for downtown infrastructure improvements.

The City of Tacoma joined the effort to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

It created an international financial services district for the benefit of Russell and companies in the same line of work. Among other things, it offered a break on the local business and occupations tax, hundreds of parking spaces, streetscaping and extensive support for the creation of a new Russell headquarters.

The Tacoma Partnership also won help from the Legislature and governor: millions of additional dollars for downtown improvements, plus tax incentives for construction of the headquarters.

By the time it hit high gear, the partnership included the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, the University of Washington Tacoma, downtown business leaders, state Sen. Derek Kilmer and other area lawmakers.

Under normal circumstances, this effort probably would have succeeded. But nothing was normal when Russell was approaching its decision. A crucial factor was the near-collapse of Seattle’s downtown real estate market in the aftermath of last year’s financial crisis, which left WaMu bankrupt and its 42-story tower up for grabs. The skyscraper’s assessed value was $300 million; Russell’s parent company wound up buying it for $115 million.

But as Kendall and others point out, most of the improvements and incentives the Tacoma Partnership put together would benefit any number of other employers interested in moving to – or expanding in – Tacoma. And while Russell’s departure is a great loss, the looming vacancy of so much premium office space in its downtown building is a great attraction in itself.

The partnership’s two-year effort didn’t persuade Russell to stay, but it has dramatically set the stage for future job creation in the South Sound. That’s anything but a failure.