Spaceworks Tacoma wants to infuse vacant retail storefronts downtown with art, artists or creative-product entrepreneurs. But property owners first must offer the space, and only one has so far.
The initiative is a partnership between the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, the City of Tacoma and Shunpike, a group that offers business services for artists. An information meeting about Spaceworks will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. April 28 at Suite 133, 703 Pacific Ave.
The group’s plan is to have participants moved in by June and to evaluate the program in August.
Property owners must offer retail space for the program to be successful, said Chelsea Levy, an employee at the Chamber. The idea, detailed at www.spaceworkstacoma.com, is that owners offer spaces at discounted rates for such uses as art exhibition, fledgling entrepreneurs or pop-up events such as poetry slams.
Levy said neighboring cities, including Everett, have similar programs.
Eric Cederstrand, a real estate broker with Colliers International, has volunteered two properties that he co-owns for the Spaceworks project: 632 St. Helens Ave. and 906 Broadway, across from the Pantages Theater.
“We’re hoping that by working with this, we can get some life in there and they might turn into full-fledged businesses,” he said Monday.
Levy said the Spaceworks group is working on a contract for the arrangement, since a typical rental agreement won’t work for temporary uses. She said the deal with Cederstrand, for example, would require the tenant to pay utilities and to have insurance. She said Shunpike, the art-business group, is working on an umbrella insurance policy.
Dominic Accetturo of GVA Kidder Mathews said in December that property owners then were mixed on the idea. The potential payout for landlords is that fledgling retailers might take root and decide to sign longer contracts.
Kathleen Cooper: 253-597-8546
kathleen.cooper@thenewstribune.com
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