A story published Friday in the nation’s largest weekday circulation newspaper spotlights University Place as the poster child for how the nation’s financial woes have hit home in many U.S. cities.
The 1,200-word article in the Wall Street Journal explores how the financial crisis roiled UP’s Town Center development, city finances and residents – and how the experience is being repeated on Main Streets throughout the country.
The story called the West Pierce County city of 31,000 people “a reluctant showcase for the downgrading of America,” referring to the recent lowering of the city’s credit rating by one of the three major rating agencies.
The article notes that Moody’s downgraded 163 municipalities in the third quarter while upgrading 31, the worst ratio since the recession began.
The online version of the story shows photos of University Place under the caption: “Paradise lost.”
City Councilman Ken Grassi said the article, which appeared on the front page of the Journal’s Money & Investing section, was fair and accurately portrayed the amount of debt the city has taken on to develop Town Center and make other improvements, as well as the project’s impact on the city budget. The fallout from Town Center has been documented for several years in The News Tribune.
“I’m excited that University Place is getting some national coverage,” Grassi said. “I think it’s certainly not going to do damage and, if anything, I think the good of the article outweighs the bad.”
Grassi, who owns two retail businesses in Tacoma, said a handful of customers mentioned the story, commenting “the past is the past and we can’t change it so let’s look ahead, let’s move forward.”
The reporter, Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, joined the Wall Street Journal in 2000 and has written extensively about the financial struggles of cities, states and other public agencies for more than a year.
She spent two weeks reporting the story and made a trip from New York to University Place.
She and her colleagues searched dozens of cities to find the “one place that captures the spirt of our reporting.” Dugan said they wanted a city with average incomes and unemployment.
“It struck me as a place that really represented America, and the city manager (Steve Sugg, who is quoted in the article) agreed with that,” Dugan said Friday. “It really is Anywhere U.S.A.”
But City Councilman Eric Choiniere said the story gave the vocal few too big a platform. The story quotes a stylist at a UP barber shop who moved out of the city because he “lost faith” and considered talk of Town Center “pie in the sky.”
“I really don’t believe they reflect the true community feeling,” said Choiniere, who noted progress is being made on the mixed-use development.
He noted there are other cities that received more severe credit rating downgrades than University Place.
“We’re in far better shape than other cities out there,” he said.
Christian Hill: 253-274-7390
christian.hill@thenewstribune.com
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