It’ll be one big dipper. Tacoma never got its spire, a giant tower once planned as part of the city’s downtown convention center. That icon-that-never-was was done in by its vague sense of purpose and a soaring price tag that eventually hit $7 million.

Now plans are emerging for a 104-foot, steel-and-glass sculpture that could become the city’s newest landmark. Renowned Greek artist Costas Varotsos has designed a sculpture resembling a dipper filled with water as part of the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel’s $20 million transformation into the glass-art-themed Hotel Murano.

The piece will sit on the sidewalk along Broadway, in front of the hotel.

The sculpture will be another in Varotsos’ “Horizon” series, said Tessa Papas, art curator for the Hotel Murano. It’s as if someone scooped up the horizon from the waters of Commencement Bay and set it down in front of the hotel, she said.

The idea for the artwork came from the hotel owners, but it’s destined to become a piece of public art.

Council members approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing the city to spend $110,000 from its general fund as a “donation fee” to acquire the sculpture from the hotel once it’s finished. That’s a small fraction of what it will cost to build it. Varotsos is waiving his artist fee, but KS Tacoma Hotel LLC will spend approximately $700,000 for construction of the piece. It could be worth as much as $2 million when it’s finished, Papas said.

City officials called the planned artwork a spectacular gift to the city and predicted it will become a tourist draw. The sculpture fits with the redesigned hotel’s glass theme, which features a different glass artist on each floor, as well as 13 glass works in the lobby. The Sheraton will become Hotel Murano on Dec. 29. (Murano is an area near Venice that’s the center of Italian glass art.)

City Manager Eric Anderson said the art will provide a connection between Tacoma’s convention center, museums and the theater district. “I believe it will be an important icon for the City of Tacoma,” he said.

Council members were mostly enthusiastic about the sculpture, but they expressed some concern about the cost of maintaining it and the potential for something to go wrong. Councilman Tom Stenger, who voted against the resolution, reminded his colleagues of the ill-fated Water Forest, a bronze and glass fountain sculpture that stood briefly outside the Museum of Glass until it was broken by a boy. More than five years later, officials haven’t figured out how to redesign it in a way that will protect it from future damage and still preserve its original essence.

Stenger also noted that the Bridge of Glass was touted as being bullet-proof before it opened, and yet was damaged by gunfire soon after opening. And he harkened back to the public outcry in the early 1980s over artist Stephen Antonakos’ neon art at the Tacoma Dome. The neon, which was originally intended to go on the outside of the Dome’s roof, was the subject of much public debate. Stenger said he wanted more public discussion of the Varotsos sculpture.

But Councilwoman Julie Anderson said the sculpture is different because it wasn’t commissioned by the city. Anderson also noted that the city’s Arts Commission reviewed the plans and recommended accepting the sculpture into the city’s Municipal Art Collection.

Mayor Bill Baarsma said Tacoma is a different city than it was during the neon art controversy. “In my view, we’ve come a long way from 1983,” he said.

Varotsos is known for creating site-specific monumental sculptures. Papas encountered his work “The Runner” when she lived in Greece, though she didn’t know who the artist was. “There was this incredible sculpture, all plate glass,” she said. “It intrigued me.”

Last year, after the hotel owners asked her to put together a collection, Papas decided to track down the artist who created the sculpture and ended up traveling to Athens to meet with Varotsos.

He agreed to design a sculpture and to waive his fee. “I think he was intrigued that I tracked him down,” Papas said, adding, “He’s really excited about what we’re doing.”

The steel portion of the work is already being fabricated in Portland, and the sculpture could be in place by mid-February.

Other glass artists are intrigued with the hotel’s makeover as well. Nearly 50 internationally known artists will have pieces displayed in the hotel, Papas said. “In certain circles, Tacoma is well-known,” she said.

Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542

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Water Forest may one day reappear at the Museum of Glass plaza.

But Amy McBride, Tacoma arts administrator, has learned not to predict when. Every time it appears the fountain sculpture is fixed, it suffers another setback.

The trouble started more than five years ago, soon after the Museum of Glass opened. A boy crashed into it, knocking over a heavy glass tube and shattering it. Ever since, city officials have been struggling to redesign in a way that will prevent a similar incident.

Last year, they gave up on using glass and switched to cast acrylic for the tubes. In June, workers temporarily installed three of the tubes, and it appeared the fountain would be functioning in about three weeks.

But a new problem emerged with the adhesive that’s supposed to bind the pieces, McBride said. The city contacted the 3M company in Minnesota for help, and is in the process of testing a solution, McBride said. On Friday, she’ll see the results of the latest tests.

The fountain was the work of acclaimed Rhode Island artist Howard Ben Tre. It cost the city $208,000. Twenty hollow tubes, or “trees,” sprouted from the concrete plaza and overflowed with water.

It may not be possible to fix it, but McBride doesn’t want to give up until she’s certain she did everything possible.

“The city is still working on it,” she said.

Jason Hagey, The News Tribune