Re: the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association and its proposed mixed-use development on Martin Luther King Way.

Millions of dollars and thousands of hours have been spent on predevelopment. The land has been purchased, the obsolete buildings have been demolished, the environmental clean-up work – including removal of underground gasoline storage tanks – has been completed and approved. The alley vacation is approved, the height debate is settled, the architects and engineers have created their designs.

It would be unwise to not capitalize on all this work and eventually build the development. But who can do it? Not MLKHDA. It is in debt due largely to the recession, the real estate market meltdown and the lack of lending. In retrospect, when Washington Mutual Bank went down, it took down MLKHDA in its wake.

For-profit development corporations to the rescue? Unlikely. Many are in financial difficulty or retrenchment. Besides, they usually do not view Hilltop as a good bet. That leaves city, county, state or federal government as the entities best positioned to proceed.

For instance, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department needs a new home. HUD wants more affordable housing for veterans. Perhaps, not right away, but when the market turns, the land could be transferred over.

As a community, we need to preserve the opportunity to proceed. Most everyone involved agreed this project was doable before the recession hit; it can still be a great way to revitalize the historic Hilltop neighborhood. (Ebersole is a former Tacoma mayor and former MLKHDA employee.)