With Americans not spending, however, in an ugly economy, this isn’t a pretty time for the retail industry gathered for the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual Western Division conference.

Yet Rimkus, in a dark tailored suit, carrying his black leather briefcase in one hand and pressing a cell phone to his ear, is decidedly upbeat about his Galaxy Theater chain – and its prospects for an underground, 16-screen signature theater beneath Tacoma’s future LeMay Museum.

He just doesn’t want to talk about it publicly much yet.

“We’re in the ‘building anticipation’ phase now,” said Rimkus, who opened the Galaxy Uptown 10 in Gig Harbor in March. “That’s about all I can say. When I can talk about it, you’ll be the first to know.”

Call it a fear of jinxing the deal, which has a long way to go before anyone will call it done. Or call it professional courtesy to the many other players – the LeMay board, real estate brokers putting pieces together, other potential tenants mulling their participation, the Tacoma Dome, the City of Tacoma.

But what’s become clear from both LeMay officials and City of Tacoma sources is this: Work has begun in earnest to determine whether the land around the future LeMay Museum and the Tacoma Dome could become a destination sports and entertainment district with a slew of compatible attractions, a hotel, restaurants, cafes and shops.

A commitment from Galaxy Theaters to serve as an anchor tenant would act as a grain of sand implanted in a baby oyster. In the retail industry, theater chains attract innumerable other retailers – enough to grow a raw concept into a large, well-rounded, valuable pearl.

The LeMay Museum’s architect, Alan Grant, already has delivered to the City of Tacoma a 100-page book that includes 3-D illustrations and a development plan that shows how to phase in an entertainment district and what it could mean for Tacoma. Two-thirds of it would grow on city land around the Dome, the rest on the parking lots promised to LeMay.

The synergy gained from Dome events, the LeMay Museum, theaters and surrounding shops and restaurants linked by canopy-covered walkways could attract millions of visitors a year, Grant said.

“I have looked at the site for years,” he said, “and it’s one of those unusual sites when you start to look at demographics around the area and you realize there’s no retail entertainment destination anywhere in the region. … Given the location, right on the freeway with the iconic image of the Tacoma Dome right there, it’s a really amazing opportunity.”

In response, the city’s Community and Economic Development Department convened Dome District stakeholders to review old plans for what should happen in the city’s gateway district and gauge support for a massive redevelopment worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

That group’s review and recommendations should come before the City Council in late October. The council’s decision to pursue anything isn’t as simple as voting yes or no, however.

Any project likely would require a significant city investment, probably through the sale of revenue bonds, to construct the necessary parking garages. Revenue made from parking fees would pay off the bonds. Partnering with Sound Transit and Pierce Transit, which will need additional stalls in the district for the opening of commuter rail to Lakewood, would spread the cost around.

In addition, while city officials could immediately tie their fortunes to the first developer in line with a solid concept, “it’s highly likely” the city would open development prospects to competitive proposals, said Ryan Petty, director of Community and Economic Development.

“The exciting news for us,” Petty said, “is that we’ve got market interest in Tacoma even in this tough economic market.”

That’s true. Expansion talk, when you can find it, among the 6,000 brokers, financiers and retailers gathered at the San Diego Convention Center has focused mostly on second-tier, underserved markets like Tacoma.

Grant says that even if Tacoma officials don’t eventually adopt his concept plan for the Dome/LeMay district, he hopes they, and the greater Tacoma community, will think big.

“Tacoma, to me, is a great city. I love it,” he said. “Sometimes people in cities like Tacoma believe only the bigger-size cities have this kind of opportunity and medium-sized cities don’t. That’s not the case. … This is a huge opportunity for Tacoma.”

Likewise, Rimkus, the theater owner, while reluctant to talk about his plans doesn’t mind waxing poetic about Tacoma.

“I love Tacoma,” he said. “It’s got good bones. Now we just have to put some meat on them.”

With a side of buttered popcorn. With the right civic leadership, by this time next year we could put up the sign saying, “Coming Soon.”

Dan Voelpel: 253-597-8785

dan.voelpel@thenewstribune.com

Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | About Our Ads | Advertising Partners | Contact Us | About Us | Site Map | Jobs | RSS
1950 South State Street, Tacoma, Washington 98405 253-597-8742
© Copyright 2009 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company