Tacoma’s Old City Hall set to have restaurants, retail, microapartments and more
What does Eli Moreno see when he looks at Old City Hall?
“So much potential,” Moreno smiles. “A hidden gem. What we see is this beautiful, architecturally well-done building over 100 years old, now ready to shine again.
“We see a lot of new ideas coming out of this place. It will revitalize this area.”
Moreno toured the site Monday on the eve of a resolution before the City Council to approve Moreno’s purchase and redevelopment of the building for $4 million, split between $2 million in cash and $2 million in public benefits.
Council approved the resolution Tuesday evening.
“For the first time in the city’s history, the redevelopment of Old City Hall will incorporate equity into the agreements to enable opportunity for all and celebrate the city’s diversity,” an action statement provided with the council agenda notes.
The plan’s equity strategies include educational programs for Tacoma’s youth as well as a percentage of affordable housing and retail spaces made available to those living or doing business in under-served areas of Tacoma.
As for the building itself, plans call for restaurants, a bar, offices, coworking technology center, retail and microapartments.
“Everything you need under one roof,” Moreno said.
The goal is to make the site the ultimate self-contained hub for a city pivoting to development focused on fewer cars.
The clock is ticking, if not yet the one in the clock tower, with deadlines for completion set for 2021.
“The idea is that bell upstairs, in that tower that hasn’t rung for many decades, will ring once again on New Year’s Eve (2021),” Moreno said.
AGREEMENT DETAILS
The iconic building, a hallmark of Tacoma’s skyline, has languished downtown for years as the city struggled with finding someone to bring it back to life. After three rounds of requests for proposals, Moreno’s Surge Tacoma won out in the third round against four other competitors.
He’s got his preliminary vision online now at https://www.oldcityhalltacoma.com.
The 83 pages of the development agreement include plans, requirements and success metrics Moreno has to meet that he and the city have worked on since September.
“To preserve and adaptively reuse” the building is just the start of it. According to the agreement, the building will include:
▪ Two restaurants, one on Pacific Avenue-side (basement level) and the other at rooftop and enclosed in glass.
▪ A “speakeasy” style bar on the lower level, where the old jail resides.
▪ Retail space on first two levels.
▪ Office and coworking space on the next two levels.
▪ 40 micro-apartments, (roughly 250 square feet each), half at market rate, the other half priced as affordable housing.
“Not very big but very functional,” he said, with plenty of built-ins in the design.
▪ Restaurant with fine dining on top level, event space in the clock tower if economically feasible and exhibit space.
Also, “Restore missing elements, such as an historically appropriate visual facsimile of the copper roofing on both towers, and copper eaves, if economically feasible.”
And, at long last, get the clock running again along with its chimes.
Modifications to the redevelopment plan are allowed if requested in writing, “which the city agrees shall not be unreasonably withheld.”
Also, the developer “is not required to provide parking by city code.” Options are public and private garages, lots and transit, according to the agreement.
The project’s cost is estimated at $15 million.
Another part of the deal is a a total of $2 million in-kind equivalent in public benefits to the city from the project for 10 years, with quarterly reports filed with the city showing the amount. That includes reduced rent to the Tacoma Historical Society, an entrepreneurial education program and affordable housing subsidies.
Moreno is particularly excited about the student entrepreneur program.
“We are entrepreneurs, and we believe the major changes to Tacoma will be by companies that we grow instead of trying to attract a larger company,” Moreno said. “Amazon did not move from somewhere else. It was grown in Seattle. Our goal is to try to find the next Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, and we hope we can do this through the technology center by educating them from an early age.”
One program will focus on students in 10th through 12th grades.
The hope is to “surround them and curate these students,” said Kristine Grace, who is helping to lead the program, “and teach them basic business skills.”
The other program, for post-secondary students, will teach entrepreneur and small business skills, “how to hire, get a bank loan ... teach people how to run a business,” Grace said.
“We know we’ll find people we’re missing, to start within Tacoma and stay within Tacoma,” she added.
Grace said her work at the RAIN biotech incubator has exposed her every day to people with great ideas.
“They just are lacking in the resources and the people and networks to make it happen,” she said. “By giving them the tools, training and technology to make it happen we can see that we can make these things happen.”
“The idea is to create the ecosystem,” Moreno added. “A virtual circle.”
Both programs will be based in Old City Hall’s technology center.
The project is the culmination of Moreno’s work behind Surge Tacoma coworking spaces in the city. There also will be Surge at Old City Hall.
CLOCK CHALLENGE AND TIME LINE
As for the building’s famous clock, Moreno’s launched a national challenge.
“We came up with the challenge (because) that was the first question most people had for him, ‘What are you going to do with the clock?’” said Grace.
“He knew that was really important to the citizens of Tacoma, that the clock be rung. So we decided to give it back to the students ... to come up with the most innovative ideas.”
The challenge will award $5,000 to the student team that comes up with the most creative and effective plan to keep time on all four clock faces, with the clock faces illuminated and the bells chiming during business hours.
The contest is open to collegiate architectural and engineering students.
Among the rules: “Illuminate the tower as the original founders intended as a beacon of our light to our city. Proposals should be made to create a lantern-like effect in the top floor of the tower that will celebrate the history of our original architects.”
Details on the challenge are at this link.
As far as the project time line, the agreement puts a deadline for historic tax credit approval in early 2020, with all the final financial details in place by April 30, 2020 and title transfer by July 31. Construction would start in August of that year.
The agreement sets a Nov. 30, 2021 deadline for finishing construction, and Dec. 15, 2021 for obtaining a certificate of occupancy. Both dates could change, but that would require the city manager’s approval.
Much like the Elks Temple work, Moreno envisions regular updates on the Old City Hall website and on social media to keep Tacomans engaged in the process.
“We believe the significance of this project deserves to have us very well engaged with Tacoma,” Moreno said.
If all goes according to plan, Old City Hall is set to be open for business New Year’s Eve 2021, ringing in the new year, chimes and all.
“In my mind, I believe that this building belongs to everyone in this city,” Moreno said.
This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 10:25 AM.
