Old Tacoma City Hall plan might be right on time. Too bad the clocks are still broken.

By now, Tacomans should know better than to do double backflips in excitement when it comes to the future of Old City Hall — even when the city says it’s entering negotiations with a private entrepreneur to redevelop the historic downtown edifice.

But a spirited fist pump would be understandable this week after the city announced its prospective partnership with Surge Tacoma, an appropriately named up-and-coming local group that specializes in providing co-work and start-up space and services. Surge’s proposal was chosen over four other bidders.

This caps the third and perhaps final found (fingers crossed) of solicitations to rescue the 125-year-old icon at 625 Commerce St. It also offers the best chance yet (fingers and toes crossed) that Tacoma taxpayers will see at least some return on their investment.

The City Council voted in 2015 to buy Old City Hall from its erratic private owner for $4 million, despite its appraised value of $1.6 million. The city spent hundreds of thousands more to address public safety issues, such as the threat of falling bricks.

Historic preservation is important for any city, and hope springs eternal that Surge Tacoma will follow through on its proposal for ground-level retail, two rooftop restaurants, 40 “micro” apartments and community space, including rent-free quarters for the Tacoma Historical Society. Company representatives say they would pay $2 million in cash coupled with a like value in “public benefits,” however that’s measured.

For our part, the clearest proof of new life at Old City Hall will be when the exterior clock faces tell accurate time and the clocktower bells ring again.

The building’s boosters have been left at the altar before. The most prominent deal that was never consummated featured McMenamins, the trendsetting Northwest brewpub and inn developer. McMenamins is a glamorous suitor that any city would court.

In 2015, the city spurned three other Old City Hall proposals and signed off on McMenamins’ sexy pitch for basement soaking pools, 60 hotel rooms and several bars. But after months of talks, the deal fell apart as McMenamins doubled down on the historic Elks lodge across the street. That long-awaited renovation now enters its most visible phase.

There’s reason to hope Surge Tacoma is the reliable partner Tacoma’s been waiting for. The group is fronted by co-founder Eli Moreno, owner of Premier Residential, which owns several buildings in Pierce and King counties, including another nearby landmark: the Union Club mansion at 539 Broadway. This year Premier bought the Merkle Hotel at 2405 Pacific Ave., planning to convert it to apartment units for University of Washington Tacoma students.

As a side project, Moreno wants to help save the monarch butterfly. Who’s to say he can’t help save some of Tacoma’s architectural treasures?

All we know is that with his background in tech startups, the city better make sure he has the technology to start up one crucial thing:

The hands of the clock faces on Old City Hall.