Imagine Tacoma – bLINK Extensions

Elks Sell South 23rd and Union Property (Thu Jul 2, 12:53 PM by Derek Young) ~ Fast Food Nation?

The News Tribune is reporting that the Tacoma Elks have approved the sale of their parking lot at South 23rd and Union. While Wal-Mart was once trying for the space, the paper’s now saying that:

A member told us this morning that the developer is planning office space, a McDonald’s and a Starbucks

How … oh nevermind.

Previously on Exit133: 23 Union Square

Help Design Kandle Park (Thu Jul 2, 11:06 AM by Derek Young) ~ What Can We Do?

The community, and many Exit133 readers, have had some pretty strong opinions about the future of Kandle Park at North 26th and Orchard. Well, Metro Parks is seeking your input, creativity, and dreams for the new facility.

They’ve provided a map with cut-out design elements (pdf). Get out your scissors and help craft the new vision. It’s like first grade all over again! Once you’ve created your masterpiece, you can scan and email your entry or stuff it into an envelope and find some stamps.

Any brilliant ideas?

Link to Metro Parks Tacoma

Bates President Announces Resignation (Wed Jul 1, 01:24 PM by Derek Young) ~ Changes

We just received word that Bates will be looking for new leadership. President Dr. David Borofsky announced today that he will resign from his post effective Dec. 31, 2009, to pursue other opportunities. He has served as the college’s president for the past five years. The Board of Trustees plans to meet soon to determine the recruitment process to select Borofsky’s successor.

Anybody interested?

Tacoma is the Best Real Estate Market? (Wed Jul 1, 12:31 PM by Derek Young) ~ Who Would've Thunk

We just caught via Twitter a CBS Moneywatch post from last week about life after the recession and the housing market in general. In a segment on the best and worst real estate markets in the country, the Tacoma (Metro Area) came out on top of the Best list just above Boulder, CO. The “worst” market list was led by Miami with a heck of a lot of Florida trailing right behind it.

Things are okay here? I’m an optimist …

Link to CBS Moneywatch

Via @GetRealTacoma and @sustainableMBA

Hollander Reveals Plans for Foss Site 4 (Wed Jul 1, 10:21 AM by Derek Young) ~ Maybe?

The TNT reported yesterday on the latest plans for the Foss Site 4 site along the Thea Foss. Bellingham based Hollander Investments revealed plans for two hotels and an office building in the space between the Esplanade and Thea’s Landing. We’ve been writing about a potential hotel on this site for several years. Now, with Hollander, the company that built the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Tacoma, maybe there’s cash and financing around to make it happen. This is just the beginning of a long process of planning and development. Will it go anywhere?

Link to The News Tribune

Previously on Exit133: On The Market: Foss Waterway Hotel

Volcano's Best Of Tacoma Voting Ends Today (Tue Jun 30, 09:52 AM by Derek Young) ~ ... Still Going

Holiday weeks like this one are generally slow around the office so to fill your time as you await the festivities of the 4th, why not take the Weekly Volcano’s Best Of Tacoma 2009 survey. Today is the last day and you have until 5:00pm today to make your opinion known. Make sure to start early … our intrepid Senior Editor is up to question #99 and just hit the “50% complete” mark.

We are particularly fond of these page one questions:

#4 Best local superhero?
#19 Best way to irritate a Tacoman?
#20 Best Tacoma Blog?
#22 Best use for Tollefson Plaza?

Plus, there are prizes for a few lucky respondents! Prizes!

Link to Best Of Tacoma 2009

Mixed Use Center Public Hearing on Tuesday (Mon Jun 29, 04:17 PM by Derek Young) ~ Thoughts?

We’ve been talking about the potential changes to our mixed-use centers for many many months now. Well, tomorrow is your opportunity to let Council and city staff know what you think. Do you have an opinion about the proposed increases in density requirements, elimination of parking in some areas, changes in design standards, or some other element of the draft recommendations? If so, let yourself be heard!

We’ve been getting emails from our friends at the Cascade Bicycle Club … they’ll be there.

Details
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at approximately 5:30 pm
City Council Chambers Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market Street, 1st Floor

A lot more information can be found at CityofTacoma.org

Previously on Exit133: Should We Eliminate Parking Requirements in Mixed-Use Centers?

OTM: The Bank of California Building is Back Again (Thu Jun 25, 10:19 AM by Derek Young) ~ Big Rooms

We received word recently that the Bank of California building on Pacific Avenue is on the market again. We wrote about it a few years ago – the last time it came on the market. The plan had been to convert the huge lobby into an event space. But, seismic retrofit requirements and an ever morphing economy seems to have changed those plans. The key question for all of you is this … what can you do with this kind of space? Is it possible to preserve the huge wall to wall lobby with 42 foot ceilings? The three vaults must be good for something … Any ideas?

Download the Sales Flyer

Link to CommercialMLS

Previously on Exit133

Will Tacoma Ever Have Local Public Radio? (Thu Jun 25, 09:15 AM by Derek Young) ~ Public Information

Peter Callaghan wrote this morning about the continuing saga of local Public Radio in Tacoma. KXOT, and its attempts to produce local content for the South Sound market, is effectively going away as it isn’t seen as a feasible market. Dominic Black, the local producer and a regular partner of Exit133, will be laid off in August. What does this mean? We’ll wait a bit longer for local radio content …

That said, we do believe that the South Sound has tremendous market potential and opportunity. There are stories down here and people want to hear them.

Link to The News Tribune

Should We Eliminate Parking Requirements in Mixed Use Centers? (Wed Jun 24, 01:13 PM by Derek Young) ~ Never Enough ...

Over the last few months we have sat in on several joint meetings of the Tacoma City Council and the Planning Commission as they discussed the Commissions recommendations for the future of our city’s mixed use centers. One of the recommendations that has been put forward is the elimination of off-street parking requirements in certain areas of the centers. In effect, let the market decide how much parking is needed for new developments in Proctor, McKinley, Fern Hill, South Tacoma, etc, etc. Of course, this is already an active discussion with regard to the downtown International Financial Services Area (IFSA).

So, should it become the rule in the mixed-use centers as well?

The Planning Commission seems to think so. However, a memo sent yesterday by City Manager Eric Anderson to the City Council doesn’t show the same level of enthusiasm.

… it is my understanding that this recommendation was developed to remove a perceived barrier to development and to incent investment, to support alternative transportation options including transit, walking and cycling and to move the City toward an approach to address parking supply based upon market demands.

Although these are all worthwhile objectives which I fully support, I am concerned about putting this change in place before the City has had an opportunity to develop all of the tools to address potential impacts. Before the code’s requirements for off-street parking are removed, it is important that a comprehensive strategy for parking be developed for the centers. This strategy, at a minimum, should include mechanisms to address enforcement, management of on-street parking spaces, improvements to transit facilities and services, street and sidewalk improvements to facilitate trasnportation choices and a means to address concerns for the provision of accessible parking stalls for people with disabilities.

As I have mentioned previously, it is my intent to use the proposed elimination of the parking requirements in the downtown International Financial Services Area (IFSA) as a pilot to test the impacts and effect that the loss of a mandated City requirement has on parking supply and demand. The IFSA is a much smaller geography and several concurrent initiatives to address parking needs and alternative transit options are already underway.

Expanding the elimination of parking requirements beyond the IFSA to sixteen mixed-use centers is premature until we can evaluate the results of the IFSA pilot project. The Commission’s recommendations certainly have merit; however, I caution the Council in enacting this proposal when City resources are not available to fully implement the recommendation. The result could have adverse impacts on the center and immediate neighborhood that were not intended or contemplated.

This memo has gotten a few friends rather riled up already. Should we wait? Should we make the changes now? The next joint meeting is on Tuesday. Plus, there’s a public hearing that evening on the issue. Both should be interesting …

Tacoma City Council Meeting - June 23rd, 2009 (Wed Jun 24, 10:39 AM by Derek Young) ~ Lots of Labor

This week’s City Council meeting was a relatively low key affair. Council approved a significant IT project, bought some garbage containers, agreed to some labor negotiations, and heard about the historic value of a certain church. All in all … pretty quiet.

Consent Agenda

Resolution No. 37812 set Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at approximately 5:30 p.m., as the date for a public hearing by the City Council for further public testimony on a set of potential changes to the downtown parking regulations that would eliminate the parking requirements for new buildings in the portion of downtown known as the International Financial Services Area while providing a means to further address the parking needs of people with disabilities. Previously on Exit133

Regular Agenda

RESOLUTIONS

Purchase Resolution No. 37813 awards contracts to three vendors for sidewalk reconstruction, Municipal Building reroofing, and plastic garbage containers.

Resolution No. 37814 authorizes the execution of Amendment No. 3 to the agreement with Moss & Barnett, in the amount of $80,000, for a cumulative total of $255,000, budgeted from the IT Municipal Cable TV Fund, for legal services in connection with telecommunications, cable, open video, and private communications systems.

Resolution No. 37815 authorizes the execution of a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 483, Custodial and Building Maintenance Unit, which covers 31 budgeted, full-time positions, and provides in part for selective wage adjustments to reflect the 70th percentile of the labor market and increases in 2010 and 2011 tied to the Consumer Price Index, and a provision that allows employees to convert to the Personal Time Off plan, effective retroactive to January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2011.

Resolution No. 37816 authorizes the execution of a Collective Bargaining Agreement with District Lodge 160, on behalf of Local Lodge 297, of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Tacoma Rail Mechanics Unit, which covers 12 budgeted, full-time positions, and provides in part for a general wage increase of 2.5 percent, an increase in meal reimbursement to $12.50 per meal, and a provision that allows employees to convert to the Personal Time Off plan, effective retroactive to January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2012.

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 27808 vacates a portion of East R Street south of East 44th Street and 2.5 feet of the alley right-of-way located on the north side of East 51st Street within the plat of Portland Avenue First Addition, to be incorporated into the Salishan Housing Development.

Ordinance No. 27811 designates the Electronic Content Management System (ECMS) as a Special Project of Limited Duration; authorizing the execution of a Professional Services Agreement in the amount of $205,245, and a Licensing Agreement, in the amount of $1,390,850, plus annual maintenance in the amount of $69,542.50, with Autonomy, Inc.

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES

This week’s First Readings were primarily focused on the Municipal Code changes we mentioned last week following the public hearing. Public testimony did result in an amendment that removed Christ Episcopal Church (312 North K Street) from the North Slope Historic District rezone. The church had no objection to the historic overlay, but it didn’t want to lose their existing or future uses at the property. Given that the property is on the edge of the district and that the NSHD is okay with the exception, the amendment passed through easily.

The full list of changes will be back for final reading next week.

Finally, many thoughts and prayers went out to the family of Dick Sonntag – former City Councilman and community member who passed away earlier this week.

Esplanade Faces Foreclosure in August (Wed Jun 24, 09:02 AM by Derek Young) ~ ...but the views!

The News Tribune is reporting that the Esplanade condominium project on the Foss is facing foreclosure at the end of August unless it can find additional financing. With just 10 of the 162 units sold, it faces some challenges …

Link to The News Tribune

100th Monkey - Old City Hall Edition (Tue Jun 23, 09:53 AM by Dave) ~ there ain't a barrel big enough

100th Monkey returns June 24th and this time the barrel of fun will convene at Tacoma’s Old City Hall. What is it? It’s a gathering of people. Artists. Fans of artists. Art lovers. Simply people. Simply a community. All are welcome and the cost is FREE (as in zip, zilch, zero, nada penny out of your pocket). Get a tile and a tour of this wonderful building too.

They are also supporting donations for My Sister’s Pantry so bring along a can of food for the collection.

Details

Wednesday, June 24th
7:30 to 9:30 pm
Old City Hall
635 Commerce St., Tacoma
Lots of parking nearby

More information at 100thMonkeyTacoma.com

9th Street Closures This Weekend (Tue Jun 23, 09:49 AM by Derek Young) ~ Plan Accordingly

Here’s a wee little update from the Broadway LID team:

9th Street will be closed Saturday and Sunday, June 27th and June 28th, from St. Helens to Commerce. The reason for the closure is to extend a utility trench across 9th Street. The road will re-open to traffic Sunday evening, June 28th.