Tacoma's Historic Shop / Stables To Go Surplus (30. August 2006, 10:26 by Derek Young) ~ What Can I Do With This Space?
So we hear from an intrepid tipster that the city-owned circa 1910 public works building at 2324 South C Street is considered surplus and will be going on the market. Where and what is it? It’s the building between 23rd and 24th on South C street, across from the old power plant that Chihuly bought a few years ago, that looks like an ivy covered stable. In fact, it was originally built to be the city’s shop and stables. Once appraised, the city may be moving it to market.
It’s a cool space. The long profile. The arched doorways. The city block of windows.
My hope is that the building’s next caretakers consider it a piece of history and not just raw land. The question I have is this: what can we (greater community we) do with this building from a preservation and reuse perspective? Could this be an opportunity for a consortium of artists? Maybe it’s the perfect space for a small company with an eye toward history and raw space. Could we find a more public use for it? I don’t know what the right answer may be. Do you have any ideas?
Thank you
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that looks like it could have some potential primo loft apartments, or condos
2 | Posted by Zintradi | Aug 30, 01:03 PM
I happened to be out looking at this area a few days ago. My original interest was the Heidelberg, but ended up looking at a variety of much more interesting architecture instead.
This is a very cool building that needs some loving care. While Tacoma has owned the property, it looks like some maintenance has been neglected (see the roof in photo #1).
I’m not sure how filled up the M-Space is, but they may know if others are interested in a artists-storefront type space. The loading bays could work well for this kind of use.
In the meantime, if it does have historic value, it can always be nominated for the register by an interested individual.
3 | Posted by DavidS | Aug 30, 01:04 PM
This building is a classic, in my top 5 Tacoma favorites – so much potential for use. It sits as an example of how Tacoma can, and has every opportunity to avoid “Vancouverism”. Maximizing density is key to urban regeneration, but the the sucess of regeneration is dependant on preservation and re-designation of character structures. There are so many opportunities for density in the downtown core, how many emerging cities have the vacant land downtown Tacoma has? As a developer, “condo-centric” development is the only thing that pencils out in this town as it’s emerging. Like it or not the high-end market rate condo buyers are the fertilizer that’s needed to make dynamic development possible. Tacoma is on the cusp…before the national development firms circle in,
it’s high time to drum up the interest of entreprenurial businesses and round up patrons for preservation properties like this.
4 | Posted by stacy | Aug 30, 03:04 PM
I wish I had the means to snap up some of these treasures.
”....On the other hand, it is only 2 stories tall and is located in the urban core. Is it on potential view property?”
Just an out-side-of-the-box layman’s observation here, Artspace did a wonderful job at Seattle’s widely-publicized TK Lofts at 115 Prefontaine (Pioneer Square area) by saving an existing, lower structure and storefronts and integrating tall, airy lofts spaces on new floors above, creating a very workable 6-storey mixed-use community of tenants.
5 | Posted by Dave L.(1) | Aug 30, 03:41 PM
i think the location of this building would be perfect for mixed used retail and residential development. basic human services such as gas stations and grocery stores are lacking from downtown. if we want condo development to work, those developments need to be anchored with those types of services. moreover, as the neighboring uwt expands, students and staff alike will also require additional services that this building could provide.
6 | Posted by Tad | Aug 30, 04:47 PM
stacy is absolutely right, this is a top 5 or 10 in tacoma, so much character and potential. i could see it used as a condo/apartments on top, and maybe an open sided brewery/restaurant, with those arches and doors. kinda like Pyramid brewery near the stadiums in seattle.
7 | Posted by craigA | Aug 30, 08:12 PM
DavidS writes: “In the meantime, if it does have historic value, it can always be nominated for the register by an interested individual.”
It sounds like we have an interested individual!
I hope you are on the Historic Tacoma email list. There you will find other interested individuals.
We can’t rely on others to do the work that needs to be done. Each one of us needs to take action.
8 | Posted by morgan | Aug 30, 08:35 PM
I’ve walked around that neighborhood for years and always thought a college campus would fit in well, especially with the old, ivy-covered brick buildings. The Tacoma Power building down the street would be a great concert venue/meeting place. Maybe this is the next entertainment district. Nice to see things finally start to move off Pacific Avenue. I always wondered if the journalists who covered all the new museums ever took the time to walk a few blocks west of Pacific to see that the ‘Renaissance’ only covered a couple blocks; maybe they’ll make it a destination in the near future.
9 | Posted by drizell | Aug 30, 10:15 PM
I work in Fire protection and have been working on a few high rises in down town seattle. There’s a couple of nice ones like an 18 floor tower at 8th and madison(has 4 floors of office/residential, a grocery store and more condos on top of that and 2 floors of parking) and one that we’re developing at 2nd and pine that’s 24 floors including a health club, restaurants and more retail.
as a tacoma native I look as these buildings with envy and wish they had addresses more like 17th and broadway, or 19th and fawcett.
In speaking to the General contractors at the job meetings, they tell me to just wait and be patient because there are projects on the back burner in their head offices for tacoma that are just waiting for the right time. When that time might be, they cannot say.
10 | Posted by Zintradi | Aug 31, 08:34 AM
I love this building. I have a lot of ideas on how the property can be used. But alas, I don’t have the funding! I would love to be able to renovate this property to fit the scene of the urban core, potentially use it as a shop for artists, a community center….the list goes on.
11 | Posted by Jason | Aug 31, 11:37 AM
Hello, Zintradi. I’m in the same line of work, and things have never been busier, have they? I just walked over and looked at the P-I’s illustration showing what Seattle’s skyline will look like by 2010 if everything on the books 50-units or larger is built. Anyone have a sketch of what Tacoma’s skyline would look like? I just finished working on the renovation of Seattle’s Cobb Building myself, and while transforming it into residential, historic preservation was a key goal for the property owner, Unico. It’s great to see historic preservation and adaptive re-use working up there and down here, and it is the opinion of many that the time has come that “building green†has to be a part of it. You see it all over now. For example, the Philosophy of Urban Visions seems to tie together what I understand many of the sentiments to be here on 133. Times sure have changed. I doesn’t seem that long ago that you couldn’t give condo’s away. Anyway, it seems there is not a lack of ideas or inspiration for saving “The Stables.”
12 | Posted by one of the two Dave L.'s | Aug 31, 11:41 AM
they tell me to just wait and be patient because there are projects on the back burner in their head offices for tacoma that are just waiting for the right time. When that time might be, they cannot say.
Unfortunately, we have alot of that in Tacoma, people with grand plans waiting for someone else to do something.
â€This building is a classic, in my top 5 Tacoma favorites†(Stacy)
â€this is a top 5 or 10 in tacoma†(Craig)
†This may be ripe for an editorial in the paper to bring the building to everyone’s attention†(Patrick)
And maybe a list of such promising properties, kinda like the Filthy 15, but different. Opposite, sorta.
15 | Posted by one of the two Dave L.'s | Aug 31, 01:38 PM
Fantastic 15? Fabulous 15? Fab 15?
16 | Posted by KevinFreitas | Aug 31, 03:25 PM
My guess is that with the formation of Historic Tacoma, and with your help, we will be hearing a lot more about buildings like this that have so much potential. If there are other buildings you love or want profiled, send me an email and we’ll get some photos up. Fifteen? Sure. That's a start.
promising 15…
18 | Posted by Joel Parker | Aug 31, 03:42 PM
i like fantastic fifteen.
19 | Posted by craigA | Aug 31, 07:54 PM
I’ve always admired those that will take risks at urban development projects simply because they want to improve the city and not just make a buck. The local developers, while they have made significant contributions in improving our fair city, do not seem to want to take that risk now that Tacoma has matured slightly. People like Blaine Johnson, Herb Simon and Eric Cedarstrand are sitting on acres of developable property downtown that they are doing nothing with.
It seems that the Exit 133 community is growing with new faces all the time. If there are so many people out there who are passionate about the future of Tacoma, why don’t some of us get together and create what we want to see?
Many of the tallest buildings on Seattle’s skyline were speculative office towers built in the 80s. Who says Tacoma can’t be speculative, too? Even if a project doesn’t reward its developer with huge sums of profits, what’s to say that investment in 2006 won’t mean a very healthy city in years to come, and many more potentially lucrative opportunities.
I for one am willing to put my money where my mouth is. Anyone else with me?
21 | Posted by drizell | Aug 31, 10:10 PM
If there are so many people out there who are passionate about the future of Tacoma, why don’t some of us get together and create what we want to see?
I think you have a very good point.
Sometimes it seems like we are all waiting and hoping for the new press release showing that some outside company or investor is going to rescue Tacoma.
Fortunately, there are a number of locals who have started businesses here and reclaimed buildings and invested their own time, money, sweat and tears.
One of the strengths of Exit 133 is that is a forum to promote local businesses and Tacoma itself.
If there are so many people out there who are passionate about the future of Tacoma, why don’t some of us get together and create what we want to see?
Isn’t this how we got the Winthrop built in the first place? Residents pulled their money and built a hotel. I like the idea.
“Exit133: An Investment in Our Community”
Sounds like the founding of an E133, LLC. Even has a decent ring to it.
24 | Posted by DavidS | Sep 1, 12:12 PM
“Isn’t this how we got the Winthrop built in the first place? Residents pulled their money and built a hotel…”
26 | Posted by morgan | Sep 1, 07:03 PM
Isn’t this how we got the Winthrop built in the first place? Residents pulled their money and built a hotel. I like the idea.
Here’s what the original ad stated urging people to build the Winthrop Hotel (around 1920):
Shall we compel these thousands of people (miners), with their stream of gold, to pass on to neighboring towns and cities, or shall we make Tacoma the recognized tourist center…
The ad ends with (gotta love it):
Neighbors! If this be our ambition, let us but stock and build this new hotel.
Today, I say:
Bloggers! If this be our ambition, let us renovate this grand old historic hotel and our city so people do not feel compelled to travel to Seattle!
(With a bit of luck and perseverance, we will hopefully have plans in place to renote the Winthrop Hotel soon)
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