Now we’re talking…...a step closer to hopefully a Tacoma version of “Pacific Place” downtown with retail…....the space where the post office parks it’s vehicles has to be one of the most wasted spaces in town…..

The post office space has been half-empty for a long time and being a government agency, it is run extremely inefficiently.

There is no retail center in Tacoma’s downtown core and we need a retail anchor, such as Private investor German billionaire Erivan Haub, who has “built office buildings, hotels and condominiums here. Haub has pursued the post office property here to combine with his own and build a multistory urban shopping mall and office space, perhaps with condominiums up high or a destination grocer down low.” (Voelpel, TNT, Nov.1, 2006)

“That can’t happen on the smallish footprint Mr. Haub owns. It requires the post office parking lot to create the superblock necessary to enliven a downtown that has screamed for a retail revival since the 1960s.” (Voelpel, TNT, Nov.1, 2006)

We need something like Haub has proposed to jump start and tether the retail business process. Then more people will risk filling the smaller empty store fronts and existing businesses will get a needed economic shot in the arm. The post office doesn’t have the money or will to do justice for that beautiful building.

...there are other economically viable uses for the land that could have an impact greater than the existing use.

That’s the ultimate question.

Everyone wants to see downtown thrive.

The question is whether removing Tacoma post office will accomplish the task.

This is a big decision for downtown Tacoma. Before the city lets the post office go, they need to analyze what the likely effect net effect will be as well as the different possible outcomes:

1) What is the economic benefit to downtown Tacoma of having the post office located where it is? How many visitors does it bring to the area? How much do they spend? How many employes work at the post office?

2) Where will the new downtown location be? Will the new location be as beneficial to downtown?

3) What assurance will the city have that the property will be developed in a manner everyone hopes for? Will the new use be as econimically beneficial? How long would it take to build?

4) What is the chance the property languishes like the majestic Bank of California building has for the last 10 years?

oh my, you can’t be serious, keeping the status quo for the existing situation with an 80% empty post office building and a square block in the heart of downtown that serves no other purpose than a parking lot…..That square block can not only serve as an underground parking lot with many more spaces, but an economic center for retail in the downtown corridor which would bring dollars into the center of the city, not only during the weekday, but on the weekends. These new people on the weekends, would then stay later in the day and support our already expanding nightlife…...I’m always open to other peoples ideas, but look, the status quo in this situation is unexceptable…....your thinking about $21.05 a person on average for the post office, with a “Pacific Place” type retail center, with good retail, it would be in the $100’s and that would be for 10 times as many people…...

There is such a thing as changing too slowly…....yes, we need to consider all possibilities, but look, the city is already moving at a snails pace with many things….not only do we need new faces on the Thea Foss Board, but frankling on the Council too…...or we’re in danger of not getting to the next level as a city…from my understanding over the last 5 years, there have been many developers trying to get tacoma started, but have been stopped in place due to the city government/council not willing to have an open vision for the future…..this is the time that willl make or break tacoma….let’s not do it again and slip back in the Tacroma days….if they continue to take their time, afraid to take a chance with progress, it will be a shame….

Just imagine, a square block, 3-4 story “Pacific Place” type structure, with several levels of parking underneath with a new theatre for movies in the top, more restaurants, and, lets not forget the additional 10-20 retail stores that people have actually heard of…not a mom and pop place…..now thats progress…..imagine that crowds durning the holiday season…....a real retail destination where you can shop on sunday, and then catch a movie or catch dinner up the street at one of the many new places to eat….

I know, I know, people are worried about Tacoma not having it’s own character (though, we already do if people just wake up), well if you worry too much, the time for advancement and growth will pass us by for a city that is actually interested in change and the future…....That one square block of cement can have some serious effects on Tacoma and it’s growth…it could start a good chain reaction…yes, yes, we have condos, and condos, and some more condos, but who is going to fill those condos????? You get good retail downtown, and the commercial will come along with the condos actually being filled…..

Just one mans view…....

Well, the post office has got to go in the sense of revitalization, not taking the building down…...

We don’t need any more anal historic preservation and anti-development people in this town.

Hey! Watch it! You’re hitting close to home!

Re: Hilltop post office closure

I believe that as one door closes another opens. I hope the Hilltop folks try to keep an open mind. They could end up with something much better than what they currently have.

When I lived Up North- one of my favorite places was this little cafe in Ballard that had good coffee, amazing bread pudding and in the back they had… a post office! If Hilltop had something like that, I would be there every day! And I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone!

By the way, Stadium has a post office inside Ranko’s pharmacy.

1) What is the economic benefit to downtown Tacoma of having the post office located where it is? How many visitors does it bring to the area? How much do they spend?

Does the actual postage that visitors pay at the downtown office directly translate into $ for Tacoma’s economy? I doubt it.

As far as I can tell, folks zip in and out of the PO as quickly as they can muster.

I’m guessing that people who park on A Street aren’t even aware that there’s a Starbucks around the corner. What are the other draws for Holiday mail-ers? The only people I’ve seen mosey around the building are downtown workers who already get their coffee downtown and last-minute cards/gifts at Watermark.

...we need all the steady jobs we can muster in our urban core – and postal worker jobs seem pretty stable.

Funny, one usually doesn’t see the words “postal worker” and “stable” used together in the same sentence, but it applies here.

To further this thought, I think Tacoma would be in remiss if it does not fight to keep any new location within the city boundaries. There is plenty of under-utilized land off I-5 at Portland Avenue. I would much rather see a new facility there instead of Fife. Plus, it could be incorporated into a new mixed-use development.

I never understood why Ted Brown music built their flagship store over there past the mall right smack between Hooters and Castles. That store would be great downtown, as would Guitar Center.

They perceive it is a better market there.

I would think it a shame to lose our downtown post office. With that said, that building is not being used to its full potential and I welcome the right person to develop it into something beneficial to the downtown environment, specifically retail. Let’s hope, like the Winthrop, this can be a win-win situation and perhaps the post office will find a suitable location elsewhere but nearby. Those of us (downtown) who pay monthly taxes like the luxury of this drive-up post office at the end of the day on the 15th!