Exit133.com: A Bit of Downtown Chatter

A Bit of Downtown Chatter (13. March 2007, 10:28 by Derek Young) ~ Apartments!

So, the birds are flitting about today. Major breaking news? No. But, for anybody that wanders downtown, it’s pretty relevant. From what we hear the NE corner of South 11th and Market street – a brick building that could definitely use some love – will be renovated into apartments with retail on the street level. We’ve also been told to keep an eye on the Ford / Crescent Ballroom property at 13th and Fawcett. Renovations are set to continue again… Keep your eyes open and your cameras ready.

Update – One more…

Work is scheduled to begin on the old Labor Ready building at Tacoma Avenue & 13th. The inside upper floor is pretty cool- one gigantic open space. It was originally built as a garage – the old growth timber supports used in the construction are amazing!

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I have been in the building on 11th and Market. It is gutted on the inside but the building overall looks to be in good shape.
Did someone actually hear about a sale of the building or did the current owner have a change of heart about selling it? In my and a few developers opinions the building was overpriced and should have been priced at land value.

1 | Posted by Jake | Mar 13, 11:14 AM

This is my favorite building in Tacoma.

The building was listed with WM Riley for a really long time. I remember there being an African Cultural Center or something like that on the 11th St. side as recently as 2002. It’s been boarded up for awhile. There are new windows, but the inside is completely gutted. It’s a 1905 building but the facade shows little architectural significance. The property was listed at $1.8 million for roughly 36,000 square feet, most of which was below grade. That’s about $50 per square foot.

Nice to see some activity finally happening up on Market. This area contains numerous (underused) parking garages and surface lots. Hopefully we will see some infill in the future.

2 | Posted by drizell | Mar 13, 12:05 PM

Also on the improve, as of yesterday (Monday) a rent-a-fence went up around the Luzon – 13th & Pacific/Commerce – so the renovation the owners said would be complete by Fall 2007 is underway at last!

3 | Posted by Mushroom | Mar 13, 01:00 PM

...okay, so that was mentioned downpage a few inches, my bad. It bore repeating. Watching the Luzon’s work begin and the Tacoma National Bank’s work progress, there’s plenty to pay attention to. (Now, as for that pit once known as Sauro’s….)

4 | Posted by Mushroom | Mar 13, 01:11 PM

Check out the linked article and pictures from the 1960s, 2000, 2001, and 2005.

The Crescent’s future looks grim. The windows are mostly busted out, and it appears that transients often occupy it. The “for sale” sign doesn’t give much hope that it will be preserved for the next generation of performing artists and fans. The real estate agent suggests that one side of the building could be made into offices, but the actual ballroom should be torn down for parking.