What a hard loss for Tacoma.

I can’t remember such a single bad event for downtown Tacoma since the Law School left downtown and moved to Seattle taking nearly a thousands students, faculty and staff and leaving a huge abandoned building in Tacoma.

The Tacoma News Tribune (3/12/2006) put it pretty well: “high-rise ghettoes do not work well for the poor, as witness the failed “projects” that have been torn down in various Eastern cities.”

... and

““Not that there’s anything wrong with low-income housing; Tacoma needs more of it. But it doesn’t need an unhealthy concentration of poverty and social problems at the corner of South Ninth and Broadway.”

and finally:

““In any case, the Winthrop has a higher calling than to serve as a 13-story ghetto.”

Yet, now downtown Tacoma looks to be stuck with just such a disfunctional project for the next 30 years in the middle of the theater disrict.

By the way, the design proposal is completely segregated and stigmatizing in my opinion. The floor of “market rate” housing will be at top and have its own elevator down to the main lobby on Broadway which will be renovated.

On the other hand, the “low income” tenants will have their elevator open only on Commerce to keep them out of sight of the visitors to the ballroom or the market rate housing units.

The Winthrop gives low income housing, a policy I generally support, such a bad name.

“What about breaking up the cycles of poverty in these other buildings”

Some housing expert could likely describe it better.

However, from what I understand, there are designated low income housing units. If anyone was able to break out of porverty, they would be ineligible to stay there.

After reading what people have posted I must say this is sad. Not one person has seemed to see the good that has come out of this situation. The winthrop will get a much needed renovation and will indeed still stand to be the icon that it deserves to be. Furthermore, the low income tenants already occupying the winthrop will have a place that is actually worth living in!!
It sounds as if people in response to this matter believe that low income citizens should live in less than adequate living conditions. They’d rather see another multi-million dollar condo complex full of wealthy uptight urbanites (or for that matter stand there empty for all they care) be put in its place than GOD FORBID affordable, livable, apartments. Lets keep it honest people urban renewal generally always means low income and negro removal. Truth of the matter is most of the people calling the winthrop a ‘ghetto’ or the projects are people who i am willing to bet my last dollar have never been to the ghetto and don’t know what its like to live there. The winthrop people, is by far nowhere near ghetto living. To hell with just some bad wires and plumbing, that has been fixed by the way. I’m talking about non working appliances, no running water heat that barely works in the winter insect and rodent infestation. and lets not talk drug infestation THATS GHETTO.We should be standing and appluading for those low incomce residents who finally will have a place to stay that is indeed an icon.
One last thing…maybe just maybe this will clean up the complaints in the area. You put poor people in a poor environment you get a poor outcome. This is a chance to boost peoples moral and self You put poor people in a good environment and make them feel welcome, you will give them hope and reason to better themselves and their environment. If you are against the winthrop providing low income housing after this sale then shame on you. Tacoma needs an attitude adjustment…trying to compete with seattle and bellevue in this high end housing market minus the high end jobs to justify building all these really nice places will prove to be fateful to a great city.