September 26, 2013 · Exit133

A New Eastside Community Center?

Metro Parks Tacoma and the Eastside Neighborhood Advisory Council invite you to a public open house to review the feasibility of building a new state-of-the-art community center on Tacoma's Eastside.

Eastside groups have been working towards a facitlity for a while now, and this spring the City of Tacoma, Metro Parks, Tacoma Housing Authority, and Tacoma School District partnered to fund a feasibility study to answer questions about what it would take to sustain a facility, potential funding strategies, what groups might use a community center, where a faciltiy might be located, and what the community wants in terms of programming.

The center would be for all ages, but in discussions so far a major focus has been on the benefits for Eastside youth. Locations that have come up as potential sites include First Creek and Gault middle schools, and Boze Elementary.

The open house is scheduled for Wednesday, October 2 at the Stewart Heights Pool.

The STAR Center in south Tacoma has celebrated its first anniversary; is it time now for a new Eastside community center?

Filed under: Neighborhoods, Eastside, Get Involved, Parks

5 comments

Fred davie September 26, 2013

The city just sold a youth recreation facility on the east side for pennies on the dollar. This was probably within the last year. Now the city is trying to unload a large building on 35th and McKinley. Why wouldn't this be suitable? Why is the city always looking at extravagantly expensive solutions to it's imaginary problems? Maybe the city leaders could pretend that city spending is always over budget.
Fred davie September 26, 2013

Thirty years ago city leaders insisted that we build a state of the art library on the east side. This was to help the disadvantaged youth. The taxpayers spent about $6M on that library. Then a few years later it was sold as scrap to a day care operator or for a check cashing store. I'm not sure which. The proposed center will be likewise prove unaffordable to build, unaffordable to operate, and will soon become a graffiti covered eyesore of little consequence or import. Maybe one of the nicer east side schools could be used after school and on weekends for the suggested purpose. Let's try as a city to use some common sense.
East side Resident September 26, 2013

City sold a youth recreation facility... That property was owned by The Boys And Girls club. The city had a 10% stake in the building. The property on McKinley Hill is not even big enough to house a gymnasium. Use a school after hours and on weekends... It is a community center, what shall the community use while school or school events are happening? Soon become a graffiti covered eyesore... You do realize the majority of graffiti is happening on the north end of Tacoma? Typical north end business owner: We have nice services and we can't be better if everybody has equal access.
- Fred Davie September 26, 2013
  
  Ha, well for what it's worth, I don't want a community center in north Tacoma either. I want taxpayers to keep MORE of their money so that they can spend it on what pleases them, even perhaps providing for their own families. Also, as a followup to your comment, if the city needs a community center in East Tacoma then why didn't it buy the other 90% of the boys and girls club building? That would have only been about $100K. The building and lot were huge. Would you please provide me with a response? Judging from the tepid use of the Swan Creek Library I would have to conclude that east Tacomans don't really want any community center. That 6 million dollar taxpayer investment is now nothing more than a memory.
East side resident September 27, 2013

Not sure why the city did not buy the rest of th building. The community is moving forward from where it is, not from where should be. You may not want a community center in North Tacoma, South Tacoma, West End, Hilltop or NE Tacoma, but they exist and one does not exist East Tacoma. Please come to the meeting and tell the residents why they don't deserve a community center also.