A New Park On The Foss?
We could be seeing another new park on the Foss Waterway. The Foss Waterway Development Authority is considering acquiring a piece of land on the west side of the Waterway and turning that former steam plant site into a park.
The property, located at 1147 East Dock Street, just south of the Murray Morgan Bridge, was formerly home to Consumer’s Central Heating Co, which supplied steam to heat buildings in downtown Tacoma for much of the last century. The site has already undergone significant environmental cleanup. The 180 feet of waterfront and nearby land has had mercury removed, and been capped with clean fill, meeting State Department of Ecology standards to make it ready for development.
According to the TNT he FWDA met Wednesday afternoon to consider the acquisition of the property for $400,000. If the purchase goes forward, they will begin looking for grant funding to develop the park.
So, would you like to see another park on the Foss? What would you like to see done with the property?
Update: The purchase of the property was approved at the November 28 FWDA Board meeting as consistent with the Foss Plan, Tacoma’s Shoreline Master Program, the FWDA Master Redevelopment Strategy, and public desire for more green space on the Foss, as indicated in public meetings for the SMP update and Foss Redevelopment Strategy. None of the funds for the purchase come from the City’s general fund; the acquisition is funded with existing bond fund for Foss capital projects. These funds cannot be used for any operations costs. Purchase of this property brings what was a privately owned shoreline into public ownership. Park design and development will be subject to grant funding.
Filed under: Waterfront, Developments, City Projects, Parks, Foss Waterway, Shoreline Master Program, Foss Waterfront
8 comments
S Stephen Battey November 29, 2012
The city needs more parks. Perhaps they can also finagle a chunk of land from Walmart and put a small park on that lot as well.
F fred davie November 29, 2012
This property should be placed on the market for sale. Metro Parks has already announced cutbacks due to insufficient revenues for proper maintenance. Taking on ANOTHER park project will exacerbate existing problems. Time for sober thinking at park headquarters.
T Tom Llewellyn November 29, 2012
Who runs it once it is built? Metro Parks? Because they are broke. FWDA is part of the city, so they must be broke, too. I’m all for making waterfront available to the masses, so I guess if they can buy it with a grant, that’s good for the long run. But I think these days, the focus should be on efforts that will increase our tax base. That means bringing business to Tacoma. Get a good tax base back, and then we’ll all have more money to build parks and keep them open.
T tacoma_1 November 29, 2012
Zone it for office space and then sell it to anyone with cash.
M Mofo from the Hood November 30, 2012
This property is the ideal location for the FWDA Museum of Consumer Steam.
J John November 30, 2012
The city needs to sell every bit of unused land it owns. That way, in the future they won’t be tempted to waste money on such frivolous things as parks. We need the tax income from office buildings and strip malls, far more than we need more areas for the taxpayers to enjoy. I for one, enjoy the look of North Korea and pre-1989 East Berlin. There’s nothing more attractive than cheap concrete buildings and desolation.
P Peter Peter November 30, 2012
There’s nothing more attractive than cheap concrete buildings and desolation.
To be fair, concrete has come a long way in the last few years. We now put faux woodgrain into it to make it more Northwesty.
F fred davie December 4, 2012
“I for one, enjoy the look of North Korea and pre-1989 East Berlin. There’s nothing more attractive than cheap concrete buildings and desolation.” John
That’s funny, John. Apparently you would advocate for another unmaintained city park covered with scotch broom and 4loko beer cans to give Tacoma the look of pre-1989 south side of Chicago. There is certainly a shortage of that look here in Tacoma.