Developing Parkland

We’ve always thought the little strip of shops and eateries near the PLU campus was a kind of neat, if quaint, little business district (remember From the Bayou?). The addition in recent years of the new bookstore and restaurants in the area has changed the feel a little, and apparently more changes are coming. According to the TNT, Garfield North, a four-story, $20 million mixed-use development with 104 apartments, office, and retail space is planned to break ground later in 2012. A tax break for the residential portion will help make the development possible.

The 2.2-acre mixed-use project is the only building planned so far for the 69 1/2-acre area that would be eligible for the tax exemption. Most of that area – 40 acres – falls within the PLU campus.

Plans call for a mix of retail, office and PLU classroom space on the ground floor. The apartments would make up three floors above ground level.

According to the legislation, the tax break is contingent on 20 percent of the units being rented as affordable housing. Korsmo said the project will target moderate-income households to meet that requirement.

He projected rent would be about $800 a month for a studio, $1,000 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,300 for a two-bedroom apartment.

“We’re going to be offering a very attractive building with some very attractive amenities within the building that people would expect to see in downtown Tacoma or downtown Seattle,” Korsmo said.

Apparently there are some objections to the new project – some mentions of the g-word (gentrification), but mainly complaints about the 12-year property tax break that is helping get the project off the ground. The TNT piece implies that the tax break for the residential portion of the development will cost the tax payers, but the numbers presented by Korsmo make it sound like a winning proposition in the long-run. And the tax break does extend beyond the planned development, which makes up only 2.2 of the nearly 70 acres that would be eligible. … So, who’s looking for development opportunities in Parkland?