Downtown Housing Study is Online
The City of Tacoma recently funded a downtown housing study. I was fortunate enough to sit in one of the presentations and hear from the researching company their perspective on how we’re doing. Lucky for all of you, the Powerpoint presentation and the data will be freely available. The overview is now online (Powerpoint).
To me, it’s interesting to see the inventory numbers and where we’re at today. What’ll be more interesting, however, is where we’re at in six to eighteen months. Why? Because that’s when a lot of these big projects we keep talking about will be open for new residents.
I know several people that are waiting on the big projects to complete before buying a condo in Tacoma. They believe in Tacoma. They believe that they want a condo here. But they don’t want to be the first to enter the market. There is standing inventory, but that’s going to appeal to those willing to be part of an incomplete city. Once the momentum begins to swing, they’ll come. I suspect there are a lot of folks like that waiting to see what happens. So, while fifteen months of inventory today seems scary, I wonder how that may change as the folks waiting in the wings commit. Even if sales are slow, communities will form, people will move in, retail will develop, and even more projects will finish. In the end, Tacoma will be a different place.
I’m not worried.
The Overview Presentation (Powerpoint)
Link to Community and Economic Development
The News Tribune’s take on the presentation is here.
4 comments
C Christine September 20, 2008
That is fantastic! Kellys has been a blighted corner for a long time and its a waste of a good building.
I kind of hope that something to commemorate Red and Donna and everything they were is woven into the remodel. They were friends of mine and I think they both did a lot for this city. I know that they would love E-133 and many other things going on in Tacoma.
It’s exciting that a new tenant is moving in to help this city to thrive, but I will always think of it as Red and Donna’s place. That’s not a bad thing.
J Jesse September 20, 2008
There needs to be a Tacoma Ave LID too. The street is too wide, ugly, and full of trashy people and cars—-> a parking garage for the courthouse? A limit to the number of those bail bonds joints needs to be looked at as there’s way too many. If this place becomes a pub again, I hope they cater to the dive bar crowd as that’s all they are likely to get as this street is scary at night.
But, negativity aside (sorry), you have to start someplace and this is a nice building to set that pace. Maybe we could help the owners and the city with that LID idea?
M Mofo from the Hood September 20, 2008
Here’s a building that sits right on a major intersection, comprised of key government offices and Tacoma’s main library.
There’s the riddle. The three other sides of the intersection have been stable for 50 years. This one building, on a highly visible corner, falls into decay. Explain.
I read the Tribune article and I’m glad that it acknowledged Siri’s Restaurant. I lived across the street from the Siriani family when I was a kid and they were a classy and friendly family. Their son Barry would often invite us neighborhood guys over to play pool and hang out.
So, I’m glad that the building is finally getting a makeover. It’s spray-on remodel job never looked that great to me back in the 1960’s, and the look never improved one bit since then.
A altered chords September 23, 2008
Apparently Red Kelly’s left shortly after I arrived in Tacoma.
The confluence of quality jazz and quality martinis sounds like an Altered Chords slice of heaven.