Freighthouse Square For Sale
The TNT is reporting this morning that Freighthouse Square is now for sale. The current owners are losing money on the property and only blame themselves. Bids are due by June 23rd with a minimum of $3.5 million.
If you owned Freighthouse Square, what would you do?
Link to The News Tribune
Filed under: General
33 comments
T tT June 5, 2010
Right now, the businesses there seem to concentrate on the “eclectic” and the “elderly” – two markets that don’t overlap very well at all – they also don’t leave a lot of room for Tacoma’s growing young urban professional population. If I owned Freighthouse Square, I’d find a way to draw in older teens. With the link going down there and the transit center, it’s got great access. Draw them in as teens, and when they graduate (at the Dome, usually), they’ll come by to celebrate. When they start school at UWT, they’ll bring their new-to-town friends down for lunch.
T TacomaThinker June 5, 2010
The post office just sold for under 2 million…and Freighthouse at 3.5? Doubt it.
How about a nexus of local art. Shrink the spaces! 50-200sf makes them affordable. It would be a destination for me on a continued basis and it would finally give the place the life and identity it deserves.
D dolly varden June 5, 2010
Make it a mini-Toshiro Kaplan (in Pioneer Square) live/work space with a bar, cafe, restaurant and a gallery or two. Living by the Sounder/ST Express stop will make it easy for the artists to be part of the Seattle art community as well — not much different time-wise than taking transit from West Seattle.
J Jesse June 5, 2010
I think it will ultimitely end up being offices or a motorcycle museum.
The remaining food vendors will go to food-carts soon. That’s my call.
J jenyum June 5, 2010
The food was the only thing there that ever really did well. I echo what others have said about going for bizarre and narrow markets.
Put in a cinema, even a little discount thing that’s a loss leader, an arcade (which should not lose money) and keep the food. Vendors with appeal to those under 55 should follow, and if they don’t make an offer they can’t refuse.
Otherwise, yeah make it offices or live/work space because no one is attracted to the current business model.
T Tacoma1 June 5, 2010
I think it would be a perfect place for a cinema. A nice brew pub would be great too, especially once Amtrak moves it’s station over to FHSQ. A couple of cold ones before hopping on the train is always a good thing.
M Marisa June 5, 2010
Daily Farmers Market/Pike Place-type setting.
A Altered Chords June 5, 2010
Condos
R Randy Brown June 5, 2010
I agree with Marisa. This place screams unique, grungy Tacoma. It’s the perfect place to move the Tacoma Farmer’s Market to (or at least have a full-time, smaller branch of the market). The food court should stay and so should many of the shops. But the back end of it (the side closest to the Link maintenance facility) where there seems to be a art gallery, should really be a open end market—both food and locally made goods. I also like the idea of making a few spaces somewhere remote live/work type spaces—just remember, this is Tacoma. Make them AFFORDABLE!!! Why is that such a hard concept to get?? Jeez…
N Newscat June 6, 2010
Tacoma Thinker, I love your idea; “A nexus of local art” Reasonably priced spaces for artists to work in a community atmosphere is desperately needed here. There is no reason why it couldn’t co-exist with a farmer’s market, food vendors, and other attractions which would make the square uniquely Tacoma.
J Jenny C June 6, 2010
I will echo the indoor farmers market idea- that seems very ideal and would bring in FOOD and ART vendors. An arcade would work too.
Whatever you do…..please change the outside so it does not look like an ugly green barn!!! No one wants to step foot inside a building that looks like that!!
M Mofo from the Hood June 6, 2010
Petting zoo.
R RR Anderson June 6, 2010
An Anti-Chinese Brothel! a true homage to Tacoma’s past.
A Anike June 6, 2010
I agree with Melissa and Randy. It’s a wonderfully accessible location for a farmers’ market, and if the largest spaces inside were divided up into smaller portions and maybe some table space available for weekly or daily rental, like in the upper part of the Pike Place market, it would be a much better venue for both shopping and selling.
I like the cinema and pub ideas as well. That would be a good addition to the draw of the food court (which is currently the reason why I go to Freighthouse square at all.)
C crenshaw sepulveda June 6, 2010
They had a farmer’s market at the FHS, it was an utter failure. The place is cursed. There are a lot of hobos in that neighborhood trying to stay warm at night. It will not be long before the FHS burns to the ground.
A Altered Chords June 7, 2010
When was the farmers market a failure there? What didn’t work in the past might work now?
Combination Farmers market, food court (can we bring back the authentic German restaurant which was the only reason I went there?) and artist co-op. Have concerts there by local tacoma bands on a regular basis. When my jazz band plays there I want Hells Angels to provide security.
R RR Anderson June 7, 2010
oh man. I remember the Tacoma farmers market at the freight house… oi.
J Jenyum June 7, 2010
Yeah, I’m not sure a farmers market by itself will do the trick. Some kind of big draw like a movie theater is needed.
C captiveyak June 7, 2010
Dan’s List of Freighthouse Square Possibilities;
1. Why don’t we move the AG’s offices to FHS? Then, we can use Pacific Plaza for retail, as the good Lord intended. You’re welcome, Tacoma.
2. Freighthouse Square is an ideal location for the Tacoma Aquarium. Vacant vendor units could be flooded with seawater and stocked with intoxicated orca, squid, octopi, sea lions, dauphins, crabs, etc. Unemployed fishermen from Louisiana could be hired to extricate the creatures from Commencement Bay and transport them to the Square.
3. Since the notion of farmer’s market has already been raised repeatedly, how about another trendy yuppie obsession: iPads! Freighthouse Square could be converted into one enormous iPad store! Or, better yet, an iPad museum, with apartments for “iPad artists-in-residence” programs (that girl who plays piano on the iPad could live there, and those dudes who are really good with that Brushes app).
4. We could bulldoze Freighthouse Square, and erect a statue of two hands anxiously wringing against each other. Then, the site would be dubbed “The Monument to Overreacting”.
5. Video games have been huge for years. But game systems come and go, and soon, you can’t play the games you loved 15 years ago because the platform no longer exists, or because Gamestop no longer stocks it. No longer. VIDEO GAME HISTORY MUSEUM. Every generation of PC, MAC, TI, Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, xbox, et al — for a small fee — is at your fingertips. Curated beautifully by nerds from all over the world.
6. Freighthouse Square is large and provides a great place to play Hide n Seek. Guess who loves cupcakes, smarmy nostalgia, and childhood games enough to actually pay money for them — HIPSTERS. Make Freighthouse Square the world’s biggest EXTREME HIDE N SEEK venue, with twee indie music playing on the loudspeakers all day. Hipsters all over the world would show up in Tacoma to prance around in shortpants and sundresses.
R RR Anderson June 7, 2010
@captiveyak’s #1
dude, save the taxpayer some money! Make Rob McKenna smell that ass smell every day! WOOT!!!
M Mofo from the Hood June 7, 2010
The World’s Largest Asian-Fusion Dollar Store.
A AJ87 June 7, 2010
I have to say this is good news! I always thought of the “Dome District” as a deal breaker. It could be so much more than a place to park your car and take the light rail to downtown for easy parking. Up and coming bars like The New Frontier and the art scene can and should spread from downtown. Why not revitalize Freighthouse into a brewery/concert venue? It could play in to the “grittier” appeal of the neighborhood and provide an alternative to Applebees :P
P Proctor-ite June 7, 2010
I vote for a public market type space with one or two anchor tenants (a Trader Joe’s or some other grocery, and a brewery/restaurant maybe?) One can always dream…
The food court is the only reason to go down there, and it seems like that could be built on. I would love to see something like the Ferry Building in San Francisco or the Oxbow Market in Napa with shops, cafes, bakeries, butchers, craftspeople and artists, etc that are open daily, and then a twice weekly farmers market with local produce.
T TacomaThinker June 8, 2010
Korsmo Construction buys it for the UWT as an apology.
They turn the spaces above the tiny studio’s (see previous idea) into dorms.
The studios co-exist with artists of all ages and media.
…one of which should definitely have a Sega Genesis w/ NBA Live 95
C crenshaw sepulveda June 8, 2010
I was wondering when a Trader Joe’s would be mentioned. BUY NOW!! or INVEST!!
T Thorax O'Tool June 8, 2010
Raze the structure, build a series of nice gardens, paths, a square with a reflecting pool and a 200 meter tall statue of Admiral Ackbar.
It’s a trap!
J Jim June 8, 2010
1. A “Pick-up Point” type of store where commuters can drop off and pick up dry cleaning and shes to be repaired, all done off-site.
2. Indoor farmer’s market. The weather was a real limiting factor on the outdoor version.
3. Brew pub
4. Better art gallery/display. Leave the actual work space for artists somewhere else (cheaper, less critical location) where their chemicals and burning smells won’t clash with the food and where idiot laymen like me won’t interrupt them.
5. Whatever else draws in young professionals.
6. Whatever else draws in teenagers – yeah, maybe, but they may drive away more traffic than they make up for.
7. Get rid of the weird little niche market stuff – a hardwood toy store? Where are all the Manhattanites who want that stuff? Keep all the broad appeal weird stores, like the African fair trade place.
I inacomaintacoma June 8, 2010
whatever this place becomes. it better be more interactive than a food court.
i like the idea of an aquarium/bar. that way i can drink like a fish with the fish.
the sad story is america is broke. the wars are what’s really killing places like thecoma. both economically and culturally. the wars are having a trickledown effect to every place in the nation.
people don’t have money to spend at the vendors. so the venders don’t have money to keep operating.
people don’t have money because america isn’t exporting anything worth anything either product-wise or culture-wise.
we export lady ga ga, and the world responds with M.I.A.
there is so much contrived crap stifling the masses here that all we are whittled down to is the ability to hum a little blues songs. and those little blues songs are the nectar the rest of the world laps up and builds entire waves of music on.
i vote put in an Uwajimaya, but someone is going to have to advertise that crap in north tacoma where the money is and provide enough parking for the socialites. also, how hard is it to make through traffic just to get to the place in order to spend money, that’s to say, how much effort does it take and is the payoff great enough once you get down to said square?
gut the place, put in an Uwajimaya, and make it the nexus for an international district tacoma should have had if not for the tacoma riot of 1885. thanks knights of labor.
M Mofo from the Hood June 9, 2010
Bumper Car Museum.
H hiphopapotamus June 17, 2010
Maybe a Tacoma Boys store along with a saturday market deal that Portland puts on. I like the Uwajimaya idea. They should also allow food carts on the sidewalks on 25th.
C crenshaw sepulveda June 17, 2010
How about a combined Uwajimaya, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market, that’s the ticket. Surround the FHS with condos and Tacoma will be back in business. Buy Now!! or Invest!!
Y You're Welcome June 17, 2010
Keep the existing restaurants and the rest of the space could be a Uwiajimaya. Maybe add a Japanese $1 store. Now that would be cool.
I inacomaintacoma June 18, 2010
i say go full on japanese. firstly, because most tacoma bands instead of having (subpop) behind their names probably should have (big in japan). and secondly, mt rainier (which should be renamed mt tacoma asap) looks like a mt fujiyama. bada bing. is it really that hard to figure out how to develop this freaking town? someone needs to get to work on the damn sounder rail. not having an artery like that flowing into tacoma is unacceptable.