On the Market: Superfund Site w/ views. Waterfront.

I remember coming back to Tacoma after winter break in January 1993, grabbing my bike, and riding down the hill to Ruston to watch the smokestack come down. It was quite the party. Little did we know how much nastiness floated over everybody’s lawns when it finally collapsed. At the time it was cool and that’s what mattered.

Fast forward a decade and The News Tribune is reporting that the Asarco site along Ruston Way is now for sale.

Just listed: 67-acre waterfront property with stunning, unobstructed view of Commencement Bay.

Approximately 5,000 feet of waterfront. Easy access to Ruston or Tacoma. Lots of potential for buyer willing to finish cleaning the remnants of 100 years of arsenic and lead contamination from this charming old Superfund site.

For a mere $32,000,000+ you can have a pretty decent view. Build yourself a nice waterfront cabin with a lot of land around you. Personally, I’d plant a few trees and drop a wee house on the hill. Or you could develop the heck out of it and watch the charm of Ruston slowly disappear as it becomes another high priced waterfront neighborhood. Of course there’s still the issue of an incomplete clean-up. If I had a little extra change in my pocket, I’d do it. But I have to buy a new roof soon. So maybe next time.

Now if somebody would just give me a bike trail from Ruston Way around that darn tunnel, I’d be happy.

Link:“Asarco puts Ruston smelter site on the market – The News Tribune”:http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5006084p-4569889c.html