Prologis Pulls Out of South Tacoma Deal
A story hit the wires on Friday about how “real estate titan” ProLogis is trying to sell off 33 million square feet of real estate. That reminded us of a little something more local that wasn’t in the story …
ProLogis has decided to walk away from their proposed South Tacoma project. The 5 building, 1.9 million square foot warehouse/distribution center project on the 158 acre BNSF property in South Tacoma would’ve represented a $120 million investment creating more than 500 jobs with annual tax revenues estimated at $1.5 million. Construction was expected to begin this year … then this little thing called the economy decided to get all grumpy.
Various city and community stakeholders had been made aware of the change over the last two weeks as the ProLogis project was seen as a significant transformational event for South Tacoma. So … what’s next?
BNSF does not have another buyer for the property. Anybody looking for a little land?
Previously on Exit133
Filed under: General
5 comments
D drizell February 11, 2009
Not surprising at all. For me, this is a sign that there may yet be hope for this property. After all, the only thing ProLogis was proposing was a giant warehousing park with about 3 or 4 low-income jobs per acre. Tacoma can surely do better than this. Let’s hope that property owners have a little bit more vision next time around.
A altered Chords February 11, 2009
Hoping BNSF has a vision for Tacoma? Does BNSF give a rats hoot for Tacoma?
500 jobs and 1.5 mil in tax revenue is arguably better than 0 jobs and 0 tax revenue.
This city needs job creation more than anything else I can think of.
T Thorax O'Tool February 11, 2009
Then let’s plow it down and hire folks to run an organic, petroleum-free farm in the center of town. Not only does it use the lad productively, but farming without the aid of oil is insanely more labor-intensive… thus jobs.
And being organic and stuff gets us extra Al Gore Points®
K Ken February 11, 2009
I’d love to see a farm here, but find it difficult to imagine a superfund site ever earning the ’100% Organic’ label.
Incidentally, I was tooling around today and walked up a hill on the edge of Oakland/Madrona just above TPU. From that knoll there is a great view of the valley that this site is. Vaste open space, completely unused except for the occasional dirt bikers and homeless camps. It would be really fun to have an imagine tacoma session around this space. Boe?
T Thorax O'Tool February 12, 2009
You’d be amazed on what the FDA will qualify as organic. I believe that even lowly Tagro gets FDA organic certification.
And the requirements for Al Gore Points® is even lower. So low that a coal mine can qualify.
Now imagine how sweet that land could be as Point Defiance II.
Not that folks in the South End don’t already have Wapato, Wapato Hts, Alling, Harmon, SERA and Swan Creek….