Renovations to Begin on Foremost Dairy?
The Biz Buzz is reporting that the Seattle owners of the Foremost Dairy Building at South 25th and Pacific have approached the city about permitting for the renovation. They’re looking for both retail and commercial tenants. 60,000 square feet of historic dairy building… ahhh the possibilities.
Link to The News Tribune
Previously on Exit133
Filed under: dowtown-tacoma, foremost-dairy-building
10 comments
A altered chords May 29, 2008
I think it’s obvious that this will become a 60,000 sq. ft. jazz club.
J Jake May 29, 2008
It will be interesting to see what ends up in the building. I brew pub would be cool but the parking is a bit limited in the area.
T tom waits May 29, 2008
“[A] brew pub would be cool but the parking is a bit limited in the area.”
i agree a brewpub would be nice (we need about 3 or 4 more in tacoma) and might resemble the Pyramid Brewery.
but isn’t it a bit ironic that lack of parking would hamper the development of a bar? notwithstanding the light rail stop across the street on a line that terminates at a five story parking structure.
J Jesse May 30, 2008
Tacoma is on a new path. With that in mind, I think it is a shame that these sorts of things make the news here. We should be DEMANDING property owners take care of thier buildings, houses, and properties in a respectable manner and not let them get away with letting them be so run down. It is great that this company wants to rehab the property here (and it’s not SOOOO run-down like many others in town) Maybe we should get together, as a group, and tackle some other buildings and un-kept vacant lots downtown. It’s time to be jerks to these progress inhibiting bad neighbors. What can we do?
L Lance Kagey May 30, 2008
I think this would be a great location for the locavore produce market ala whole foods or the like.
D drizell May 31, 2008
I second that, number 4. Blogs like Exit 133 in other cities post things announcing that a development IS going to happen. Here in Tacoma, so much of what our local blogosphere produces is about what COULD happen, if only _______. This is not an assault on Exit 133 or any other local website. I just hope to someday read less about speculative actions and more about developments that are actually occurring.
Tacoma is still a young city. If we were to think about where Tacoma was ten years ago, today’s bloggers wouldn’t have had too much to write about back then. In the 90s, almost everything was speculation, but at least some things have actually happened since then.
As for getting together to save some neighborhoods and buildings, I’m all for it. It will take money, however, and many of the more vocal folks here who would support such an idea are still trying to pay off their mortgages on their overpriced Craftsman houses in North Slope and Stadium.
J Jesse June 1, 2008
Hey Drizell, #4 here. Nothing against Exit 133 in my post – I love this site. It offers some insight into all the plans on-deck for Tacoma. My point in saying that “I think it is a shame that these sorts of things make the news here” is that I think Tacoma should be shooting for better than being excited about a remodel of a delapitated structure. If the use of the structure changes, then that’s cool, but I think remodels and people taking care of thier properties should be the norm – not the exception. I just think Tacoma deserves better – and should demand better of it’s citizens.
M morgan June 1, 2008
Jesse: We should be DEMANDING property owners take care of their buildings, houses, and properties in a respectable manner and not let them get away with letting them be so run down.
I’m mostly a free market kind of guy, except when it comes to a few bad apples that bring an entire city down.
This will never happen, but I would love to see Tacoma leaders take a stronger approach to vacant properties and create policy similar to what other more progressive cities have done: tax the buggers. The approach can be summarized as “the longer your property sites vacant, the higher your taxes will be.
Of course this is probably illegal in Washington State, since most of our laws haven’t been revised since the Great Depression.
T tressie June 2, 2008
Wow, I announce I’m leaving the n’hood….and look what happens! Yeah me. I hope the Foremost owners will take inspiration from me and be: A)funky, and B)groovy, and C)call the development DairyAire…..
and hopefully the Neener’s bldg will be the next to really get wicked cool ..again……
Oh and drizell…some of us old people Were writing about Tacoma 10 years ago and even farther back. There were these things called: Newspapers, and this thing called: Local Radio…..
I used to write before the internets and computers….I found a lot to write about Tacoma, and still find tons to write about, but sadly, I have to work and can’t spend my days just blogging about my merry adventures……(wink)
D drizell June 3, 2008
That’s a very good point, Morgan. Detroit and Cleveland have a lot of similarities: both aging industrial cities, high unemployment and crime, and lots of vacant buildings and vacant lots. Detroit rewards owners of vacant buildings and lots with lower property taxes, so they have no incentive to build on their property. Cleveland, on the other hand, has used a number of programs to revitalize its inner city. One of them is industrial land banking, while another is a tax program similar to the one you mentioned. The result of these programs has been a major increase in the number of buildings that have been renovated or restored and infill development of vacant lots. Some of Cleveland’s roughest neighborhoods have made a complete turnaround.
Tacoma really should look at this kind of program if it’s serious about reducing crime by 50%. As we all know, rundown and empty buildings and vacant lots conspire to discourage entrepreneurship and investment. These images tell outsiders that a particular neighborhood is not cared for by its businesses and residents. Very few people would be willing to risk a high amount of capital to start a business on a block with lots of boarded-up buildings.
Tacoma can absolutely do better. However, most cities in the U.S. still grapple with these issues all the time, including Seattle and Portland. I think it’s important to report the revitalizations as well as the new buildings.