Tacoma Housing in the New York Times
A new article in the New York Times is currently on-line (although the publication date is Sunday, June 24) about Tacoma’s Salishan project.
The article paints a picture of the turnaround of Salishan with good information about funding the project and its results.
We were interested in this quote, however:
“Tacoma does have [a] stigma,” said Beau Towne, a local real estate agent. But, Mr. Towne said, the city is undergoing a renaissance. He cited the expansion of the University of Washington’s local campus; a thriving artists’ colony that is linked to the Museum of Glass; and the proliferation of mixed-use developments along the Foss Waterway downtown.
We would be interested in asking Mr. Towne what artists’ colony is linked to the Museum of Glass. Anyone know more about that? We’re curious.
Definitely interesting reading.
Also in the Exit133 Forums
9 comments
R Rob July 2, 2008
Hey, we Seattle-ites just moved here to Tacoma – we bought a house too! Maybe more will move down here and prop up the value of our house that just lost $10k in fake Zillow value in the past 30 days. Ouch! But yes, we really like Tacoma. We’re not “native” Washingtonians so we didn’t really know about the Tacoma-stigma. We just thought Tacoma was a genuinely nice place to live with good restaurants and a Metropolitan Market! Granted, the youths here do like their loud thumping ghetto music, but maybe it’s just a summer thing??
T Tacoma (A)roma July 3, 2008
Wow..and to think sometimes I feel guilty for hating people that shop at Metropolitan Market.
And no, our love for “loud thumping ghetto music” is year-round thankyouverymuch.
E Erik S July 3, 2008
Whaa? Behind Ogden and Chattanooga? Are we really supposed to feel grateful?
Anyways, Rob, don’t feel too bad if you “lost” $10K, because you’d probably have lost at least that in Seattle.
K kc July 3, 2008
It confuses me that Tacoma and any of the places on the list are considered “towns.” I’m excited that Tacoma gets the recognition it is due, but to call Tacoma a town when it is a city with a “town” feel to it is a strange thing to do. What are we? A town or a city?
C Chris July 3, 2008
@kc
In comparison with Chinese cities, Tacoma is more like a village with a deep water port.
E Erik S July 3, 2008
KC – By population, Tacoma clearly deserves the “city” tag, however only a fairly small portion of Tacoma features the kind of density and activity (economic and cultural) that many associate with an uppercase ‘C’ City. Tacoma is in some ways a place that’s still trying to grow to refill its old shoes.
Of course, that’s just my guess. If that explanation doesn’t make you feel any better, just note that they also included DC in the list. And DC is really rather large.
J Jenny July 3, 2008
Count me too among the ranks of the former Seattle-ites giving the old *BIRD to our neighbor up north. To expensive, and all of the local flavor has been priced out.
Tacoma rules! <rock horns>
C crenshaw sepulveda July 7, 2008
Eureka and I could hardly make it out on the Ebay photo, a place called “Crusted Butte”, man that is really sad.
E Erik S July 7, 2008
DavidS – That is sad but also cracks me up. Inside the (unranked) Seattle has only a little inset paragraph-thingy about Mayor Nichols buying Priuses for the city, but Seattle stands in for Tacoma on the cover. On the brighter side, the section describing Tacoma doesn’t mention the museum of glass or Chihuly even once!
Jenny – I’m also a Seattlite that made the jump, though I have to confess that I’m somewhat torn about the whole thing. Seattle is definitely getting crappier (trendier, pricier and less soulful) by the hour while Tacoma has come a long, long ways and continues to grow. Right now, however, there’s still a pretty big gap between the activity levels and amenities offered by the two cities. I find myself yearning for the time when more people move from Seattle to Tacoma for some reason other than a cheaper house and perhaps a bigger yard for the kids.
Cheaper/emptier is not enough. That’s what Yelm and Roy are for. Hopefully the article in Outside will help get the word out about Tacoma. Even if they can’t get the name right on the cover.