The City as Landlord
So the city may be buying the four blocks of MLK that includes Browne’s Star Grill, then search for a private developer willing to build on the block.
Along with the Browne’s building, the city would end up with three other parcels that make up the southern portion of a block occupied on the north by the Alberta J. Canada building, a clean and tidy mix of commercial and low-income senior housing that opened in 2001. The city considers the rest of the block either blighted or under-used.
We seem to be seeing mixed messages coming out of the city when it comes to development. “Don’t call us. We’ll call you.” The land in the brewery district was off limits to developers with cash and a vision, but we’ll open up MLK (?). While I like the idea, this hardly seems like the carrot to lure interest in new development. Will we get an innovative developer that can bring interesting architecture and attract business or will we end up with another Marriott-like fiasco?
Filed under: Neighborhoods, Hilltop, Developments, City Projects, Hilltop Development, Brewery District
8 comments
F fred davie February 20, 2013
“A resolution on this week’s agenda would authorize a $333,860 agreement with Pierce Transit to purchase One Regional Card for All (ORCA) Business Cards as part of the City’s Commute Trip Reduction Program for 2013. “
It’s time to declare a hiatus to this program. Tacoma’s salary structure insures that employees are well-paid compared to their counterparts nationwide. They don’t need to be panhandling the council for “spare change.”
C Chris February 20, 2013
State law requires CTR programs for large employers, which the city is.
As someone who used to work for the City of Tacoma, I can tell you, that there are better paying jobs in King County for the same skills. This is not an exorbitant perk. It’s a method of helping employees get from Point A to Point B without using parking spaces and without clogging the highways. It’s a good program, and one that should be expanded to other employers.
F fred davie February 20, 2013
Chris, thanks for that.
I still don’t understand why the council had to place a resolution on the agenda to decide if they were going to follow the CTR program. What is the purpose of the resolution if paying $334,000 is an action required by the state law?
S Stu February 21, 2013
Tacoma has plenty of parking spaces. Few things slow traffic like a bus. Largely empty busses, I might add.
Kill the ORCA. So to speak. It’s an unneeded whale of an expense.
T the usual jamie February 21, 2013
Fred, are you actually suggesting that the council bypass budget approval in any case where they are legally required to purchase something? While I suspect using ORCA for CTR is the best of the options, they could achieve CTR by hiring a schoolbus to pick up employees door to door, or mandating carpooling, or requiring all employees walk, or any number of other means… It’s up to the council to decide whether they are on board with this option.
M Mofo from the Hood February 21, 2013
What if the government built a transit system, paid by tax money from the working poor, and nobody used it?
COMING SUMMER 2013 TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU: “The ORCA Business Card”
Parental Discretion Advised.
M Mofo from the Hood February 24, 2013
(1) Citizens’s have an obligation to surrender their money to government because government knows what’s best for citizen’s and the world.
(2) The government has the right to build transit systems with citizen’s money.
Therefore:
(3) Citizen’s have an obligation to use government transit systems.
M Mofo from the Hood February 24, 2013
ORCA n [origin unknown]: 1: acronym for One Regional Command For All. 2: n [ prob. Gk origin] the mythical entity which exists in order to provide guidance for beliefs, values, and norms. 3: that which the common citizen exists to serve.