UW Tacoma Purchases Artists Lofts building

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TACOMA, Wash. – The University of Washington Tacoma has acquired the McDonald Smith Artists Lofts building in the 1900 block of Pacific Avenue from sellers Grahame and Carol Fenton.

The 36,000-square-foot building includes 21 residential apartments. In addition, the building has three commercial retail tenants, Cutter’s Point Coffee, Urban Xchange and the Clover Park Technical College Downtown Center. The Artists Lofts building is within the campus boundaries but has not been included in near-term campus planning, so renovating the building to create classroom and lab space is unlikely for several years.

“I believe the Artists Lofts building complements the University’s vision for fostering development of a vibrant urban neighborhood,” says UW Tacoma Chancellor Patricia Spakes. “Our goal is to retain a rich mix of residents that includes members of the UW Tacoma community as well as those not directly affiliated with campus.”

Late last year, UW Tacoma officials learned that the Fentons were ready to sell the property.

“Our short-term plans for campus construction involve other buildings, but we try to be in a position to purchase property within our footprint when owners are ready to sell to support our long-term goals for campus expansion,” says Mike Wark, a UW Tacoma spokesperson.

The Fentons, who owned the property for 21 years, sold it to the university for just over $3 million. The transaction included a $500,000 gift component. The University now owns approximately 75 percent of the property within the 46-acre campus established by the Legislature between Tacoma and Pacific avenues and 17th and 21st streets. The state has provided funds for site acquisition in most biennial state budgets since UW Tacoma was established in 1990, although such funds were not provided in the 2005-07 budget.

During this year’s supplemental legislative session, the opportunity to purchase the property became a major priority for the University, local legislators and community leaders. As a result, $4 million was allocated to provide for this and other such purchases.

“Tremendous support from our legislators and the local community made the case for providing state dollars to acquire this and other property during the supplemental budget session. During the previous biennial budget session, a $4 million allocation for general site acquisition had been high on the capital projects list but the funds went to other priorities in the final hours,” says Wark.

The 2005-07 state budget did include $7.5 million toward construction of the $12.5 million Assembly Hall building to replace the Dawg Shed, a public-private project the university is now raising funds to complete.

UW Tacoma will enroll more than 2,300 students this fall, including its first-ever freshman class. The University continues to serve transfer students from community colleges, adults returning to complete bachelor’s degrees and graduate students completing master’s degrees. The campus is set in readapted buildings within the historic Union Station Warehouse District that features three major museums, and a range of retail and restaurants. In addition to expanding access to higher education for Washington residents, UW Tacoma is widely credited with fueling economic revitalization in downtown Tacoma.