What Does the Future Hold for the Dome District?

Not too long ago Jory Adkins and Rick Semple, long-time defenders of Tacoma’s Dome District, bought the Durobilt building. It’s not an obvious investment, and according to a profile of the pair and their project from The News Tribune this week, they bought it in part because they felt sorry for it.

The building was nearly lost between new road projects rising around it, so after purchasing the property for $100,000, Adkins and Semple’s first task was to raise it three feet back to street level. They’re now in the process of renovating the building into retail on the ground floor and possibly apartments above.

And they’re not the only ones betting on the Dome District to pay off in the long run. New businesses are opening, drawn by lower rents, proximity to transportation, and the growing energy they feel in the neighborhood. Then there’s the South Downtown Subarea Plan, the soon-to-be extended Sounder, proposed changes to ease live-work and other development considerations, and conversations about extensions to Tacoma’s Link.

So the Dome District appears to be a rising neighborhood in Tacoma; what will its future hold? Will it go upscale like a mini-version of Portland’s Pearl District? Or will we retain the grittiness? Given Tacoma’s propensity for encouraging clusters, what (if any) clusters do you see emerging in the area?

Read more from The News Tribune.