What Happened to the Broadway LID?

To the Tacoma City Council and other parties concerned with the St. Helens LID.

We all now know that the City Council rejected the contract for the St. Helens LID.  I think we are all hoping to hear that there is some good reason for this sudden change of heart.  The city of Tacoma and the developers in the St. Helens District have always had a common goal. The goal is to improve the business and cultural center of our region which is downtown Tacoma. The revitalization of downtown benefits every person in the city, and anyone near the city, economically, culturally and socially.  It has been made clear by the city that the improvement of downtown is essential.  The developers have responded by investing approximately 400 million dollars into the St. Helens District alone.  That type of influx would be welcomed by just about any city in America. Is Tacoma among them?  The question is asked, because as developers who care about Tacoma, we have been left with a lot of uncertainty.  Without some kind of certainty, the sustainability of growth and improvement in downtown Tacoma will wane.

So, please give us the good news.  Help us understand why the contract for the St. Helens LID was rejected.  Please re-affirm the goal of creating a better, healthier, and more vibrant community that benefits everybody with or without means.  Is the council rejecting the process or the outcome?  It is hard for us to have certainty when the revised LID was rejected despite an almost identical support percentage.  With such a decisive vote, who is representing the developers that are investing an unprecedented amount of development dollars into the St. Helens District?

Has the goal been lost to bureaucracy?  It seems essential that we all keep our eyes on the goal.  If we don’t have the infrastructure to support our goal, then how will we achieve it?  The city council must support those willing to make the commitment to improve downtown.  We are trying to change the very fabric of our community for the better.  We want more economic sustainability.  We want a destination downtown.  We want great places to live in and great services, restaurants and retailers we can walk to.  We want a cultural center.  That cannot happen without action from the city council.  The developers need to know that the city council supports them.  The forthcoming influx of residents, businesses, and economics are the result of people visualizing the end result.  They envision a pedestrian friendly neighborhood that is rewarding to live in. Are we going to tell them they are wrong?  Who is being represented in the council’s decision… certainly not the people who envision the finished LID.  Help us understand that we are looking to the future and not reverting to the past.

I am hoping that this letter is for naught, and that the city council has wisely seen a better route to achieve what the LID was to achieve.  With the exit of retailers because of the pending LID, the deferred maintenance in the St. Helens district, and the 400 million dollars invested in the district, we hope so.  We have faith in the council and support their goals.  The question is does the city council support us?  Please tell us you do….

Sincerely,

Ken Abbott
505 Broadway Associates LLC