City Seeks State Funds for Downtown and Dome District Improvements

The Tacoma City Council has announced plans to pursue Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT) funds from the State of Washington. As part of the LIFT requirements the Council has proposed to designate downtown Tacoma and the Dome District as a Revenue Development Area (RDA).

LIFT is a variation of Tax Increment Financing (TIF). Although TIF is used in 48 states, the Washington State Constitution prohibits the lending of state credit, and thus the TIF tool. In other states TIF is a method for local jurisdictions to leverage future gains in property taxes to invest in current infrastructure improvements and other economic development initiatives. TIF harnesses the increase in property tax revenue from a growing and redeveloping area to repay bonds that financed the improvements.

Alternatively, LIFT is a community development tool that was approved by the Washington State legislature in 2006. LIFT allows selected local governments to take advantage of tax revenue generated by private investment in a designated RDA to make payments on bonds used to finance public infrastructure improvements. Specifically, LIFT provides up to $6 million annually in redirected state retail sales taxes to help pay for public infrastructure projects that are funded with at least an equal amount of local redirected property taxes. The redirected property tax must be comprised of new regular property tax revenues from new construction within the RDA.

If Tacoma is selected for LIFT funds, up to $1 million per year for 25 years could be invested in infrastructure projects in downtown and the Dome District. The City anticipates designing and constructing the following public improvements in the RDA:

• Structure(s) to accommodate 1,500 parking spaces


• Right-of-way and streetscape improvements including; streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting, landscaping and traffic controls


• Utility infrastructure


• Sustainable storm drainage

Total costs of the proposed improvements are estimated at $72.3 million. The City will invest approximately $45 million (62%) from its Parking Fund, the Real Estate Excise Tax, the Sewer Enterprise Fund, and local property taxes generated from new development in the RDA. It is anticipated that $14 million (19%) of Federal funds would be appropriated for this project. Beginning July 1, 2011, LIFT funds projected to be generated over 25 years would be used to repay a General Obligation Bond, which would yield an estimated $13.3 million (18%) in net proceeds. LIFT would be used primarily for parking infrastructure as well as right-of-way and streetscape improvements.

The City anticipates that the projected investment in public improvements will act as a catalyst to attract at least $400 million of new private investment in office development and the creation of approximately 2,000 well-paying jobs in international financial services, which is a key industry cluster for the City of Tacoma and the State of Washington, and other fields.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on this isue Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm at the City Council Chambers, 747 Market St., 1st floor. The public is invited to comment at the hearing or to submit written inquiries or comments prior to the meeting.

For further information, call or e-mail Bob Levin at (253) 591-5039 / robert.levin@cityoftacoma.org 0r Elly Walkowiak at (253) 591-5209 / ellen.walkowiak@cityoftacoma.org in the Private Capital Division, City of Tacoma Community & Economic Development Department.

The proposed ordinance may be viewed at www.cityoftacoma.org/RDA.

TONIGHT: Dan Burden Livable Communities Lecture

When: 7:00pm – 8:30pm; Tonight May 12, 2008
Where: UWT Carwein Auditorium (Keystone Building in the heart of the UWT campus)
Cost: FREE

Dan Burden is a nationally recognized authority on bicycle and pedestrian facilities and programs. Burden has spent the last thirty years developing, promoting, and evaluating alternative transportation and sustainable communities at national, regional, state, and local levels, and he is the founder of Walkable Communities, Inc. a non-profit consulting firm in Florida. Time magazine has identified Burden as one of the six most important civic innovators in the world, in recognition of his efforts to create better places to live, work, and play.

Burden spent today exploring areas of downtown Tacoma and will share his observations and insights tonight in a 90 minute presentation at the University of Washington Tacoma Carwein Auditorium. Burden’s free lecture to the public will include his thoughts on creating a sustainable urban environment in Tacoma based on improving the area’s livability and walkability.

BIA Security Contact Information

One of the charges of the BIA is to promote safety and security in downtown. The City of Tacoma Police and the BIA Security Team patrol the 84 blocks of the BIA between 6 a.m. and 3 a.m.. During these hours the Security Team also provides security escorts to anyone within the boundaries of the BIA.

To request an escort or to contact BIA security call (253) 383-1131

To contact the Tacoma Police Department’s Cops on Bikes call (253) 692-5891

Urban Design Experts Consider Tacoma

This week the City of Tacoma has been fortunate to host two of the leading thinkers in Urban Design and Planning.

On Tuesday Danish Architect, Lars Gemzoe of Gehl Architects provided suggestions to the City Council, City staff and the public on how Tacoma can enhance its public spaces, particularly Tollefson Plaza. Gemzoe and his firm promote a people oriented design philosophy. They believe that creating a quality environment for people is paramount and must be considered before anything else in order to achieve a lively and sustainable public realm. In their planning efforts Gemzoe and his firm first considers the people that will use the space, next they consider the space itself and lastly they design the buildings. This philosophy and the “12 Quality Criteria” they advocate are crucial to successful public spaces.

In regards to Tollefson Plaza, Gemzoe suggested that the City start by looking at the Plaza from the larger perspective of how and what it connects to; paying special attention to a potential connection with the Thea Foss Waterway. Additionally, Gemzoe emphasized the need to activate the Plaza’s edges with well designed buildings that will frame the space and provide “eyes on the street.”

On Wednesday author and urban advocate, James Howard Kunstler spoke to a packed house at the Theater on the Square. In his lecture Kustler described his perspective on the global energy crisis, which he refers to as the “long emergency.” According to Kustler, this energy emergency can not be resolved, as many believe, through technological innovation. In the second half of the lecture Kunstler moved abruptly from oil to urban form.

In his thoughts on what makes a desirable urban environment Kunstler described strategies for activating urban spaces by paying thoughtful attention to the design and use of adjacent buildings. Similar to Gemzoe, Kunstler recognized that currently Tollefson Plaza is framed entirely by transportation uses. Promoting more active uses along some of the edges of the Plaza has the potential to draw more people to the space.

The advice of both experts is timely, as the City and citizens of Tacoma are currently faced with tough decisions about the form and function of our downtown. The decisions we make today about Tollefson Plaza, downtown parking and the Thea Foss (just to name a few) will have long term ramifications for how Tacoma evolves.

Tacoma ACTS Promotes Green Business in South Sound

Monday morning at the Chamber’s annual Environmental Award Breakfast Stewart Young of BCRA launched the Tacoma Alliance for Clean Technology & Sustainability (Tacoma ACTS). Tacoma ACTS is a business alliance aimed at expanding the South Sound’s green economy. This new effort will:

• Highlight and support green businesses in six environmental areas: sustainable design, clean energy and renewable fuels, energy efficiency, water conservation and treatment, waste management and recycling, and environmental protection and remediation.

• Develop green businesses by providing educational opportunities relevant to green jobs and environmentally freindly business activities for both public and private sector organizations.

• Advocate for the needs of green businesses to establish Pierce County as a leader in green industries. Work with policy makers, business owners and community activists to establish a cohesive agenda for incentives, regulations and policies that benefit and promote green business.

The alliance is currently recruiting members and community advocates. Stewart Young and Dale Anderson of BCRA, Jeff Stallings of Print Northwest and Joanne Buselmeier of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce are the founding members of the alliance. For more information on Tacoma ACTS or to find out how you or your business can join check out the website at http://www.tacomaacts.org/ or email info@TacomaACTS.org

The BIA Blog is Back

After a nearly two month long hiatus the BIA Blog is back.

For more than 22 years Paul Ellis has been the Chamber’s go-to-guy for issues that effect downtown and the Chamber Divisions in Fredrickson, Parkland, Spanaway and University Place/Fircrest. In March Paul embarked on a new endeavor in the Midwest, opening up a great opportunity at the Chamber. I was selected to take over Paul’s duties, including management of the BIA.

I am a native of Tacoma and Vashon Island and am thrilled to be back in Tacoma after three grueling years as a Seattle resident. I come to Chamber from the City of Seattle where I was involved with the South Lake Union Streetcar implementation efforts and Streetcar sponsorships. I previously worked in Tacoma as the Campaign Manager for Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, and served on the campaign staff of Congressman Norm Dicks.

I love Tacoma and am looking forward to providing a fresh perspective to the development efforts occurring here. In my new role I will expand on the Chamber’s efforts with the downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA), the Regional Access and Mobility Partnership (RAMP), and I intend to promote downtown transportation strategies that will benefit residents, retailers and visitors to Tacoma.

I attended high school at Charles Wright Academy in University Place and received my B.A. from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I recently completed Masters degrees from the University of Washington in Public Administration at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and in Urban Planning. My graduate studies focused on transportation policy and community development.

I am thrilled about the strength and commitment of Tacoma’s growing downtown community and am looking forward to working with all of you in the years to come. Please check back regularly for updates on downtown Tacoma and the BIA.

You can reach me at (253) 627-2175 x123 0r ChelseaL@tacomachamber.org

Big Events Will Swell Downtown 'Feet on the Street'

The Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center has just released its list of upcoming large events its scheduled for downtown Tacoma area during the next three months. These events will have more than 1,000 attendees, many of whom will be eating, staying and shopping in the downtown area on the day(s) of their events:

March 8: Lee’s Martial Arts Open - 2,400 attendees

March 14 – 16: Remodeling Exposition 2008 - over 3,000 people during this three-day event
March 23: St. John’s Church Easter Service – 3,000 attendees
April 2: Snowmobile Sneak Peak Preview – 1,500 attendees
April 27: Ben Kaplan City of College Dreams National Tour – 2,500 attendees
May 2-4: NW Dive News – 2,500 people during this three-day event
May 9 & 10: Tacoma City Marathon – 2,000 participants

The BIA will continue delivery of its value-added services during each of these events. With all these additional "feet on the street," downtown stakeholders should plan on helping to put their best foot forward, too.