More than 100 business and community leaders participated in recent activities with the Project for Public Spaces, sponsored by the Downtown BIA and its partners. PPS will be producing a final report in 4-6 weeks, but plenty of energy has already been released and some strong recommendations have already emerged:
- Developing a regular "art mart" for Pacific Plaza that will offer local artists the opportunity to hawk their wares;
- Identifying a location (under I-705?) and funding for a skatepark between downtown and the Thea Foss Waterway;
- Exploring ways to better (more pro-actively) manage Pacific Plaza and promote its activation (e.g., fill it with people every day)
If you are interested in helping with one of these efforts--or if you think we've left anything off the list that needs to be pursued right now--please leave a comment.
I really enjoyed the workshop last week. A couple people I know that attended were with me after for lunch and we talked about everything all through lunch! I posted audio of each groups feedback about the zone they evaluated on my website at http://www.kevinfreitas.net/journal/tacoma-public-spaces-workshop/ Feel free to link/distribute however you see fit. These are exciting times for Tacoma and I look forward to helping shape its progress from a good to a great place.
ReplyDeleteCheers! ~ Kevin Freitas
the meeting was really exciting and stimulated a ton of ideas. One question I have, if someone wanted to put on events there currently what would they need to do to get permission to do that?
ReplyDeleteI'll write more of the ideas later when I have more time.
the meeting was really exciting and stimulated a ton of ideas. One question I have, if someone wanted to put on events there currently what would they need to do to get permission to do that?
ReplyDeleteI'll write more of the ideas later when I have more time.
As you all know, the City of Tacoma, our community leaders and many businesses have poured their heart, souls, time and money into what Tacoma has become today. The Convention Center is one of the largest public projects in decades, so we are working very hard to fill it with true Convention business, which will benefit all the our business partners and stimulate the economic growth for the city and community. We are almost always competing with Seattle & Bellevue for this business, so the more people and activities we have on our streets, the more impressed the decision makers for thes groups are when they come for their tours (when considering us)of the facilities & city. The energy here makes all the difference in the world, so we are very excited about all of the ideas and concepts that are now being discussed. It is great to be a part of the process.
ReplyDeleteGrateful!
Carmen McIntyre, GTCTC
The question of ownership came up throughout the seminar. It makes sense to me that the BIA would be the best entity for programing events throughout downtown - not just Pacific Plaza.
ReplyDeleteI know the downtown merchants are very busy with their own events- but they are focused on retail shoppers for the most part.
It would seem logical to me that the entire downtown, not just merchants, would be better served by having one entity in charge of programing events - and I'm guessing the BIA has the clout and $$$ to do a bang-up job.
Thoughts?
Tacoma Convention Center
ReplyDeleteChange the courtyard! What is the point of all of those potted topiary bushes. What a disgrace to the openness and possibility of that space. Emptiness would be better. Pay an artist to come up with something. The topiary pots, speckled about, express no reason or noticeable composition. It's obviously a cheep substitute for a grand possibility.
Sculptures
Farmers Market
Drama Performance
Ice Rink
Rotating Artist Installations
Make it beautiful
Make it grand
Make Tacoma
Better