Commercial RE Outlook Great in 2008, Chamber Told

Friday's sell-out City Center Luncheon presented a panel of positive proponents representing three high quality, signature projects currently under development in the city center:

• Don Arsenault of Arsenault Realty Advisors LLC (developer of Atrium Court);
• Ron Gintz of Gintz Group LLC (developer of 732 Broadway, the former Mecca Theater, and--most recently--the Luzon);
• Dan Putnam of PCS Structural Solutions (principal in Pacific Plaza LLC).

The luncheon--a quarterly event put on by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber--provided a

virtual tour of each project, as well as providing each panelist a few minutes to prognosticate on the future of downtown real estate. The two photos above show before (left) and after (right) of the Atrium Court project.

Despite media talk about economic recession, panelists were bullish about the prospects for profit in downtown real estate in the coming year. Gintz--whose presentation was sub-titled "Great in 2008"--said "our company has reviewed the prospects for a recession and...we have chosen not to participate!"

Chamber President & CEO regaled the crowd with this pithy saying about the transition Tacoma has gone through vis a' vis downtown redevelopment:

For a couple of decades, we were "America's most tired city";
More recently, we have been "America's most wired city"; and
In the future, we can become "America's most admired city".

The Chamber’s quarterly City Center Luncheons highlight projects in the vanguard of downtown’s revitalization, introduce the people who are leading that process, and help delineate current trends and opportunities. This quarter's meeting was sponsored by Venture Bank.