tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28170135.post3318757276978466513..comments2023-10-17T03:36:04.410-07:00Comments on BIA Blog: Downtown Tacoma: Filling the GapsDavid Schroedelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14533965870997862752noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28170135.post-28256986917950388972008-01-03T21:59:00.000-08:002008-01-03T21:59:00.000-08:00By 2020, Tacoma’s downtown area is expected to add...<I>By 2020, Tacoma’s downtown area is expected to add 11,600 jobs;</I><BR/><BR/>I hope you are right. Tacoma's going to have to get far more competitive with other west coast cities if this is going to occur.Erik B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00482308995128806419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28170135.post-11960818296489194712008-01-03T15:05:00.000-08:002008-01-03T15:05:00.000-08:00Erik:Tacoma's antiquated off-street parking requir...Erik:<BR/><BR/><I>Tacoma's antiquated off-street parking requirement would require someone seeking to build a 40 story office building in downtown Tacoma to also build a $24,000,000, 14 story parking garage</I><BR/><BR/>That's one of the reasons we are kicking off Destination Downtown Door-to-Door this year. <BR/><BR/>By 2020, Tacoma’s downtown area is expected to add 11,600 jobs; given current commute patterns, accommodating this growth will require creation of more than 11,000 new parking stalls at a cost of more than $200 million. Increasing transit use by just 4% over the same period will save Tacoma more than $9 million.Paul Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18240439633650827064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28170135.post-46550380944751051792008-01-02T21:21:00.000-08:002008-01-02T21:21:00.000-08:00These are all facets of the same goal--to fill in ...<I>These are all facets of the same goal--to fill in the "dead spots" in downtown's built environment with more housing, shopping, offices and visitor attractions.</I><BR/><BR/>A worthy goal. Attractive downtowns have continuous retail frontages on their main streets which Tacoma building and land use regulations make almost impossible.<BR/><BR/>Here's a <A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tacoma-urbanist/2121524670/" REL="nofollow">photo downtown Tacoma on Pacific</A> with 6 adjacent parking lots. Not very attractive or functional for a downtown. It makes downtown Tacoma look more like Sea-Tac than a walkable downtown and a barrier for most pedestrians. <BR/><BR/>Yet, this is Tacoma's "Main Street."<BR/><BR/>If Tacoma is going to be able to become competitive with other cities seeking to attract Russell, it needs to closely examine its zoning and building requirements to our competitor cities like Seattle and San Francisco.<BR/><BR/>Right now, the restrictions on building anything significant in downtown Tacoma is going to make it hard for Russell to build a large building. See the <A HREF="http://www.exit133.com/1681" REL="nofollow"><BR/>analysis by Skagit Planner Andre Stone </A> in which he concludes that the City of Tacoma's antiquated off-street parking requirement would require someone seeking to build a 40 story office building in downtown Tacoma to also build a $24,000,000, 14 story parking garage. <BR/><BR/>It is unlikely that Russell will be willing to build such a monstrous and expensive structure when other cities would allow them to construct the amount of parking that they needed and desired based on the market.Erik B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00482308995128806419noreply@blogger.com