First Annual Brew-Five-Three: Tacoma's Beer & Blues Festival

On Saturday, June 22, Tacoma will have its first annual Brew-Five-Three Beer & Blues Festival. Washington breweries, blues bands, and food trucks will take over Broadway for a 21+ block party. The event, presented by Broadway Center and The Beer Essentials, will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Broadway between 9th and 11th in downtown Tacoma.

Over 35+ Washington breweries and cider makers will be there, along with numerous Northwest Blues bands. Advanced tickets are already on sale for $25 ($5 for designated drivers) and will include 8 tasting tokens and a 2.5 ouce collectable pilsner glass. 

 There will also be two collaboration brews created especially for the event by local Tacoma breweries.

 Get your tickets soon!

Thursday, 5/30 Pac Ave Coffee Talk

The City of Tacoma is holding a Pacific Avenue Streetscape Coffee Talk this Thursday, May 30th from 10:30- 11:30 AM at Meconi's Pub & Eatery located at 709 Pacific Avenue.

The goal of the meeting is to provide information on the current and upcoming work schedule, and to seek your input and feedback on the project.  The City welcomes stakeholder comments and questions and welcomes you to attend.

For additional information, contact Mark D'Andrea at 253-591-5518; mdandrea@cityoftacoma.org,call the project's hotline at 253-591-2014, or visit the project website at www.cityoftacoma.org/pacave

Schuster Pkwy Closure 5/28- 7/19

As part of the Stadium Way project, southbound Schuster Parkway will be closed at S. 4th St. beginning May 28 and extending through July 19.  The closure will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday.  One southbound lane will be open after 9 p.m.  Traffic to downtown and/or I-705 will be detoured via S. 4th St./Dock St./S. 15th St.  

The Schuster Parkway sidewalk will be closed to pedestrians for 2-3 weeks during the road closure.  Signs will be in place notifying pedestrians when the sidewalk is closed.  The pedestrian detour will be the same as the vehicle detour. 

For additional information, including a detour plan, go to www.cityoftacoma.org/stadiumway.  Once you are at the web page, scroll down to Phasing Plan and click on Phase 1A to view the detour plan.

Development on the Foss

Today the Tacoma City Council’s Economic Development Subcommittee excitedly listened to a presentation from the Foss Waterway Development Authority (FWDA) regarding the proposed sale and development of Site 1, an empty lot on the Foss Waterway sitting just north of 21st Street Park (under the 509 cable-stay bridge) and south of Albers Mill.

According to the proposal, Site 1 would be developed into The Henry, a mixed-use, residential and commercial structure, which would include 161 apartments, 13,000 square feet of office and retail space, 286 parking stalls, and potentially a rooftop restaurant on one end of the building, and a rooftop dog walk/park on the other. Development of the site would also include numerous offsite improvements to the park and the event space in front of Albers Mill.

The proposed sale price of the property is $25.00 per square foot for a total of $1,291,175, a price consistent with a recent appraisal of Thea’s Landing and Johnny’s Seafood, suggesting that the price is reflective of current market conditions.

The Henry Group, the only group to respond to the FWDA’s Request for Proposals, is the same group that pioneered the first development on the waterway, Thea’s Landing. Lessons learned from that experience are to be incorporated into the building design to provide better views of the waterway.

The project timeline has a bristling pace with construction expected to begin by the end of the year or earlier. Su Dowie, Executive Director of the FWDA, noted that the project was a valuable asset and could assist in getting “State Farm employees housing” downtown. As announced earlier this month, State Farm plans to expand its workforce in downtown Tacoma, bringing 1100 jobs to the area. Further, Dowie suggested that the development was not only a “great fit for the waterfront”, but also that it would bring stability and reassurance to other developers interested in downtown Tacoma.

The project now moves to the FWDA Board Agenda on May 22 and the City Council Agenda on May 29. Shoreline permits are expected to be approved May and June and the design review to be complete by September.

For more information on the project, visit The News Tribune.

PAC Ave April 22 Update and Coffee Talk/Mixer

The contractor is finishing tasks in Phase 1A and has started preliminary work (temporary lighting, potholing, and tree and underground storage tank removal) between S. 7th and S. 9th St. on the west side (expanded Phase 1B).  In an effort to stay on schedule, full construction will begin on the west side between S. 7th and S. 9th St. mid-late next week, weather dependent.  This will include temporary removal of all parking and the installation of revised pedestrian routes in this area.  Traffic detours that are currently in place (use of S.13th St/S.15th St. to I-705) will remain operational.

With this new work, the majority of parking in Phase 1A will open up, with the exception of the S. 11th to S. 12th St. (Starbucks) block due to planter/stair construction in that area.  For all other blocks, the contractor will reserve two parking spaces immediately adjacent to each rain garden to complete final tasks. 

Remaining tasks associated with Phase 1A include:

• Continued work at each rain garden/landscaping
• Miscellaneous sidewalk placement/replacement (vault infill, cobble sections, etc.)
• Concrete planters/stairs between S. 11th and S. 12th St.
• Installation of remaining street lights

 

A flyer update will be distributed to the S. 7th to S. 9th St. area businesses on Monday, April 22nd.

 

In addition, there will be Coffee Talk/ Evening Mixer on Thursday, April 25th from 5:00-6:00 PM at Tacoma Cabana 728 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402 to discuss the project.

The Pacific Avenue Streetscape April 16 Weekly Construction Update

A special public meeting was held last week at the Chamber to discuss the project's schedule and options for making up time due to unforeseen issues.  It was proposed to expand Phase 1B to include the west side of Pacific Avenue from S. 7th to S.13th Street. In preparation for this work, the contractor will begin tree removal, the installation of temporary lighting, and potholing for buried utilities within this expanded area. The contractor will contact adjacent businesses before this preliminary work begins.   

Construction Schedule & Progress

• Sidewalks:  The pedestrian path through Phase 1A is generally complete.  Small portions of sidewalk yet to be constructed include areas receiving a cobble finish in the vicinity of bulb outs, and gray sidewalk panels immediately adjacent to the rain gardens.
• Curb & Gutter:  The majority of the curb & gutter on the east side of Pacific Avenue between S. 9th & S.13th is complete.  Curb and gutter work at the rain gardens is expected to be complete by the end of the month.
• Bulb Outs:  The new bulb out on the SE corner of S. 9th Street is complete and open to pedestrian traffic. The bulb out on the NE corner of S.11th St. is tentatively planned for completion this week.
• Electrical:  Temporary lighting is being installed on the west side of Pacific Avenue between    S. 7th and S. 9th in preparation for the start of the expanded Phase 1B.
• Rain Garden: Concrete work continues in each rain garden in preparation for the installation of the impermeable liners and the placement of treatment media, soils and plants. Work is expected to continue through the end of the month.
• Planters:  Topsoil has been installed at several tree pit/planter locations. Select trees were planted last week from S. 9th to S.12th Street.
• Vault Infill: Work on the vault infill at 1007 Pacific Avenue is ongoing and is expected to be complete by early April.
• Traffic Control: The contractor has replaced a number of the water-filled traffic barriers on the east side of Pacific Avenue with orange traffic barrels. Parking meters and signs are expected to be installed within the next two weeks. Once these are in place, select areas will be opened for parking. 
• Nighttime Security Precautions:  With spring & summer arriving and outdoor patios opening up between 7th and 9th, there is an increase in pedestrian traffic along Pacific Avenue.  The contractor will be taking additional measures to make the work areas along the sidewalks  as safe as possible for the public.

Council Briefing on Hybrid Link Expansion Tomorrow

There has been much discussion on the Tacoma City Council’s preferred expansion of the Sound Transit Tacoma Link. Tomorrow, the Council will hear Sound Transit’s evaluation of a hybrid corridor introduced last month that would incorporate different portions of the original proposed routes from the North End Central, Eastside, and North Downtown Central corridors.
Additionally, Sound Transit will also present information on a different hybrid option.

The Council plans to form a resolution on April 30 in support of a preferred route. For more information, visit the City Council’s website.