Tacoma, located halfway between Olympia and Seattle, is the region’s second most populous city and is the seat of Pierce County. Tacoma provides many modes of transportation, plentiful natural resources, economical power sources, and a deep, sheltered harbor, all of which have contributed to Tacoma’s development as a successful industrial center. Today Tacoma continues its tradition as a hub for trade, with the Port of Tacoma among the most important in the nation and the Pacific Rim.

Downtown Tacoma saw significant residential declines and general deterioration over the past decades, but has made a tremendous recovery in the past dozen years. The recovery took place within the context of infill development, brownfields reclamation, and adaptive reuse.

Tacoma has a number of key accomplishments in the downtown area:

• Environmental clean-up of Thea Foss waterway and construction of pedestrian promenade.
• New University of Washington branch campus which continues to expand.
• Glass Museum, with an art-filled pedestrian bridge to downtown, new Tacoma Art Museum, and the State History Museum.
• Renovation of the historic Rialto and Pantages theatres.
• A soon-to-be finished light rail line, with connections to regional and interstate rail at the new Tacoma Dome park and ride station and garage.

development. The city kicked this new approach off by talking to developers to learn what they thought would help make the city attractive for development. Based on these discussions, the city initiated an "8-week or your money back" permitting process to add certainty to the permitting process. The city also focused strongly on financial tax credit incentives, such as multi-family tax abatements and federal Community Revitalization Deduction credits.

At over 1000 acres, the city accounts for over 3 percent of the city's land.

• Around 4% of the city's population growth was focused in the center, with most of the growth in the 35-49 age group
• Around 2% of the city's housing growth was focused in the center. All of the households added (between 1990 and 2000) were renters, with rents remaining more affordable in the center than in the city as a whole
• Over 35% of the city's employment growth was focused into the center, with almost half being in the Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, and Services sectors.
• Wages and incomes grew at a similar rate in the center as in the city as a whole.

Interviewees in Tacoma described the central message of the city's success as a product of the city's focus on assuring a return on private investment, and on creating value, not process. The downtown struggled in the 1980s and early 1990s, setting the stage for a change in the city council's focus from concentrating on public safety to economic development. Interviewees described this change as a watershed event, leading to the creation of an economic development department, and a shedding of a "zone it and they will come" attitude, to a more proactive and collaborative approach. Private sector interviewees described the city as a full partner who shared their goals.

As the center and city evolve, a number of challenges remain: addressing the significant number of vacant parcels and dilapidated buildings, creating more connections between the waterfront and the uphill portion of the downtown, and sustaining the proactive development focus and marketing.

For more information, visit the following regional growth center related sites:

• City of Tacoma
  • Tacoma Chamber of Commerce
  • UW Tacoma
• Thea Foss Development Authority
• Tacoma Museum of Glass
• 2002 Regional Growth Centers Report, Downtown Tacoma Profile  [pdf]

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