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Tue. January 23, 2007, 06:51am PST
Tacoma's dead zones
After wandering around snapping photos the other day, I got to thinking about some of the strangely desolate areas within our city. These "dead zones" are devoid of any notable residents or businesses yet would seem key to helping fill in some gaps of our maturing city. There are three I can think of:
Heidleberg row [ map ]
This one's more of a street, really. Once past S. 21st towards 24th on C Street there isn't much going on. I know there are plenty of other empty blocks further up the hill but this area seems ripe for some investment love. The great old structures/spaces combined with access via 509/705 would make this an easy fit for most local businesses. Heck, surface an old spring to get some fresh water flowing to add a little nature to a relatively run down bit of old industry.
705 shadow [ map ]
Aside from being used as parking lots, the area just to the west of I-705 is fast becoming a dead zone. Some of the businesses there on the edge of the Dome District are moving out. Premium Motors recently vacated and Tacoma Design Market has lease signs hanging outside -- both along A Street there. There is plenty of vagrant, drug and prostitution activity that's only recently calmed slightly but also the impending promise of construction and street closures for the Sounder extension. Heck, most were probably holding on as long as they could in hopes they'd see a LeMay Museum save the area. As long as Brown & Haley stick it out I'm happily only a couple blocks from work to some Roca Boo Boo's.
Salishan plateau [ map ]
Without getting too much into local history (of which I know little detail) this used to be a part of the old Salishan housing development but now sits as an empty plateau. I was up there a couple years ago while doing some research for a college project. Needless to say, I was a bit creeped out by the old, weed-penetrated streets that wound around leading to nothing more than some old house foundations and cement steps or walkways. Is this a Superfund site? Why has nothing been developed here? I see this are turning into a great extension of nearby Swan Creek Park.
* * *
What other dead zones in Tacoma do you know about? How do you think these areas can change for the better? Are any other dead zones forming?
Comments (14) | To Top
1/23/2007 @ 11:47am
Is the area of Salishan you are talking about the area behind Lister Elem. School? I remember when I went to school at McIlvaigh and used to explore Swan Creek park and came upon this area that was just a grid of streets, brush, and trees. Always thought it was a cool spot. Back then I thought, "man I wish I had a go-kart."
by Jake
1/23/2007 @ 11:50am
You nailed the first two that come to my mind, and the third is the area of Fawcett with the Crescent Ballroom and Eagles Lodge -- two huge structures that aren't raising anyone's property values, haven't had anything done with them by whomever has them now, and won't sell because the neighborhood is seedy. Most of the places I would have named five years ago as dead zones (or were on the way) are being revitalized. I very much suspect that as soon as something visibly happens with the Elks Lodge, there will be a little more interest in the gradually withering area around it.
by The Damn Mushroom
1/23/2007 @ 12:10pm
Interesting, There was a recent article in the Tacoma Daily Index on December 27th entitled "The Dead Zone" on Pacific Avenue by Todd Matthews
"A gloomy scene outside Park Plaza South along Pacific Avenue, where street level retail spaces stand vacant and papered over.
They sit in the center of downtown like giant concrete slabs. Two five-story structures, Park Plaza South and Park Plaza North, book ended by the crumbled Luzon Building at South 13th and Pacific Avenue and the run-down Winthrop Hotel at South Ninth and Commerce Streets. They show no signs of budging -- other than, perhaps, total collapse."
by Erik
1/23/2007 @ 12:50pm
Looks like it is.. Wrote before I looked at the map.
Just looked on Govme.com and most of the land is Metro Parks property. It is interesting to see that the long parcels, spaces for the streets and alleys were made ready for more housing running behind McIlvaigh all the way to 56th. Even the McIlvaigh campus has the street/parcel grid running through it. Any one know what the Union Pacific R.O.W (right of way) is for that runs directly behind McIlvaigh.
by Jake
1/23/2007 @ 12:56pm
Hehe, that would be pretty sweet. Yea, it's the same area. I looked, once upon a time, to see who owned that land but now forget. With how high it sits above everything else it would make for a great park.
by KevinFreitas
1/23/2007 @ 1:26pm
The pictures are a great testiment to how far downtown Tacoma has to go to "re-vitalize."
Sometimes it feels like we have not made much progress. There are still dozens and dozens of blocks of pure blight, abandonment and dispair.
Other times when I, such as when we saw the 1980s pictures of Tacoma, its hard to believe how far the downtown has progressed.
by Erik
1/23/2007 @ 4:40pm
I figure that if someone from 75-100 years ago were to look at what the downtown looks like now, they'd have two thoughts:
1) "Look how much this place has changed, there's been some real progress here and I like how some former business spaces have been repurposed as living spaces."
2) "What about these buildings which were vibrant and busy when I was here, which are just now sitting there decaying? Why have you forgotten these noble structures?"
I can't fully agree with the Daily Index assessment. The two "bookends" were the subjects of revitalization at the time of publication, though visible progress hasn't been made as yet. The author should have asked why the former Sauro's Laundry is still a hole in the ground with a fence, rather than turn in the other direction and ask about buildings that are either currently in use or by autumn of this year be in better stead.
by The Damn Mushroom
1/23/2007 @ 8:18pm
My favorite dead zone is Tacoma Avenue from about 11th St. south. Destination Downtown calls for this to be a "green urban boulevard." It's green all right--with lots of vacant lots that you can see from Fife. The area has potential though--with the UWT creeping slowly up the hill and the rowhouse developments creeping down. But it still has a really really long way to go.
by Andre
1/23/2007 @ 8:50pm
Good call on that area, Andre. Tacoma's park blocks! Didn't remember where they are but I've driven by and wondered at their potential. Seriously, maybe we should use them as some much needed green space to buffer the seemingly endless deluge of condos in this town.
by KevinFreitas
1/24/2007 @ 6:56am
I grew up in South Tacoma, so I think of all the old dieing buildings around S. Tacoma Way and in the Nalley Valley area. The entire STW stretch from downtown to Lakewood is a dump, with small pockets of decent life here and there. Center St. has similar areas in between the Oakland neighborhood and downtown. These areas were at one time the center of south Tacoma's livelyhood and are now a decaying part of the city that's getting little attention.
by Joel
1/24/2007 @ 7:06am
The two businesses I mentioned near 705 are both relocating to the Nalley Valley. Good for that area, bad for downtown.
It'll be interesting to see if more businesses make that move if rents downtown keep rising.
by KevinFreitas
1/29/2007 @ 11:44am
any for rent/sale properties in the heidelberg row area that you know of?
by j
6/25/2007 @ 7:57pm
The Salishan plateau isn't as dead as you think. Many people come to these "paved woods" to get exercise, walk their dogs, pick blackberries, view the wildlife (mainly rabbits, newts, and birds), and to ride their dirt bikes. The city uses this area also to train policemen, K-9 units and firefighters.
by dstbny3
6/13/2008 @ 4:54pm
I ran into an old guy on the Salishan Plateau who said that grid of streets has been there since 1942. He also said that there used to be houses on those streets but they were razed in 1950. He also said that technically that area is part of Swan Creek Park and can not be developed in a commercial way. Of course he could have just been a homeless guy.
by Jones