Downtowns are a critical component to any region-wide economic development strategy because they are traditionally the hubs of economic activity in any community. This is also true for downtown Tacoma. More businesses, companies, employees and residents are concentrated in downtown, so every resident has a stake in the economic health of the entire downtown region. Every day, 40,000 employees work in downtown Tacoma, and although downtown has become a hub of cultural, entertainment, and recreational opportunities, the City of Tacoma would like to increase commercial investment in the city and provide more job opportunities for the region’s residents.
In order to provide a blueprint for increased investment, the City of Tacoma's Community and Economic Development Department is partnering with AngelouEconomics, an Austin-based economic development consulting firm, to develop an economic development strategic plan for downtown Tacoma. AngelouEconomics is the largest independent economic development consulting firm in the U.S. and specializes in creating strategies for communities seeking high impact investment and targeted, managed growth solutions.
Thank you for your input!
We asked all citizens and business owners in the Tacoma region to complete a brief downtown survey to provide feedback on the development of the strategic plan, and many thanks go to the 619 residents and 123 business owners who responded.
As a result, AngelouEconomics has presented a draft of an economic impact statement describing how downtown affects the balance of the community, as well as Pierce County and the State of Washington as a whole. The results of the business and resident survey were also included. View a handout and the PowerPoint slides, which includes a draft of the economic impact statement.
News!!! AngelouEconomics recently presented a draft of their recommendations to the City of Tacoma's Economic Development Committee, and to the public via a community presentation. For more information, be sure to view Angelou's presentation for an overview, or the full report, of these draft recommendations. Also, be sure to view the community comments from our public meeting regarding these recommendations, along with responses from the City of Tacoma.
After we've gathered your feedback, AngelouEconomics' recommendations for our downtown economic development strateg
y were presented to the Planning Commission and to the full City Council.
As an additional component, The Community and Economic Development Department’s Planning Division has contracted with VIA Architects to review the long-range planning and zoning of the downtown. The overall vision for downtown will be defined consistently for both plans and will be supported by a combined public outreach effort (interviews, focus groups, visioning sessions, online surveys). By integrating the two plans, the City of Tacoma will have a robust and meaningful downtown strategic plan.
AngelouEconomics list of actionable items will be discussed and prioritized by the Tacoma City Council. These could be items that the City will implement directly, or, especially since this is a community-driven initiative, that the City will work with its partner organizations and individuals to implement. You, the community, can remain informed about these initiatives that will form through regular updates that will be included in Forward Tacoma. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to Forward Tacoma.
For more information, contact Rob McNair-Huff, City of Tacoma, at robert.mcnair-huff@cityoftacoma.org or Katie Bullard, AngelouEconomics, at kbullard@angeloueconomics.com.
E-mail contact for this Web site: Robert.mcnair-huff@cityoftacoma.org.