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  #121  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2008, 1:24 AM
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Const Update (Part 2)

The Midtown lofts... just down the block from the Vilaggio.
They've added steel since the past time I went by


There you can see the construction crew hard at work, raising the building up more...


Stairs already up? Interesting...
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  #122  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2008, 1:36 AM
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Const Update (Part 3)

Park Place South... soon to be Pacific Place.

The city is finally doing something about this eyesore (next should pe Park Pl North... it's even worse).

What is promised:


What it currently is:


Looking up the hill towards Commerce and the Murano


Currently, the Tacoma Financial Center looming above. Park Place does not compliment anything, especially the TFC


According to our render, how the new Pacific Place will accommodate it's big neighbor.
Looks much better!


Inside... hard to tell much other than the mess they're making with all the structural changes


New columns in the works!


2 more stories of parking, 3 of Class A office to go...


This location really is premo real estate. This is the view from across Pac Ave from the Wells Fargo Plaza. It's a shame that the city tore down historical buildings and has let this garage waste the location for 4 decades.
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  #123  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2008, 2:02 AM
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Who ever designed the Villagio Apartments should win an award
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  #124  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2008, 2:57 AM
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Is that parking garage project the same one where there was supposed to be a lot of blue/green glass and a curved glass wall on the upper level? Why all the beige/gray and straight edges now?
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  #125  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2008, 5:33 AM
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Yea it looks like it has changed a bit from the original design:
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  #126  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2008, 6:10 AM
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Pac Place

While I'm normally a fan of rounded edges as in the above render, I'm gonna have to vote with the current one with the square end to the upper floors.
Here's why. I'm a firm believer that the buildings in a city's skyline should work together to enhance and compliment each other. They should not be garish and detract from the rest of the skyline.
That being said, look at Pac Place's dominant neighbors:
Up the hill (in the bottom of the pic, with the orange pylons on it... that's the current Park Place South's roof, btw):


Notice the heavily square and geometrical design of the Murano and the TFC.

Across the street:


Wells Fargo in all it's symmetrically boxy glory.
So, while something round would serve to be different, I'm liking the square upper floors in consideration of the neighbors.
Now, some of the potential ideas for the Haub site new Russell HQ have a seemingly 40+ story bldg with apparent curve to it. I'm not sure how I'd feel about that until we actually had a design. After all, it would be come the new dominant member of the area...

-------------------------------------

Now, if we want a building with some round action, I'd say build it near the current Russell HQ.
Not only is there the round top as visible in the classic view


But we also have the gently curved backside that is seldom noticed (or photographed, it seems)


A structure with rounded features would fit much more nicely in this area, I think.
Thoughts?
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  #127  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2008, 2:20 PM
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I think the new garage redevelopment design is boring, just very functional which is not noteworthy.

The straight edges get redundant after a while and you start to tune out some of them. The curved redesign would make the taller buildings' column-like upper angles stand out as different (a compliment) where the rectangle grey doesn't nearly as much.

Put some spires or flag poles up on the glass or at least turn it back to aqua so that it not just compliments existing straight edge buildings but also steps out into future possibilities for the area.

Grey and beige are the dullest and most boring colors and color combinations especially when no other embellishments are involved. They seem to be trying to go for "corporate" but the dull and boring side of corporate. Hopefully it doesn't look too bad in the end.

Last edited by mSeattle; Apr 14, 2008 at 2:32 PM.
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  #128  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2008, 11:46 PM
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glass

Quote:
Originally Posted by mSeattle View Post
I think the new garage redevelopment design is boring, just very functional which is not noteworthy.

The straight edges get redundant after a while and you start to tune out some of them. The curved redesign would make the taller buildings' column-like upper angles stand out as different (a compliment) where the rectangle grey doesn't nearly as much...
...Grey and beige are the dullest and most boring colors and color combinations especially when no other embellishments are involved. They seem to be trying to go for "corporate" but the dull and boring side of corporate. Hopefully it doesn't look too bad in the end.
Agreed. Some colors OTHER than those would be good. While I like current design better than the previous, this is by no means how I'd design it. My schemes are usually a bit more grandiose than those that usually get built 'round here... I don't know what the foundation is like, but you can sure bet I would have started with more than just 4 more floors.
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  #129  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2008, 3:19 AM
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Some news/updates:

Broadway 505 has topped out:

4/17/08 - 505 is Topped Out!! We have reached our maximum height. The roof structure is in and will water-proofed soon. Exterior sheathing is being installed and rain-proofed in preparation for the brick and siding materials. Doors and windows are currently being installed. Scaffolding surrounds the building to make it all possible.

Walker North Building Demolished:

Not sure if they are going to actually start building the planned 8 story building or use the site for parking (for now).

The Walker Building next door is well on its way of becoming high-end condos. The restuarant Maxwell's Speakeasy and Lounge should be opening next week. This place should be a hit as the partners are Sean Quinn & Troy Christian from El Gaucho, Asado, Masa fame and Matt Coloney, the Chef who helped open Pacific Grill.

Walker North Demo:

Photo from Tacoma Urbanist


Rainier Connect announced they have purchased the Pacific Brewery building in the Brewery District of Downtown Tacoma.

From the TNT:

A company formed in 1910 and a building built in 1891 have married to mark the latest move toward the renaissance of Tacoma’s Brewery District.
Rainier Connect, a telecom company born of Eatonville’s Mashell Telephone Co., has bought the former offices and manufacturing facility of the National Cocoanut Butter Co. and National Cocoanut Butter Soap Co. Both companies were located in a pair of adjacent brick buildings that were part of the former Pacific Brewery complex in the 2500 block of South Holgate Street on the hillside south of University of Washington Tacoma, near the former Heidelberg Brewery.

Family-owned Rainier Connect paid $1.9 million for the two connected buildings – both brick, and the taller four stories high – and will spend another $2 million on renovation, said Brian Haynes, president and CEO.


and Exit133.com:
The building is located in between M-Space and Tacoma Self Storage. It was once involved in brewing and malting. Later it produced coconut butter. By the early 1920s, the building was used to make soap. In 1978 the building found itself on the National Historic Register.

Tacoma Foss Waterway hotel eliminates condos from plans

The Seattle developers of a planned Foss Waterway Hotel are again back to the drawing boards with their plan for the boutique hotel on the near-downtown waterway.
This time they’re eliminating all but a handful of condominiums from the building and adding 60 rooms to the 100 they had planned, according to Don Meyer, executive director of the Thea Foss Waterway Development Authority.

Four years ago, another developer started planning an all-hotel building for the site on the west side of the Foss at South 15th Street.
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  #130  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2008, 4:44 PM
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walker

I saw that in Exit133, myself.
So I walked home from work on Wednesday to check out the site.
Talk about dumb luck! I saw and had an opportunity to talk to the foreman!

So, this is what he told me.
1) New condos will start this summer, when they finish the current Walker.
2) The project also involves tearing down the Antique auto place across the street.
3) That project is mixed use.
4) There will be hotel rooms in this project.

He didn't give any more detail, and hurried off to take a phone call. So, I've heard this info before (including the rumored grocery store to be in that mixed-use) but the hotel rooms is news to me.
So here's the site on Wed:





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  #131  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2008, 4:52 PM
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Foss Waterway Hotel

Quote:
Originally Posted by jake840 View Post
Some news/updates:

Broadway 505 has topped out:

4/17/08 - 505 is Topped Out!! We have reached our maximum height. The roof structure is in and will water-proofed soon. Exterior sheathing is being installed and rain-proofed in preparation for the brick and siding materials. Doors and windows are currently being installed. Scaffolding surrounds the building to make it all possible.

Tacoma Foss Waterway hotel eliminates condos from plans

The Seattle developers of a planned Foss Waterway Hotel are again back to the drawing boards with their plan for the boutique hotel on the near-downtown waterway.
This time they’re eliminating all but a handful of condominiums from the building and adding 60 rooms to the 100 they had planned, according to Don Meyer, executive director of the Thea Foss Waterway Development Authority.

Four years ago, another developer started planning an all-hotel building for the site on the west side of the Foss at South 15th Street.
I'll swing by 505 today if I can. I noticed windows and some insulation going up on the Stadium Way side.

Oh, and I think that hotel may get going soon. On Friday I saw some city trucks as well as some from some construction company I can't remember (drats! the one time I forget my camera) out on the site. The weren't looking at the Esplanade, but rather making large hand gestures that seemed to imply the lot.
Doesn't tell us anything, but it is interesting to note.

Here's the only render of the proposal that I have come across:


Have you seen a better one, Jake?
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  #132  
Old Posted Apr 21, 2008, 2:39 AM
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TG and all

Behold! I finally got to see down in the HUGE hole that will become the Tacoma General emergency room in 2010!

1st up... the render! Finally they put one up


Close up. I guess it's not bad, but considering they tore out a historic church I had much higher hopes...


Behold! Well, the bottom of the hole is as boring as expected, but not knowing what was down there was making me WANT to know.


The base of the crane.


Plastic!


I spy with my little eye Wells Fargo...


...and Chelsea Heights and the Key building. The view is pretty decent up on the roof of the Baker Garage...


I'd gladly pay like $20 to see the view from the top of the crane. I bet you could see the buildings in downtown Seattle!


Notice that shiny, bulbous thing in the support guy near the aft jim? (I hope those are proper terms when referring to cranes... I think they're right for ships).
Anyway, those are mylar balloons that just happened to get caught there. Makes for a neat picture.
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  #133  
Old Posted May 13, 2008, 5:41 PM
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Demolition of building clears way for change in Tacoma’s Hilltop


DREW PERINE/THE NEWS TRIBUNE

"A demolition crew began tearing down the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association’s former office building Monday, clearing the way for a planned $26 million mixed-use center in the Hilltop neighborhood.
The centerpiece of the three-building development is the MLK Business Center, a retail and office building on the corner of South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The organization wants to build it six stories tall, but needs the City Council to raise the maximum building height from 45 feet to 85 feet."



MARTIN LUTHER KING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION RENDERING
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  #134  
Old Posted May 14, 2008, 1:52 AM
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Mlkhda

I'm excited to see this finally happening. The old MLKHDA building was just plain awful, not just in terms of design, but also in it's condition. Come to think of it, I never remember it being that nice when it was a bank... my dad remembers it and says it was so bland that it made you yawn just walking in...

I like the red color, I like the prominent gazebo-ish tower on the corner.
What I'd like to see is more similar-sized development around it, also I'd like to see the city letting MLKHDA go 100' and have some sort of open-air produce market on the bottom floor, on the 11th street side, headed towards Bob's BBQ Pit. Been there Jake? It's phenomenal!

My great-grandparents on my Grandma's side lived near that area until the 50s (the house is long gone). My grandma still remembers the stores and food on K (it was still K then) when she was a little girl.
Hilltop is such a diamond in the rough, I am so glad to finally see some life coming back! The stretch between 9th and St Joes on 19th can be so awesome, as vibrant as 6th Ave and Proctor... it's long about time it started getting cleaned up.

Notice something? The pics were posted in the Trib... see what I see? (not that the arrow didn't give it away).
It's a News Tribune rack! Kinda cool, actually... just too bad I've dealt with those things too much for one lifetime (I used to work for the Trib).
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  #135  
Old Posted May 14, 2008, 1:53 AM
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505 Broadway!

So, Friday after work I took a drive by 505 Broadway, camera in hand.
Something interesting happened... I ended up talking for a good 20 min with one of the leads. He had a few interesting things to say, most of them about the 3rd Narrows Bridge (which apparently he worked on). However, I asked him if he knew anything at all about a new Russell HQ. He did! Apparently, many of the local contractors are preparing to have bids ready to go for the new HQ.
Now, I know this is just hearsay, so do with it as you wish. I'm inclined to think that if local contractors are anticipating something going up, then maybe they know something I don't... I don't know how the bid process works, or why they'd have one pre-prepared... unless they anticipate stiff competition. Just that guy's 2 cents, I guess. Still interesting to hear, though.

So back onto the update!
This one taken from the lower edge of the Jay Heights site


Lookin' tall...


All steel on the inside and outside.


Even from ground-level on Broadway, you can see the water


Van in the garage...


Garbage chute and crane


Most awesome picture I've ever taken of a building under construction, and by a WIDE margin my favorite of 505


Elevator going UP!


Big ol' block from the crane


Which crane? THIS one!


Workers working hard. Least anyone forget, Tacoma was and still is a blue-collar town. Take pride in the work made at their hands!


You are HERE


More later, including the Midtown Lofts....
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  #136  
Old Posted May 15, 2008, 4:13 PM
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So what do you guys know about the Old City Hall/Clocktower project? I used to live in Tacoma (UPS Grad) and lived in the first phase of the Metropolitan after they completed it but could never find a historic loft that fit my needs (the Albers Mill was all sold out before I graduated). I moved to Phoenix (of all places) and found the perfect historic loft but after coming across the amazing Clocktower redevelopment project, I want to know everything about it.

Anyone have any more information than what is available at their website?
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  #137  
Old Posted May 15, 2008, 8:21 PM
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This thread should answer your questions about Old City Hall

There are a few old rehabbed loft buildings now for rent or sale in Downtown Tacoma.

Rentals:

Albers Mill:

picture from HelloTacoma.com

Harmon Lofts:

picture from HelloTacoma.com

Hunt Mottet Lofts:

picture from Waymarking.com


Condos:

Bridge Lofts:

Picture from Johnston Architects

Cliff Street Lofts:

Picture from Condocompare.com

Perkins Lofts:

Picture from PerkinsLofts.com

Mecca Condos:

Picture from Meccacondos.com
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  #138  
Old Posted May 16, 2008, 6:09 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jake840 View Post
This thread should answer your questions about Old City Hall

There are a few old rehabbed loft buildings now for rent or sale in Downtown Tacoma.
Thanks for the link. That is very VERY disappointing. Anyone want to get together and use collective buying power to make the thing happen? I'm in for $1M.

As far as everything else goes, with the exception of Albers Mill, I've been very disappointed with the Loft conversions in Tacoma. There are only 3 historic renovations in Phoenix and the one I own was the first. It is smaller, fewer units, a tighter-knit community, with more attention to detail and unique design. Harmon Lofts and Cliff St Lofts suffered from a suburban repetition that drove me crazy. Every unit looked alike.

Maybe there is hope down the road for a unique conversion project. I do miss Tacoma.
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  #139  
Old Posted May 16, 2008, 6:16 AM
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I am sure if you talked $$ to the new owners of the Old City Hall or maybe even the Luzon building you could get a nice little loft condo put in there.
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  #140  
Old Posted May 19, 2008, 2:43 AM
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The Commencement (05/17):















Point Ruston floating showroom (former Pierce Co. ferry M/V Steilacoom):





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