Tacoma seeing housing, commercial growth like never before

Housing inventory is down 20 percent across the Puget Sound region, but the amount of housing options is about to get a boost in Tacoma.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in housing and commercial projects are either currently under construction or are in the works. City leaders say the city hasn't seen such growth before.

It's a combination of new developments such as a housing project in the Theater District on the north end of downtown and the re-development of historic properties across downtown.

It adds up to a construction boom in Tacoma, where 900 housing units are scheduled to break ground this year.

Thousands of square feet of retail and office space are being added, too.

There are also breweries, like Seven Seas Brewing from Gig Harbor, which recently bought the old Heidelberg brewery building to greatly expand their operation.

Several breweries with tasting rooms and eating options are moving in to the south end of downtown Tacoma.

"You're going to see not only folks who want to live here, but people who are looking for that type of entertainment.  It's also good paying jobs at the breweries.  So it's not just retail jobs. It's manufacturing jobs,” said Tacoma Economic Development Director Ricardo Noguera.

Another one of the major driving forces is the University of Washington Tacoma.

One of the university's current projects is renovating the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant building to expand the campus.

City leaders say it comes down to timing. After the recession, things were slow, but now investors are spending money, and that rebound coincides with the enormous growth in Seattle.

"Folks that are being forced out (of Seattle) because of the surge in housing prices and rents, you also have a number of folks who want to start businesses and are being priced out of Seattle,” said Noguera.

Not everything in downtown Tacoma is new high-end housing though.

The old Winthrop Hotel building in the Theater District was bought last year for $8.5 million.

The developer is renovating it now to make sure the downtown area has affordable housing options.

Cox Media Group