Tacoma Moving Forward

With Tacoma and the South Sound growing, it’s time to start thinking about how people can better entertain themselves and where they will do this. Of course I’m biased and want to think of downtown Tacoma becoming that place. And maybe it can to a certain extent. But, I’m not so sure that there has been enough planning and ground work done to make sure that this idea becomes a reality. What I am seeing is numerous cities and towns building their own version of what a downtown or retail and shopping core needs to be for their residents. But, I don’t see anything that really gets people excited. I don’t think there are many out there who are really thrilled at what Federal Way or University Place has done in attempting to build a downtown core. I think most would agree that there have been worthy improvements, but I’m not sure that people who don’t live in those areas are going out of their way to frequent those places. What a great downtown core needs is enough excitement and worthy attractions that bring in the local residents, but also has enough pulling power to attract people who otherwise wouldn’t be there. And, many of these improvements are beginning to look the same. If creativity was at a premium before, it’s an invaluable commodity now. To find that happy place where creativity, artistry, commerce, work, life and fun all collide; that’s where we need to be.