Located at the foot of Mount Rainier and along the shores of Commencement Bay in Washington state, Tacoma is recognized as a livable and progressive international city. With a population of more than 200,000 residents, the city that incorporated in 1884 has grown from its historical roots as a home of sawmills and a bustling port that exported goods around the world to a center for international exports, the arts and healthy, affordable living.
Tacoma's story spans more than two centuries from the time Captain George Vancouver anchored off Tacoma's north shore in 1792. In 1870, Tacoma's natural deep-water port became an attraction that the Northern Pacific Railroad couldn't pass up, when it made Tacoma a stop on its transcontinental line. The railroad platted “New Tacoma” and the growth of the city began.
Old Tacoma and New Tacoma merged in 1884 and incorporated as Tacoma. By 1890, the population reached 36,000 people. Sawmills, coal mines, flour mills and a smelter turned raw materials into exportable goods. Tacoma continues to make use of both its land and sea resources. It is home to the Port of Tacoma, the seventh-largest container port in the United States, and it is within 20 miles of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 36 miles of the city of Seattle.
Today Tacoma is a thriving city with a revitalized downtown that caters to residents and visitors alike with its shopping, dining, theaters and award-winning arts and architecture.
(From www.cityoftacoma.org website)
Location
Tacoma-Pierce County is Washington State's third largest city and located just 18 miles south of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It boasts a deep water port that is one of the largest container ports in North America. The Port of Tacoma is a direct gateway to markets in Asia, handling nearly 2.1 million TEUs (2006).
The county has three four-year universities and four community and technical colleges to provide the skilled employees needed by businesses.
The presence of two major military facilities also provides an excellent source of workers for employers to access.
Tacoma is Pierce County's largest city and seat of county government. The portion of Tacoma occupied by the subject includes the CBD and Port of Tacoma, which wrap Commencement Bay, as well as portions of the North, Central, South and East Tacoma areas. Many of these neighborhoods have distinct areas or districts within their larger boundaries. General boundaries are Commencement Bay on the north, Fife and Puyallup to the east and 51st St. W. to the west. The southerly boundary is varying, extending south from the CBD and I-5 to the east of Pacific Ave. and to the west of I-5, flanking excluded South End neighborhood.
Access
The study area is bifurcated by I-5, which runs from east to west along the south side of the Port of Tacoma, turning south following an interchange with SR 16. Interstate 5 is the major regional arterial serving the Puget Sound, linking Tacoma to Seattle to the north and Olympia to the south. SR 16 provides access across the Tacoma Narrows to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas to the west. In addition to these major freeways, there are numerous surface arterials linking the various neighborhoods and adjacent communities. Overall access is excellent.
Neighborhood map — with study area highlighted
Economic Base
Major employers in Tacoma proper include Multicare Health System and Franciscan Health System, two hospitals with campuses just southwest of the CBD, with employment of 5,567 and 4,059, respectively. The County and City governments, as well as the Tacoma School District each have large employment bases in the City as well. One of the larger private companies in the CBD itself is Russell Investment Company, which is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, and which has 1,080 employees in 400,000 sq ft of offices spread through a few CBD office buildings. In the Port area, large employers include Weyerhaeuser, Simpson Paper, Supervalue and Milgard Manufacturing. Outside of the Port, there is another large manufacturing cluster in Frederickson, which is south of Tacoma and southeast of Lakewood. The largest manufacturer here is Boeing, which has a plant that employs 1,450. While all of these are important, they are dwarfed by employment at the three largest military facilities in the County. As typical in the state of Washington, white-collar occupations have grown more quickly than blue collar.
Military Employment
The military has three large facilities in Pierce County, all south of Tacoma. These are Fort Lewis, McCord Air Force Base and Madigan Hospital. Fort Lewis is the largest, with total employment of 38,143, of which about 72% is military and 28% is civilian. McCord employs 11,765, with 66% military and 34% civilian. US Army Madigan Hospital employs 3,647, with 64% military and the balance civilian.
Port of Tacoma
Also contributing to the employment base of the region is the deepwater harbor of the Port of Tacoma. A major gateway to Asia and Alaska, the Port of Tacoma is a leading North American seaport, handling more than $35.6 billion in annual trade and nearly 2.1 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent container Units) in 2006. The Port is also a major center for bulk, breakbulk and project/heavy-lift cargoes, as well as automobiles and medium-duty trucks. The Port is an independent municipal corporation that operates under state-enabling legislation. Created by Pierce County citizens in 1918, the Port has 2,400 acres (972 hectares) that are used for shipping terminal activity and warehouse, distributing, and manufacturing. Outstanding intermodal operations, connections to two transcontinental railroads and easy access to Interstate 5 and SR 167 make the Port an ideal location for warehouse and distribution activities. More than 70% of the Port's international import container cargo heads east via rail to major markets. The growth of the Port of Tacoma has been a huge catalyst for industrial real estate development in Pierce County, the south part of King County and now in Thurston County to the south.
Public Investments
In addition to privately funded projects, the governments have made their fair share of investments in the study area, particularly with additional transportation infrastructure.
In the early 1980s the City acknowledged that, if Tacoma was to thrive in the coming century, the wholesale rebuilding of the City's infrastructure would have to occur. Since then, over two billion dollars of public funds have been directly invested in the City's infrastructure. The public investment in the city has paid off nicely and has drawn significant public and private investment into the area. Union Station has been restored and adapted and is now the city's Federal Court House; thirteen railroad warehouses on Pacific Ave. were renovated into the University of Washington's Tacoma campus; and the area along the Thea Foss Waterway is being redeveloped into a mixed-use area that includes the International Museum of Glass and the Washington State Historical Museum.
Another aspect of public investment is the formation of Renewal Community/Community Empowerment zones, as shown on the following map. These encompass the CBD, most of the Port and the St Helens neighborhood west of the CBD. This area has been designated as both a Renewal Community by the Federal Government and a Community Empowerment Zone by the State of Washington. Employers who locate within the RC/CEZ and meet certain hiring requirements may be eligible for tax credits as well as financing and contracting programs.
Sound Transit has made a significant investment in the CBD and Tacoma Dome areas. Near the Dome, they built a 2,400 stall parking garage adjacent to their Tacoma Dome station that was the start of their commuter rail line north to Seattle. The Tacoma Link light rail extends 1.6 miles north from this serving the CBD with five stations. These were all built in 2003. Sound Transit is nearing completion on a southerly extension of this line to their new South Tacoma Station at 56th & Washington.
Along both major freeway corridors, the Washington State DOT has been particularly active. WADOT has added lanes and completely redone a number of interchanges and overpasses from the Tacoma Mall to the CBD along I-5 and west along SR 16. In 2007, WADOT completed construction of a second bridge across the Tacoma Narrows, more than doubling the capacity there.
Neighborhood Conclusion
The study area includes several distinct neighborhoods, ranging in terms of land use and vibrancy with respect to new development. The Port District has seen tremendous growth with the Port of Tacoma and their expansions for container terminals. However, most private warehouse development has been in surrounding markets outside of the study area. The CBD has seen some new office development in the last few years, but the level has been restrained. The CBD has seen more residential development with for rent apartments and condos extending from the Thea Foss Waterway up to the St Helens area to the west. The Nalley Valley industrial neighborhood has not seen significant new development, restrained by the existing level of development and a lack of development sites. Between these main neighborhoods, other portions of the study area have seen mild levels of new residential, office and other commercial development. Still other areas show very little growth and are therefore active targets by the City to assist and nurture growth through various tax benefits.
Housing
Currently, 41.6 percent of the 36,736 housing units in the market area are owner occupied; 49.6 percent, renter occupied; and 8.9 percent are vacant. In 2000, there were 34,633 housing units — 40.8 percent owner occupied, 51.5 percent renter occupied and 7.7 percent vacant. The rate of change in housing units since 2000 is 0.82 percent. Median home value in the market area is $211,097, compared to a median home value of $192,285 for the U.S. In five years, median home value is projected to change by 3.27 percent annually to $247,924. From 2000 to the current year, median home value changed by 9.66 percent annually.
Households by Income
Current median household income is $40,758 in the market area, compared to $53,154 for all U.S. households. Median household income is projected to be $48,018 in five years. In 2000, median household income was $32,136, compared to $20,617 in 1990.
Current average household income is $52,696 in this market area, compared to $73,126 for all U.S. households. Average household income is projected to be $63,557 in five years. In 2000, average household income was $41,266, compared to $26,258 in 1990.
Current per capita income is $21,337 in the market area, compared to the U.S. per capita income of $27,916. The per capita income is projected to be $25,726 in five years. In 2000, the per capita income was $16,835, compared to $10,675 in 1990.
| Population by Employment | |
|---|---|
| Total Businesses | 4,337 |
| Total Employees | 35,889 |
Currently, 90.3 percent of the civilian labor force in the identified market area is employed and 9.7 percent are unemployed. In comparison, 93.4 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force is employed, and 6.6 percent are unemployed. In five years the rate of employment in the market area will be 90.8 percent of the civilian labor force, and unemployment will be 9.2 percent. The percentage of the U.S. civilian labor force that will be employed in five years is 93.9 percent, and 6.1 percent will be unemployed. In 2000, 61.6 percent of the population aged 16 years or older in the market area participated in the labor force, and 0.8 percent were in the Armed Forces.
In the current year, the occupational distribution of the employed population is:
- 48.8 percent in white collar jobs (compared to 60.2 percent of U.S. employment)
- 23.6 percent in service jobs (compared to 16.5 percent of U.S. employment)
- 27.6 percent in blue collar jobs (compared to 23.3 percent of U.S. employment)
In 2000, 69.7 percent of the market area population drove alone to work, and 3.6 percent worked at home. The average travel time to work in 2000 was 25.0 minutes in the market area, compared to the U.S. average of 25.5 minutes.
Population by Education
In 2000, the educational attainment of the population aged 25 years or older in the market area was distributed as follows:
- 21.0 percent had not earned a high school diploma (19.6 percent in the U.S.)
- 30.9 percent were high school graduates only (28.6 percent in the U.S.)
- 6.9 percent had completed an Associate degree (6.3 percent in the U.S.)
- 10.2 percent had a Bachelor's degree (15.5 percent in the U.S.)
- 4.9 percent had earned a Master's/Professional/Doctorate Degree (8.9 percent in the U.S.)
