TacomaGeekery
May. 20, 2008 at 12:11pm
City Sues for Bridge Condo Parking
What does it all mean?
Last week residents of the Bridge Condominiums were served papers by the City for their parking spaces in the adjacent lot (across the street from city hall). This lot was originally the site for the Art Lofts, a planned development by Catapult (having also developed the Bridge and Triangle Townhomes). The City released ownership of this lot under the condition that the Art Lofts project be completed, which has obviously not happened.
Because I am currently renting a unit in the Bridge, I'm not fully in-the-loop with the situation or its details. But based on what I have gathered by word of mouth, it now looks like the City wants these spaces back. Although obviously bad news for residents of the Bridge, could this be a sign that the City has near-future plans for the space?
Legal action such as this, no matter how small, costs money. Doing nothing would likely only result in the status quo (with a small possibility of the Art Lofts being built after the real estate market stabilizes). So it seems like a waste of resources for the City to pursue this, unless something other than the current situation is planned.
So what could the City be up to . . . ?
 by Jake on 5/20/2008 @ 12:58pm | FIrst the "pig" now this. The city seems to be pretty sue happy these days. |
 by Erik on 5/20/2008 @ 1:19pm | It appears to be a complex quit title action by the City of Tacoma. The action likely had to be brought one way or another given the complexity and the number of parties involved. Here's the complaint: ebjornson2.googlepages.com/image.pdf A complex case to be sure with a development agreement and other issues involved. In short, the city alleges that the project never occurred, and thus, wants the property clear of any issues on the title or alleged ownership claims. |
 by izenmania on 5/20/2008 @ 1:20pm | Best guess? Another developer is interested in it, and the city just wants to see someone doing something there. I could go either way on it... yeah, more development is potentially good, but the last thing that stretch needs is that many more street-parkers. |
by Erik on 5/20/2008 @ 1:29pm | Best guess? Another developer is interested in it, and the city just wants to see someone doing something there. Perhaps. Who knows. However, this is a city asset and the city has fiduciary obligation to protect its ownership rights. It sure would have been nice to have something built here though rather than the current blighted surface level parking lot on "Market" street. |
 by Nick on 5/20/2008 @ 1:37pm | Great find Eric! I couldn't for the life of me find anything related to this online - thanks for the link.
I agree that parking is already unpleasant enough (I put up with it every day), but just like the parking requirement, I'd rather see buildings go up than more parking spaces. |
by Erik on 5/20/2008 @ 1:41pm | Great find Eric! I couldn't for the life of me find anything related to this online - thanks for the link. I admit I employed special Urbanist powers on this one for the benefit of the Tacoma blogosphere. |
 by scout on 5/20/2008 @ 1:49pm | Don't people read contracts anymore? Why didn't the parking lot title issues arise at the time of recording? |
by Nick on 5/20/2008 @ 1:56pm | I remember when first moving in (many units were still for sale), the planned Art Lofts were still a go. Because Catapult developed the Bridge as well, the plan was to include parking spaces in the Art Lofts parking garage for Bridge residents. Now it looks like not only is that not happening, but the current spaces are on their way out. For anyone interested, this is a great bargaining chip for units currently for sale - considering that the value of these units must now be discounted for the current legal situation AND the likelihood that a parking space will no longer be part of the package. |
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I'm just a computer geek that has fallen in love with Tacoma.
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