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PHOTO BY JOHN LARSON

WALK TO SCHOOL. This section of South 19th Street would be closed and made into a pedestrian corridor with landscaping under both alternatives being considered for the next phase of the University of Washington-Tacoma master plan

UWT plans for its future

By John Larson

In the near future, the University of Washington-Tacoma (UWT) could have a sizable number of students living on campus. Lots currently used for parking could hold buildings rising 10, perhaps 20, stories with housing, classrooms and offices. As land becomes more valuable as the college slowly expands up the hill, parking could get pushed away from campus.

Chancellor Patricia Spakes and Communications Director Mike Wark discussed what the future could likely hold for the downtown university during Tacoma City Council’s Aug. 12 study session, where they discussed proposed changes to the campus master plan.

As she gathers input from current and potential students, their parents and area residents, Spakes has a changing view of how the campus should look and what kind of college experience it should offer.

Since freshmen and sophomores were first admitted in fall 2006, UWT has undergone a gradual transformation, one that puts more emphasis on features found on traditional schools like the main campus in Seattle. These include a desire among students for residential buildings and recreational facilities.

The part of downtown that surrounds UWT has changed much since the school opened, Spakes noted. When the first master plan was established there was no light rail on Pacific Avenue and no convention center directly to the north of the campus.

These physical and demographic changes are driving adjustments to the master plan.

Of perhaps the greatest importance to non-students is that Market Street would remain open. Some business owners near the campus had voiced strong concerns about earlier plans to do so, as Market has become a major thoroughfare in downtown in recent years.

UWT officials are interested in closing a section of South 19th Street between South 17th Street and Tacoma Avenue.

Administrators at all colleges look to the future and try to plan for it. With its urban setting and limited space, that is a challenging process for UWT. It expects to have between 10,000 and 12,000 students when fully built out, with about 12 percent of them living on campus.

The legislature has set its footprint, or area it can eventually occupy, at 46 acres bounded by South 17th Street, South 21st Street, Pacific Avenue and Tacoma Avenue. Spakes told the council this includes streets and sidewalks, as well as some parcels the university is not likely to ever purchase, such as buildings used by Tacoma School of the Arts, a Buddhist temple and an area where Pierce Transit busses turn around. In reality, the school has 33 acres it can build on.

Working with their architectural firm, Mithun and Associates, UWT officials are studying how best to use those 33 acres. They have held about 40 community meetings to gather feedback from various groups.

That led to two alternatives for phase two of the master plan. Both include a memorial for the Japanese Language School that was once a fixture within the local Japanese-American community and stood where the campus is now. One plan puts the memorial on the north side of the campus, the other in the center.

The first alternative has an above-grade parking garage at South 21st and Market streets. If parking is located farther away, this area could be used for academic space or housing.

This plan calls for student housing on Market Street near the existing Court 17 apartments. That project was built by a private-sector developer over a university parking garage. Some units will be set aside for students this fall in an arrangement between the owner and the university, making them essentially dorm rooms. Putting future residential buildings here would make this a housing zone for students. The second plan places future housing at 21st and Market, which would allow students to live closer to planned recreational fields. The majority of housing would most likely be used by freshmen, Spakes noted.

The public clearly wants open space on the campus, Spakes said. As adjacent areas of downtown are most likely going to have tall buildings in the future, the college has the ability to provide much-needed diversity in the physical landscape. “Realistically, it is possible the campus will need some 10 to 20-story towers,” she said, while pondering how appropriate that would be. “What is it that our image should be?” she mused.

Mayor Bill Baarsma noted that owners of new condominiums and townhouses just north of the campus footprint might have an issue if their views are blocked. “Ten stories may create some angst.”

“I do think you want to think high,” said Councilmember Julie Anderson.

Underground parking could make the campus grow down, as well as up, but that form of parking is expensive, Spakes noted. Pushing parking outside of the footprint may be more realistic, she said.

Contaminated soils south of Market make building in that part of campus problematic, she said, so future growth will go north of that street, Spakes said.

Some retail businesses currently in the campus core might get pushed out to the perimeter, Spakes said, as that space may be better suited for academic uses.

Councilmember Mike Lonergan asked if overhead walkways might be erected over Market or other streets for better pedestrian safety.

“That is not something that the legislature is likely to consider a priority,” Spakes said in response.

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