Ever been to a Mariners Game in Seattle? You’ve probably driven by one of Henry Liebman’s projects. He’s completed dozens of them, and uses some beautiful investment models, and has made attracting foreign investors an implicit part of his game. Liebman follows a number of developers by focusing on so-called industrial infill projects, and has taken a huge chunk of Seattle’s grubby SoDo district, once an on-the-ropes remnant of Seattle’s industrial past, and has made it shine. Many of the projects he seeds are completed with the help of foreign investors who earn citizenship for their efforts under a federal program that began in 1992. Since he began, Liebman has brought hundreds of investors to the region and completed dozens of multi-million-dollar investment projects.



So why should we care about this Liebman guy?



Because he’s got his sights set on Tacoma.



Liebman’s first project will be conversion of Tacoma’s Foremost Dairy building into offices. That is, if government officials are willing to extend the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, which offers United States citizenship to investors who drop enough money and create enough jobs with projects completed on U.S. soil. The program runs out in November, but is expected to be extended five more years.



That’s plenty of time for Liebman to draw millions of dollars in foreign investment to Tacoma.



So cross your fingers, kids.



This guy is just what we need over in the Dome District.



The dairy conversion would revive the space as offices for small companies, as Liebman envisions. He’s not looking for accountants and lawyers, which are usually easy prey for office leasing agents. Rather, Liebman would like to see the space filled with small businesses — startups, tech firms, design firms, and more.



“Functionally, a computer engineer sits in the same space as a lawyer,” says Liebman. “I think there are tons of companies that will want in to this space. We are looking for the kind of companies that build communities.”



Building in the area around South 25th Street and Pacific Avenue is a risky venture. There have been handfuls of retail stores there that have tanked.  Pubs come and go in the area. It’s hard to show much demand for any sort of business in the area. But that was true of most of Tacoma’s best and brightest growing neighborhoods at one point or another. Offices are a fairly safe bet for a first project in the area. Office complexes are generally self-contained, and revenue is generated by leaseholders, rather than a steady flow of customers. There’s plenty of housing popping up nearby, which means office tenants will have a place to live. The Dome District was recently designated as high priority in downtown development strategy plans delivered by Texas-based Angelou Economics. And Liebman’s credit and investment arm reaches well beyond city limits. Liebman says it’s easy to come up with project ideas for properties near his pilot project, and that this test run could very well lead to more projects in the area.



“As people move back in to urban areas, we want to add things that will make a difference,” he said.



The only gripe that has emerged about the project is that American Life Inc. doesn’t intend to maintain the art deco façade of the building. Preservationists contend that the building has historic and aesthetic value, and that it should be preserved. Tacoma’s historic properties expert Reuben McKnight says the building has some historic value, but that the art deco exterior is far from a high example from that school of design. Liebman promises that designs will preserve as many historic features as possible.



“I think it’s important to preserve,” says Liebman. “To the extent we can build a modern, functional building, we’ll preserve as much as we can.”