Four months ago the Tacoma City Council voted 6-3 to build a surface parking lot at the vacant property on the corner of Pacific Avenue and 12^th Avenue. The parking lot is being constructed at the request of DaVita Inc. with the help of state grants from Governor Christine Gregoire originally intended to help keep Russell Investments in Tacoma. The site, formerly Sauro's Cleanerama, is unique because of its prime location and also because it is dug out, sitting nearly 25 feet underground - a feature that might have been appealing to developers despite the site's history as an unintentional toxic dump for perchloroethylene, a dry cleaning chemical found there in dangerous levels until a joint effort between Tacoma and the Washington State Department of Ecology to clean up the mess. Last week construction crews began filling the enormous hole with dirt. Once the hole is filled, the surface parking lot will be installed.

Throughout the process of approving the parking lot project councilmen Ryan Mello and David Boe have been vocal in their opposition of the plan and what they perceive as a lack of economic and urban design foresight by fellow council members and City Manager Eric Anderson. As crews worked to fill the hole Friday the two men stopped by to marvel at what they see as a travesty and a blown opportunity.

"Here we have a site that has alley access that's right off the 705 exit, (with) an entrance onto 705 a half block away, a light rail station a block away, a convention center and a hotel," observes Boe. "This place is screaming out for development. This is an urban design crime."

Boe and Mello say that because of a "promise" made to DaVita Inc. years ago by a former City Council some members of current council, as well as Anderson, were unwilling to consider design plans they contend would benefit the city more than a parking lot.

"There was some looking at different solutions, but they were looking in a way that the only outcome could be a surface parking lot," says Boe. "I'd rather we would have said, ‘Lets go back to the state and say we've got a different way of doing this that we think makes the maximum use of your investment and that not only solves an immediate problem, but in the long run is a great use of taxpayer dollars.'"

Mello objects to the idea that creating a surface parking lot with 26 parking spots is an economic development incentive for DaVita, as it has been called in the past.

"We're putting in a light rail stop and we approved a housing and urban development loan for them to retrofit their Information Technology Center on this property. Those are economic development incentives. This is not," says Mello. "Creating dead space next to their regional headquarters does nothing to promote job growth."

"We offered solution after solution," continues Mello, who believes there were other ways DaVita's needs could have been met.

"We get that they needed parking because they are growing, so our solution was to board up the site, spend the $700,000 in state funds on fixing the sidewalk, find 26 parking stalls somewhere around this five-block radius and put in a new light rail stop," says Mello. "Then we could have marketed the site with a commercial real estate broker and let the world know it's for sale to get a new building built there."

Boe, an architect by trade, says the pre-dug hole with potential for an underground parking lot (a rarity in Tacoma) made the site prime for development. But by filling that hole he says much of its appeal is lost.

"It's critical to understand that because it's a small site its development potential has to be rated as high as possible," he explains. "Once this is filled with dirt I can guarantee you it will be the last site (in the area) to be developed."

The root of the two councilmen's frustration is what they perceive as a blown opportunity to enhance downtown and a contradictory message coming from the City of Tacoma regarding urban development.

"This goes against the city's Comprehensive Plan, the downtown element of the Comprehensive Plan, the goals and objectives of ‘Destination Downtown,' the Mobility Master Plan, Downtown on the Go, and our sustainability policies," says Boe, his frustration evident. "We have all these policies, but we can just chuck them out the window."

Boe and Mello hope that by speaking out they will raise awareness about how vital density is to Tacoma's progression.

"This is about having an awareness of the urban environment and making Tacoma a place where development can happen," says Boe. "Everything we should be doing, from policies to regulations to the city's own actions, should be to increase density." Boe says that the decision to fill the hole and build a parking lot is "a prime example of us not doing what we need to do as a city."

Boe says that too often he feels Tacoma attempts to compete with nearby suburban communities to attract businesses rather than accentuate the benefits of an urban area. "We can't compete with someone who bought cheap land in Graham, bulldozed it and put in an asphalt parking lot," he says. "We have to compete using the things that make an urban environment interesting." 

Soon the hole will be filled and 26 new parking spaces will be at the disposal of DaVita. Mello and Boe say they will use this as a cautionary tale in the future. Although the decision that officially spawned the parking lot was made four months ago, both were still dismayed as they watched the construction crew work Friday.

"I thought we thought we had a vision for downtown, but by our own actions we've undermined that vision," says Boe. 

"It's flabbergasting, it really is," concludes Mello. "You want to laugh about it and shake your head, but it's actually really sad."