Spaceworks Tacoma will celebrate four new Hilltop businesses on Friday
By C.R. Roberts, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"I'm not from
Okner recently concluded a deal with Spaceworks Tacoma to welcome four businesses into a long-vacant 5,000-sq.-ft. Hilltop property purchased as an investment.
"I realized the neighborhood had a lot of potential and character," Okner said. "It had a community spirit that was on the verge."
He had visited the restaurants and retail shops in the area.
"(I like) its location, the proximity to downtown," he said. "It was a great vibe, a good feeling."
He did not begin negotiations with Spaceworks until after he bought the building. He appreciated the Spaceworks goal.
"It's an opportunity to test out your business before you quit your consistent paycheck," said
The program is funded by the
"The goal is to activate vacant storefronts and give opportunities to creative people to start a business or exhibit their artwork," Joy said. "The whole goal is to put someone into a space so they'll lease it after six months."
The Spaceworks process, launched four years ago, begins with an owner looking for an occupant and with a potential occupant looking for space.
Spaceworks marries the two, and the occupant then pays six months of rent at
Currently, Joy said, Spaceworks is seeing a 75 percent success rate, measured by the number of businesses signing a full lease agreement after the initial six months.
The waiting list has 20 businesses approved and hoping for space. The applicants range from a theater group and comic book shop to a few graphic designers and a veteran-related film project.
Established and prospering projects include Grit City Grindhouse, a skateboard and longboard shop downtown; Moss & Mineral, an arts studio and botanical emporium; and the artistic window treatments at the downtown
Applications for spaces are taken once or twice a year, Joy said. The next opening will come in October.
And those four businesses at
They are:
--Concrete Market, a showroom for concrete countertops, tables, sinks and art.
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Brothers
The Spaceworks process, Willie said, "has been pretty beneficial for both parties. The No. 1 reason I like it is that they don't just give us the keys, they also teach us the how and the why, everything from social media marketing to business insurance and financial planning. All that."
Combs' new landlord,
"I'm extremely optimistic about this project," he said. "I'd like to see how it develops over the next year or two, and see how the tenants do."
He is not alone in his optimism.
Founded in
Okner's building is across the street.
"A couple of years ago there were squatters," said
Said
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