South Sound Downtown Rents Increasing

TACOMA, WA-Those accustomed to extra low lease rates in Tacoma are having to move more often these days.

Since the city spent $100 million on a fiber-optic network that connects every city block and alley with the equivalent of a T3 line, 100 startup technology companies have set up shop in, as the government-sponsored advertisements put it, “America’s No. 1 Wired City.” The demand is raising the cost of the supply, however, and Old City Hall is a prime example.

Last spring, Jerry Korum of Puyallup sold the historic Old City Hall at 625 S. Commerce St. for $2.6 million to Horizon Partners of Oakland, which owns several buildings in town. At the time, rents were averaging about $9 per sf. With $500,000 in upgrades coming, rents in the century-old structure will now average about $15 per sf.