The University Place Engineering department has started doing Town Center hard hat tours. The tours will be taking place from 4:30 to 6:30 on the first and third Mondays of every month. There will be about 10 people to a group and the tour will take about 45 minutes. The tour groups will leave from Town Hall and will make their way through the Library/Civic building and Market Square. These tours will be on-going until Market Square is open to the public.

Drop-ins are welcome from 4:30 to 5, and then by appointment only from 5:30 to 6. There will be two engineers scheduled on the first and third Mondays of each month to stay and be the our guides. If you would like to make an appointment for a tour please call Diana Neufeld at 253-460-2526 or email DNeufeld@cityofup.com.

Everyone is welcome to take a tour and we encourage everyone to invite your friends and family to take this opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Town Center project.

Dan Burden, an internationally recognized expert on the topic of walkable communities, visited Grandview Drive recently. He sent the following note to some of his colleagues about his encounter with longtime resident, and U.P. parks benefactor, Dr. George Hess.

I have to share this story. I have tried to tell it on voice mail to two folks, but broken down with emotion each time. This is a story to emphasize that what we do in our careers to help others, matters. While videotaping for two hours on Grandview Drive, in University Place (Pierce County), Washington today, this story unfolded.

Pierce County never required, nor built sidewalks for this population of 30,000. The City was formed in 1994. When I first visited, in 1996, the city still had no sidewalks. My wife, Lys and I came here on request, inspired them, and now the city has completed 27 miles of sidewalks, many miles of bike lanes, put 7 roads on a road diet (lane reductions), and built both the state's first roundabout, then 7-9 more roundabouts, and now is preparing to build a city center.

While observing and photographing one of the roundabouts along Grandview Drive I noticed a very senior, senior citizen using a walker moving toward me at about 1 mph. He completed his 1/4 mile journey in about 20 minutes, with a few pauses along the way. He arrived at the roundabout, then used his walker for a sitting place. He was watching me. And so, I crossed the road and went up to him.

With my videocamera recording our visit I asked him if he took these walks daily. He said that he did, with a huge smile on his sun protected face. I asked him how long he had lived there. "Since 1925, he said."  I then asked if he didn't mind, to tell me what his profession had been. He told me that he had been a physician. We talked about how healthy these walks were for him. Then, I told him that I had helped inspire this street and the sidewalks. He grabbed my hand and shook it. He then said, "I am pleased to know who inspired this street." My guess is that he has reached the age of 98 for many reasons ... and that the daily, walks, and the people he meets adds to his longivity and the quality of his life.

Dan Burden, Principal and Senior Urban Designer
Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin

The City of University Place’s Town Center development got a lift from the State in this year’s legislative session. The State has approved a bill investing $12.5 million in infrastructure funding for the City’s proposed public/private mixed-use development. The funding will allow the City to continue construction of public infrastructure improvements needed to support a planned $300 million private sector investment.

“We are pleased that the Legislature has continued to demonstrate a commitment to economic development in our city” said Mayor Linda Bird, chairman of the City’s legislative committee.

Encompassing twelve acres, the Town Center project is located along Bridgeport Way, within the City’s Town Center District. The project has been recognized by the federal government as a transit-oriented development. The City has constructed over 550 stalls of structured parking as part of a planned 1500 stall parking garage, and is in the process of constructing a new city hall, regional library and public plaza. The City has an exclusive negotiating rights agreement with F+F Development based in Irvine CA and Washington, DC. whose principals were involved in the development of Santana Row in San Jose, California, Bethesda Row in Bethesda, Maryland and regional centers throughout the country. The project architect is the Alexandria, VA office of Cooper Carry, well-known for their work in town center projects. As currently envisioned by F+F, the proposed  town center project will be built in phases and is expected to include a major multi-screen cinema, limited-service and/or extended stay hotel, multiple restaurants and cafes, community and regional retail, substantial office space, and state-of-the-art residences.

Locating the University Place in the heart of our future Town Center project has always been a critical component of this ambitious public/private partnership.  The City completed most of the underlying parking garage last year, and the contract has been awarded to Jody Miller Construction to build the Library and Civic portion of the project.

Due to the turmoil of the bond market, the planned bond sale in February was postponed, thus sparing the City from increased interest costs.  Now that the market has improved, the City anticipates selling the needed construction bonds this summer.  Basic construction is scheduled to be complete by September 2010.   The Library district plans to be completely moved in to the new building by the end of the year.

The new library will be 15,000 square feet with expansion room to grow to 20,000 square feet .   (The old library was 12,000 sq. feet)

Market Square is a 32,000 square foot public plaza in front of the new library will be complete by June 2009. The plaza was completely funded by a State capital grant of $988,000. The plaza will be a multi-use area for year-round events and celebrations. It will feature a kids spray pool, fire pit, landscaping, an area for a public market, Holiday Festival and Christmas tree lighting, and a staging area for concerts an performing groups.