Committee begins update to Tacoma economic development strategy; focus on neighborhood business districts and tools to prevent displacement

The Economic Development Committee held a work session Jan. 14 to begin updating Tacoma’s 2020–2025 economic development strategic plan and to review focus area 4: neighborhood business district revitalization. Rebecca Solverson, division manager for Arts and Cultural Vitality, and Sherry Hart, business and economic development analyst, summarized recent accomplishments and asked the committee for direction on prioritization, stakeholders, anti‑displacement measures and program changes.

Solverson framed the discussion by noting changes since the original plan’s 2019 adoption and the role of community in economic development. “This focus area, I think, is the one that really highlights how community and economic development support each other and are really one and the same,” she said. Solverson and Hart reviewed programs and projects the department has led in recent years, including the Links to Opportunity Project tied to the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension, Business Improvement Area (BIA)…