43 businesses may face displacement as Tacoma light rail station unanimously approved

The Sound Transit Board has unanimously approved its plan to build a new Tacoma Dome Link light rail station that connects Tacoma and Seattle.

The new light rail station would demolish the local Freighthouse Square, an indoor market for more than 100 years, and is expected to displace 43 local businesses.

Tacoma’s new light rail station

Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, a vice president on the Sound Transit Board, told The Tacoma News Tribune the new light rail is the best route for commuters due to its distance from the Amtrak, T Line, and bus stations.

The design will not be up for approval until 2027, and construction is projected to be completed in 2035. As a result, 43 local businesses expect to be displaced by the new light rail station.

The total taxable value of the Freighthouse Square building, according to the Assessor-Treasurer’s Office, is nearly $3 million. Additionally, a parking lot owned by Time in Space LLC across the street is valued at slightly less than $1 million.

Impact on local businesses

Current Freighthouse Square tenants have mentioned to The Tacoma News Tribune that they have “felt out of the loop,” in response to Sound Transit’s claim to support them with ongoing engagement and relocation assistance.

David Jackson, Sound Transit spokesperson, mentioned that each displaced business would be eligible for up to $200,000 in moving expenses and re-establishment. Additionally, Jackson noted in an email that the amount of money each business would receive “will vary based on [the] type of business and its requirements,” according to The News Tribune.

Regarding alternative plans the board could have chosen, Mello said that transit construction would “highly impact” business owners, and there would not be relocation assistance from the Sound Transit Board.

Natural Allah, a business owner in Pierce County for five years, noted that the lack of communication from the Sound Transit Board has been concerning.

“The ambiguity is the problem,” Allah said, according to The Tacoma News Tribune. “Many of the businesses here, it’s their livelihood, and you’re basically saying, ‘Well, we’re gonna give you something, you know, but we’re not gonna tell you what it is. You’re going to have to move, but we’re not gonna say exactly when.’ How does that play out, you know, in the scheme of things?”

The Sound Transit Board contemplated three alternative routes, which would displace significantly fewer businesses, although it would be more expensive.

Sound Transit officials have thought of various ways to support local businesses, which would include a new food hall that could be housed in the bottom level of the new station.

The planning process for the new station began in 2017 and is expected to end in 2027. The design process is expected to last from 2027 to 2029, and construction would be underway between 2029 and 2035.

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