Center for Urban Waters

The Center for Urban Waters is a 3-story research laboratory and office building located in a former brownfield site adjacent to Thea Foss Waterway. It includes laboratory space, marine research and testing facilities, and houses researchers from the University of Washington, Puget Sound Partnership, and City of Tacoma staff. The Center for Urban Waters was developed as a Public-Private Partnership, financed with tax-exempt 63-20 bonds and designed and constructed by a private development team. The facility has received numerous recognitions including the AIA Civic Design Merit Award, ULI Award for Excellence Finalist, the ASHRAE Award for Design and Operations, and LEED Platinum certification.

PFG staff led this project while employed at National Development Council (NDC), where they created the Special Purpose Entity that issued bonds and oversaw all project related activities. In 2015, NDC’s Public Facilities development arm left NDC to form PFG. NDC currently maintains ownership of the project on behalf of the City of Tacoma.