Of the three sites, all which were developed for commercial use and offered workers an income sufficient to raise a family, only the former Northern Pacific/Burlington Northern shops site, which is still BNSF owned, will redevelop for commercial use and once again offer a center to benefit workers seeking earnings with potential.

I think the site redevelopment primarily as commercial use makes sense. Displaced good paying railroad jobs will be replaced with good paying jobs.

Without good paying jobs and an increasing local demand for housing, how could anyone expect successful redevelopment of the other two sides of the toxic triangle, Foss Waterway and the Ruston smelter site? They’re both former commercial sites redeveloping primarily residential, strange as that might be, and that raises a stranger question. If former centers of employment are increasingly displaced by residential centers, how should anyone expect to pay to live on the Foss or in Ruston…or anywhere in Tacoma?