Tacoma’s Old City Hall at 625 Commerce St. is quietly trading hard hats for laptops. The second floor is now open to tenants, and a mix of local businesses and offices are signing leases as the landmark’s long rehabilitation nears the finish line. After years of seismic bracing and system upgrades, the 1893-built brick tower is starting to buzz again, with coworking, retail and creative firms among the first to move in. The revived corner next to the Old City Hall Link stop is shaping up as a key checkpoint in downtown Tacoma’s broader comeback story.
Leasing momentum and available spaces
Leasing brokers say interest is picking up fast. Harrison Laird and John Bauder of Lee & Associates report that eight leases are already signed as they market Old City Hall to small businesses and creative firms, with more deals in active negotiation. The building’s marketing packet shows spaces that range from compact private offices to multi-thousand-square-foot suites. Street-level retail options sit mostly in the roughly 540 to 2,000 square foot range, with additional amenities on the way as Phase 1 wraps up. The leasing strategy is designed to use early tenant activity to jump-start the next wave of the building’s revival.
SheWorks will anchor a family-friendly coworking floor
One of the first big commitments is from SheWorks, which has signed for more than 5,600 square feet on the fourth floor and plans to pair coworking space with on-site childcare. According to the operator’s site, the Tacoma location is slated to offer half-day morning and afternoon childcare sessions, drop-in care and flexible coworking memberships, with coverage noting a planned fall 2026 opening. For program details see SheWorks, and for the leasing announcement see ConnectCRE.
Restoration work, systems and amenity plans
The redevelopment has involved a full seismic retrofit along with new mechanical, electrical and elevator systems. Project materials list shared amenities that include a fitness center with showers, secure bike storage and common conference rooms. The building’s own project pages and marketing packet describe the work as a historic restoration of the Italianate brick landmark, originally built in 1893, and note that construction is being completed in phases so commercial space can return to use first. The project update and leasing packet contain full amenity lists and detailed floor plans.
Who’s moving in, housing and the structural work behind it
Local reporting outlines an early tenant mix that runs from small production companies to mental health practices. Reported names include Yeti Films, Anomalous Pictures, Lauren New Photography, Edge Property Management, Telecombroker4u, Alderstone Wealth Management, be.coming therapy and Andrea Archambault Therapy. That coverage also notes that the second floor is already open, with floors three and four expected to be fully operational by late summer or fall.
The same reporting states that the project will add 14 new apartments, with a City of Tacoma public-benefit agreement requiring that half of those units be reserved at affordability levels for households earning 60 percent or less of area median income. It also attributes deep foundation work and hundreds of underpinning micropiles to developer Eli Moreno’s Surge Co. as part of the seismic upgrades, underscoring how much of the project’s complexity is hidden below ground.
What this means for downtown Tacoma
Developers and brokers pitching Old City Hall say the planned mix of coworking, retail and small creative firms should help steady daytime foot traffic along Commerce and Pacific, near McMenamins Elk Temple and the Link stop. The project site currently directs tenants and visitors to secured monthly parking at 745 Commerce St. while construction continues in other parts of the building. Leasing teams say more tenant announcements are expected as Phase 1 wraps and Phase 2 moves toward completion, with the hope that the building’s activity will spill out onto nearby streets.
Next steps
Three commercial floors are being brought online first, and the project team is pacing leasing and move-ins to match the commissioning of new building systems. Public openings and broader programming are expected to follow as remaining construction milestones are cleared. In the meantime, prospective tenants and curious neighbors can track leasing updates and construction notes on the building’s project pages while brokers continue fielding inquiries for the remaining suites.
Sources: Lee & Associates; ConnectCRE; SheWorks; building marketing packet (leasing PDF) and site materials; as reported by The News Tribune.
