Historic Hotel For Sale: What Is The Best Use?

"Take away the layers of dirt and decay and it's easy to imagine the space becoming yet another triumph of downtown Tacoma's rebirth - a neglected civic treasure reclaimed for well-heeled urban hipsters.But beneath that drafty, vacant penthouse there are nearly 200 studio and one-bedroom apartments, spaces occupied for the last 30 years by low-income residents who stayed in the city during its darkest of days.That's the crux of a dilemma that surfaced last month when the Winthrop's owners decided to put the building up for sale: Is it better to hope for a buyer willing to bring back the building to its former glory, or one who will preserve the space for affordable housing?"