Built in 1925, the Winthrop Hotel was the place to stay when visiting Tacoma - then hard times fell in 1972 and the building was converted over to low-income (Section 8) housing.
"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?"
Thanks to Morgan Alexander
FULL STORY: Some say hotel can be put to better use than for affordable housing
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