McKinley Hill Neighborhood Plan

What’s Happening Now: Actions Tracking

Our partners are committed to documenting and tracking the implementation of the Plan recommendations. The Actions Tracking Table is for community members to track progress on the Plan, stay engaged, and steward the Plan’s projects over time. Your continued involvement and advocacy for projects recommended in the Plan will help ensure they happen. There are already several projects in the McKinley Hill plan that have been funded or are in progress, thanks to the help of our City Council, partners, and committees.

Completed:

• Wall murals, stormwater stencils, artist training program, temporary and permanent art, in partnership with Spaceworks and the Arts Office
• 233 trees planted, in partnership with Environmental Services and Tacoma Tree Foundation
• Intersection Enhancement – Division Lane and McKinley Avenue: The selected project added temporary bulb-outs at the intersection, a repainted crosswalk, and a painted street mural to calm traffic and promote pedestrian safety, in partnership with Public Works
• Improvements to activate the McKinley Overlook (East 32nd Street between East E Street and East F Street), one of the key Neighborhood Plan priorities, are now complete. Visit the project web page for more information about the project, in partnership with Public Works
• Quick Wins: Water bottle filling station, red curb painting, in partnership with Public Works and Tacoma Public Utilities
• Support for increased Business District capacity, in partnership with Community and Economic Development
• Planting strip and bike parking improvements

Program Goals

Through the planning process, the Community identified the following goals:

• Vibrant business district: Support a vibrant economic base; comfortable, family-friendly environment; and unique McKinley identity. Key recommendations include streetscape redesign, art, signage, placemaking elements, new public spaces, business assistance, and parking management.
• Walkability and connections to key destinations: Improve walkability and placemaking within the business district, and enhance connections to transit, schools, parks, and major walking/ bicycling/rolling routes to adjacent neighborhoods and the Tacoma Dome Transit Center. Other actions include wayfinding signage, street tree planting, and traffic calming.
• Activated open spaces: Enhance key open spaces to support community gathering and safety, such as McKinley Overlook, as well as business district gateways.
• Enhance McKinley’s Center with new amenities: As the neighborhood grows, support options for housing, food/ grocery, services, and amenities. Pursue community interests with major redevelopments (e.g., Gault School site).

McKinley Hill Neighborhood Plan: Timeline

The McKinley Neighborhood Plan was adopted by the City Council in March 2023.

• January-March 2022: Neighborhood profile; launch outreach
• April-June 2022: Evaluate existing conditions and identify projects and recommendations
• July-September 2022: Draft plan for community feedback, identify resources, and begin early implementation
• Fall 2022 – Winter 2023: Finalize plan and roadmap for implementation
• 2023 and beyond: Implementation

McKinley Hill Neighborhood: Location and Profile

For this plan, we defined “neighborhood” as the Mixed-Use Center (business district) and the surrounding residential neighborhood.

McKinley Hill Neighborhood: Project Funding

The Neighborhood Planning Program allocated a $50,000 Booster Grant to support the implementation of short-term goals in the selected neighborhoods. Over 200 of you voted to fund the Intersection Enhancement. In the 2023-34 biennial budget, the City Council allocated an additional $250,000 for the design of the McKinley Overlook and the National Endowment of the Arts granted $100,000 towards placemaking.