08-04-2025
What's next for The Swiss? Upcoming workshop to tackle how to best use iconic site
People with ideas of how an iconic University of Washington-Tacoma building should evolve are set to gather this week at a local workshop.
The problem: What to do with The Swiss, which sits at the corner of South 19th Street and Jefferson Ave.
The building's history goes back to the early 20th century, when the Swiss Society created the chalet-influenced hall that once marked the southern edge of Tacoma's market district.
The Swiss, which in modern times operated for nearly 30 years as a pub and entertainment venue, closed in late 2021 as a result of pandemic-era business contractions.
Now UWT, which owns the building, and local business networking group Tacoma Rising have called on students and business leaders to explore options to bring it back to life.
The workshop, Tacoma Rising UWT Challenge, will be held April 10 at William Phillip Hall (UWT Campus), 1918 Commerce St., Tacoma, and consist of 25 students and 15 business mentors working in teams.
University participants will include five students from engineering, five from urban planning and five each from finance, marketing and business programs at UWT.
Reid Fetters, who leads Tacoma Rising, sees the connecting of business leaders with the students as beneficial for both sides.
'We want to bring business in, and we want to connect this local talent with businesses,' he told The News Tribune in a recent interview.
'This is definitely going to be one of the most impactful redevelopments in Tacoma,' he added. 'One reason is because of the history and how many people are connected to it one way or another. And then, it has the potential to be the heartbeat of campus.'
The goal is to come up with a redevelopment plan that not only would serve the campus and city but generate revenue. The workshop culminates in a series of presentations before a panel of judges and a live audience.
Fetters also is the head of UrbanWork, which operates coworking spaces in Tacoma, including office space utilized by The News Tribune.
As the campus marks its 35th anniversary this year, campus leaders have been touting building on UWT's master plan.
The campus has 5,000 students and will be able to serve 10,000 with full build-out, according to a recent presentation to Tacoma City Council.
UWT Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange and accompanying staff made a presentation March 25 to council members at their study session. Some highlights included plans for a new dining facility and student housing to accommodate 400-500 beds, and campus green space that would showcase the view of Mount Rainier.
'This expansion of green space would actually transform UWT into one of the largest parks in downtown Tacoma,' said Edwards Lange at the session.
Other plans include additional on-campus office space and 'activating our campus edges,' she added, to become more of a 24/7 campus along with serving its commuter-student population.
'Probably the most dramatic change will be along Tacoma Avenue, where we want to create a connection to the Hilltop that's welcoming and inviting,' Edwards Lange said, 'and have that be our second entrance to campus.'
While there are some properties in the area UWT isn't likely to gain because of cost or other reasons, overall, 'all of the parcels that we can secure we have under contract or underway,' Edwards Lange told the council.
In a Tacoma Rising podcast that recently featured its work with UWT and The Swiss project, the university's chief strategy officer Joe Lawless told Fetters that the university has 'been trying to solve the puzzle of The Swiss since the pandemic hit.'
'It seemed like the perfect problem for teams of students to offer their thoughts and ideas and creativity, from both a student experience standpoint and from a business standpoint,' Lawless said. 'It was just a perfect match between student experience and getting getting this hands-on experience that they'll be able to use and carry forward into their careers, matched with something that we need help with.'
Ben Mauk is director of Real Estate & Development, Campus Planning & Development for UWT. On the Tacoma Rising podcast, Mauk said that The Swiss, to his mind, represented the 'pivot point' for overall campus development as it makes the transition from 'the historic preservation stage of campus development to embracing what the new development up the hill is going to be.'
'In my opinion, when the campus is built out, and actually before that, The Swiss is going to be the iconic space.'
'If we do a good job there, it's going to drive successful project decisions and project development,' he added.
UWT student Natalie Miller, also on the podcast, was optimistic in the university finding ways to entice students to stay on campus longer, benefiting the surrounding community.
Miller commutes from Port Orchard to start her day at 8 a.m. with her first class.
'I'm done at 12:30 (p.m.) and then I just want to go home,' she said. 'But I think that with this change (for) The Swiss building, that is something that appeals to students, it appeals to the community, it appeals to everybody, and it's something where I could do school work, and I could bring girlfriends. ...
'It would be nice to have a place where students can come, the community can come, and just not have that kind of separation anymore. That'd be the place to bring the community and the students together.'
Fetters says the workshop fits in with his work on a high level, which is coming up with new ways to fill vacant space, and hopes this is the first of an annual workshop event from the networking group.
'There's so many hurdles ... to make this happen,' Fetters told The News Tribune. 'But if you get landlords passionate and you give them a path forward that says, 'If you invest in your asset, you will see a return,' then you change Tacoma one building at a time.'
For more information on the workshop and/or attending the lunch and presentations, go to the Tacoma Rising UWT Challenge online event site.
