This is the fourth in a five-part series on Orton Junction. The full original story appeared in the Winter 2011 Sumner Magazine, released Nov. 30. To read from the beginning, click here.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
When advocates for Orton Junction talk about the jobs the development will create, they’re generally talking about two broad categories of employment: jobs related to construction of residential and commercial developments, and the jobs that maintain those developments–which can encompass everything from store clerks to apartment managers.
The former job type is typically contractual—and therefore temporary—while the latter is more-or-less permanent; Both ultimately depend on what the market will support.
There’s little arguing that Pierce County is sorely in need of jobs. Unemployment sat at 9.3 percent in Sept. 2011, the most recent month of data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure is down from the February 2010 20-year high of 11.6 percent, but it is a higher unemployment rate than at any time before 2009, in the same 20-year period.
The city has leaned on one primary document in its arguments for the benefits of Orton Junction. That document is a market study compiled by Long Bay Enterprises, Inc. and submitted to the city on Oct. 27, 2010. The study analyzed secondary data from local, state, and national sources and private sector retailers, to analyze the dollar amount of Pierce County retail sales “leaked” to King County.
The study determined that $46 million of taxable retail sales revenues generated by Pierce County residents went instead to King County. That estimated loss was attributed to Pierce County’s relative paucity of retailers in the categories of household furnishings and services, apparel, personal care products and services, health and wellness care,sports and recreation.
The study additionally estimated that a 351,000-square-foot project in the Orton Junction study area could generate $67 million of taxable retail sales revenues annually, with $13 million coming form non-Pierce County residents.
County Councilman Dan Roach said concerns that “big box” retailers would pop up south of state Route 410 weren’t entirely warranted.
“There’s language in the amendment discouraging big box retail development,” he said. “Not that it would stop a large retailer from coming in. What would happen is the developer would need an additional permit, a conditional use permit with more restrictions. It adds another step.”
Estimates notwithstanding, Orton Junction’s potential to create jobs and generate sales tax revenue remains potential until commercial developers come in to fulfill it.
So it becomes impossible to ask what will happen next with Orton Junction, without asking about the YMCA.
