The Tacoma Rising Challenge 2026: Shaping the Future of Pacific Avenue

Help Shape the Future of Tacoma — One Block at a Time

Join us for the Tacoma Rising Challenge 2026, a high-energy, one-day design sprint connecting South Sound college students with professionals across Tacoma’s business, development, and civic sectors. This year’s focus: reimagining Pacific Avenue near the University of Washington Tacoma — a critical downtown gateway ready for revitalization.

Students from 6 participating institutions — Pacific Lutheran University, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma Community College, University of Puget Sound, Bates Technical College, and Pierce College — will form cross-disciplinary teams and work side-by-side with industry mentors in civil engineering, business, marketing, urban planning, and finance.

Together, they’ll tackle real-world development challenges, craft bold yet feasible proposals, and compete to be crowned Challenge Champions 2026.

Whether you're attending as a mentor, sponsor, or community member, this event is an opportunity to invest in Tacoma’s future workforce, support local innovation, and witness firsthand the power of collaboration in action.

Agenda

9:00–2:30pm – Student Design Sprint + Mentor Collaboration

2:30–3:00 PM — Public Networking

3:00–5:00 PM — Student Presentations

5:00 – 5:30 PM — Winning Team Announced & Closing

Join the Public Portion to Experience:

• Meet Tacoma’s next generation of leaders
• Network with top student talent
• See creative, feasible ideas for Tacoma’s development
• Support a powerful collaboration between education and industry
• Be part of a growing movement to Promote, Connect, and Support Tacoma’s business community

🤝Sponsorship Opportunities:

Photo & Video Release

By purchasing tickets and attending this event, you acknowledge and agree that Tacoma Rising LLC and UrbanWork LLC may take photographs and videos during the event. These images and recordings may be used for marketing materials, websites, social media, and other business-related purposes at their discretion. By purchasing a ticket, you grant permission to be photographed and filmed during the event and release any rights to the photos and videos taken.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Lisa Le