For a small group of Wedge neighborhood residents who met this week with representatives of MultiCare Health System, the news was bitter-sweet.

The good news: looking ahead 25 years, the hospital does not plan to expand its campus beyond its current footprint. That information was outlined during a 30-minute presentation that highlighted a project-by-project summary for the hospital’s $400 million expansion.

For years, many residents of the so-called “Wedge” neighborhood — a community of older, single-family homes that butts up against MultiCare’s sprawling medical campus — have tried to protect the neighborhood’s character against the demolition of early-twentieth century homes in the name of new development. In 1990, Tacoma City Council approved an ordinance affecting the neighborhood — which is bounded by Sixth Avenue, Division Avenue, and South L Street — by changing its zoning status from a commercial-residential district to a residential special review district. The designation provided some protection for residents who wanted the Wedge to remain a residential neighborhood.

The bad news from Monday’s meeting: the future of four homes dating back to 1905, and currently owned by the hospital, is unknown.

Three homes, located at 1216 So. 4th St. (1925); 1218 So. 4th St. (1923); and 417 So. M St. (1905), are currently vacant. MultiCare has leased its fourth home, located at 407 So. M St. (1908), to a single family.

During a meeting at Mary Bridge Hospital Monday evening, many residents wanted to know what MultiCare planned to do with the homes. Several wanted to see the three vacant homes renovated and put on the market, or perhaps made available to visiting doctors who work at one of MultiCare’s medical facilities.

The biggest concern centers on the two-story home located at 417 So. M St. According to Rick Booth, MultiCare’s vice president of operations, an engineer assessed the home and determined it was in bad shape. “The foundation is bad, the structure is bad,” Booth told a group of nine residents and interested parties. “The inside of the house needs to be completely re-done.”

Wedge resident Ross Buffington noted that MultiCare’s master plan for the next 25 years did not include the four homes. “Meanwhile, the home that is sitting there at 417 So. M St. is being demolished by neglect,” said Buffington. “It’s sitting there rotting away. It’s a very nice home. I guess I don’t understand. If the neighborhood is zoned residential, what could you possibly do with those properties? Why not put them on the market and make them part of our neighborhood again?”

Wedge resident Diane Walkup, who lives next door to the vacant house, said a leak in the home’s roof has allowed rainwater to collect. She was concerned the house would be demolished due to long-term neglect.

“I’m pleading that you do something to prevent that leak from getting worse,” she said. “To tear that house down, it will alienate me forever.”

Wedge resident Tracy Karro also said she would like to see MultiCare’s homes restored. “There’s a generation that wants to live in the community they serve,” she said. “When people live in the community they serve, they become more committed. If you actually remodel those homes and have them purposed for a new physician or a nurse family, in the long run you are going to profit.”

According to Booth, the homes were purchased at a time when MultiCare was “trying to expand our footprint. That’s what we were trying to do.” He added that plans for the homes are not final. “Now it’s a matter of should we hold on [to the homes] or sell,” he said.

Concern over the homes comes at a time when members of the Tacoma Wedge Association have asked the City of Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider their request to designate the Wedge neighborhood a historic district. According to the application, which was submitted to the city’s historic preservation office June 27, the Wedge includes 67 residential homes built between 1889 and 1928, and boasting a variety of architectural styles, such as Victorian, Craftsman, Foursquare, Dutch Colonial, and Cape Cod; is home to the Titlow Mansion, which was built in 1899 and was home to Aaron Titlow, who built Washington State’s first tidewater hotel; was once home to candy company entrepreneurs Frank and Ethel Mars, and Titanic survivor Anne Kincaid.

The four homes owned by MultiCare fall within the proposed historic district boundary. If the district is approved, it would protect the homes from demolition.

“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what it is,” said Booth, when asked whether the hospital supported or opposed the historic district proposal.

Between now and next spring, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to review the nomination application and host public meetings to discuss the issue.

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For earlier Index coverage of historic district preservation efforts in the Wedge and other neighborhoods, visit the following:

— A Slice of History: Two meetings will explore Wedge historic district nomination (TDI, 09/23/08) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1355266&more=0

— Will Tacoma’s Wedge neighborhood go historic? (TDI, 09/05/08) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1318920&more=0

— Status Seekers (TDI, 07/03/07) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/searchd.cgi?paper=88&paper_id=88&keyword=Matthews&skip=0&tbname=storya&tbname1=storya&searchtype=lname&papername=tacoma&year=0&id=354661