The area that is to become Federal Way’s town center — including Town Square Park, the PAEC, the transit center and the old Target building— has changed a lot over the last two decades, and the final vision of that transformation is getting closer:<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
• The transit center opened in 2006 and will eventually form the southern side of the light rail extension. That process has required the demolition of several former retail buildings, and the downtown light rail station is now estimated to open in 2026, according to the city.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
• The PAEC, also known as TC-1, opened in 2017 and replaced the Toys R Us that operated on the property from 1987 through 2006, when the company closed 73 locations nationwide. Federal Way bought the Toys R Us property in 2010 and the city council agreed to the $32 million construction in 2015, following a finding the year before that the project was feasible from the Blue Ribbon Panel assembled to study the project.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
• The city designed and built Town Square Park, also known as TC-2, for $2.1 million. The four-acre downtown urban park, formerly home to an AMC movie theater, opened in 2016, around a decade after the city first bought the property for roughly $4 million. The city council has recently amended the capital projects list to include plans for a new city park, as the city expects Town Square Park to become saturated by new residents.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
• Finally, in 2014, the city acquired the 7.4-acre old Target building for $8.2 million. That property, once redeveloped, will become TC-3, a mixed-use urban village with residential, retail and community organs. Congressman Adam Smith has requested $2.5 million for the project in federal appropriations after city leaders requested help for funding during the city’s trip to Washington, D.C. Another $3 million of grant funding helped the city knock down a 30-foot wall and build steps connecting the PAEC with Town Square Park directly.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
How should the new downtown look? The answer, at least for city leaders, has been a mixed-use blend of housing (including townhouses), commerce, event space and public space comparable in function to Seattle’s University Village.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The city’s chosen design for the space, from Seattle-based Via Architecture, features four main block buildings, a Town Square parklet at the center with an event pavilion, and a focus on pedestrian walkways connecting each of the buildings.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The Federal Way City Council unanimously voted in April 18 to award the TC-3 contract to OneTrent, who will develop the design created by Via Architecture.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“What we’ve always envisioned for a city … is a place where we can live, work and play,” Council president Linda Kochmar said, “so you don’t have to drive two hours, or get on a bus or light rail … to go where you want to go.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
In piecing together the downtown puzzle, Niven told the crowd, the city spoke to an economist as well as architects and community members.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“We wanted to bring a plan forward to the city council that could actually be built,” Niven said. “We had chased in the past … certain projects that were just a little bit outside our reach, which meant they didn’t get built. … Well, the economist came back … and he said, I don’t think (the city’s vision) can happen.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
But the city disagreed, said Niven, who quoted American architect Daniel Burnham: “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“I think those are words to live by,” Niven said. “And to kind of be a testament to the next chapter.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
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