The city is proposing the Federal Way City Council approve the purchase of the former Target site for $8.2 million on Tuesday.
The 7.4 acre property abuts the future Performing Arts and Conference Center to the east and is north of the Federal Way Transit Center and Town Square Park.
The idea is to change the property from a stagnant area to a lively “Town Center” that will further revitalize Federal Way’s downtown core, city officials said.
“This is a landmark opportunity to advance our community’s vision of a vibrant downtown that is the heart of the city,” said Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell in a news release. “Creating a vibrant downtown core for our city has been a vision for decades. Redevelopment of this property combined with the [Performing Arts and Conference Center], Town Square Park and Transit Center creates four contiguous blocks — Town Center is born.”
If approved, the funds would be represented in the city’s 2015-16 biennial budget, which the Council is set to adopt on Dec. 2.
Pending public input, which the mayor assures there will be plenty of opportunity for, the vision for the site is to include above-market priced apartments with floor retail.
The residential units planned for the site will not cater to the low-income population, an issue many in the community have expressed a concern over. The units will be geared toward young professionals or empty nesters who can afford above the average market price for an apartment — about $1,100 for a two bedroom home, according to zillow.com.
The mayor described the mixed-use area as an “urban village” meant to encourage walkability in a city where retail is already abundant.
Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge said this is an opportunity for the community to set the vision for the future of downtown.
“For our citizens and the future growth and development of our downtown, the time to act is now,” she said in a news release. “This is an opportunity to leverage property in an exciting new direction for the city.”
About seven weeks ago, Ferrell said he was at the Performing Arts and Conference Center site when he looked over and saw the former Target site.
“What a wet blanket of a property,” he said in a meeting with Mirror staff, imagining what people would see coming out of center after a play or show.
He then contacted a local broker and started negotiations with Byung Park, the owner of the site and president of Pal-Do Company, Inc.
Although Park was asking for $8.5 million, they reached a tentative agreement of $8.2 million for the property.
Chris Carrel, a city spokesman, said, if approved, the city would have to use cash reserves up front before they can get the bond, which would replenish those reserves, as state law provides a time lag of five days after the bond is published for the action to go into effect.
Ferrell said the funding won’t affect city operations, their emergency reserve or require new taxes.
City officials said they currently have $3 million in strategic reserves in the proposed biennial budget that may be used.
The city’s short-term plan is to finance up to $385,050 in interest over a three-year timeframe, with hopes of selling the property to a developer, therefore cutting costs for the city.
The city would make payments of $64,000 twice a year.
Although Ferrell alluded that there’s already an interested developer, George Petrie of Goodman Real Estate, he said taking the time for ample input from the community is key.
“This is going to set the course of direction for what our town will look and feel like,” Ferrell said.
The city will publish a request for qualification for the development and consider temporary leasing to cover the interest cost.
“This is a smart investment by the city,” said Councilman Bob Celski in a news release. “This area of the city suffers from blight and underutilized properties. Securing the site now provides an anchor for the new Town Center and builds momentum for future redevelopment opportunities in partnership with the private sector.”
The city’s blight was obvious after the recession as “garbage, graffiti and abandoned buildings in vacant lots” plagued the intersection of 20th Avenue South and South 316th Street, near the former Target site where Town Center is expected to go.
But Ferrell said he’s confident in the future of this project because developers have seen the Town Square Park and the investment in the Performing Arts and Conference Center as a “game changer” and that the center is a “spark plug” for the rest of the downtown core.
“’Where is Federal Way’s downtown?’ will no longer be a question,” Ferrell said.
The Council is expected to vote on the project funds at the regular City Council meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Details on what the site will look like have not been solidified and there will be more time for public input in the coming months.
