Anyone interested in making Federal Way a more attractive city for businesses and a better place to live should be paying close attention to the city’s purchase of the former Target property.
I noticed in the Mirror’s editorial on Nov. 22 titled “Questions about Town Center purchase in Federal Way,” which I inferred as a list of negative questions intended to undermine the City Council’s decision to make the purchase.
Numerous people have been searching for the formula to attract industry to Federal Way. For anyone who reads the Mirror that hasn’t lost some sleep over trying to solve the potential blight that we have in the downtown core, your comments will simply fuel their bias to continue with the old ingrained behavior.
The Puget Sound is recognized as a high tech, innovation center in the U.S., and is well on its way to becoming a key element of a global economic mega-center.
Federal Way sits right in the middle of this whirlwind of growth. While significant development has been occurring in every other city in King County, little of the same has occurred within our city. What is our problem?
Attracting new businesses, both large and small, to our city has been problematic.
Companies who would move their headquarter operations here, and, definitely, newer and smaller companies, want to be in an environment that allows their companies to retain and attract talent and to be successful in a globally competitive environment.
We need look no further than Weyerhaeuser’s planned departure for evidence that we need to upgrade our image. Doyle Simons, CEO, was quoted as saying, “… Moving our headquarters to Seattle will give us access to a larger talent pool to meet future recruiting needs, not just in this region, but from across the country.”
Our city will continue on the current trajectory until we make a concerted effort to change our image. The Performing Arts Center and the development of the former Target property are aimed squarely at doing just that.
In any case, a blighted Federal Way will lead to a declining tax base, which will lead to a downward spiral in many services. How do you address that problem? It is my belief that the recent incremental changes, when compounded, could begin to have an effect on the attractiveness of doing business here.
We need to foster a creative positive process for change in Federal Way and not a community that lives in fear of change. Federal Way could easily slip into an economic free fall. The Mirror could play a significant role in bringing about change in our community if significant change is going to materialize.
Garry Welch, Federal Way
