The city’s purchase of the former Target site for Town Center is an opportunity to drive downtown development forward. Suburban cities like Federal Way only rarely get opportunities to advance economic development through investment in key downtown properties.

Our neighbors in the city of Kent faced this issue before us and came to the same conclusion that our City Council did. They purchased 18 acres in 1999 and 2001, which later became Kent Station and the Regional Justice Center, the anchors of that city’s downtown economic renaissance.

In fact, some Federal Way residents spend their entertainment and shopping dollars at Kent Station, rather than downtown Federal Way because of the amenities offered there.

We need to move downtown development forward to bring those patrons back to our downtown and attract new visitors, as well.

In purchasing the former Target property for Town Center, we have seized the opportunity to combine this property with the Performing Arts and Conference Center, which begins construction next year, the Town Square Park and the Transit Center.

Securing the site now enables us to work to attract developers who share the vision of a dynamic downtown area mixing retail, civic uses, and arts and entertainment, while ensuring connectivity and compatibility with surrounding uses.

The purchase was accomplished without raising taxes and will not affect other city services. The opportunity to move our downtown forward and rid this key property of its current state of blight and underdevelopment was an opportunity we couldn’t afford to let go by.

Kent Station should serve as a reminder of the role government can play in creating exciting economic development projects. Federal Way residents have waited too long for vibrant downtown development. With Town Center, the Performing Arts and Conference Center and the park, that wait will soon be over.

Jeanne Burbidge, Federal Way deputy mayor