Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, members of the City Council as well as Public Works Department officials and other local dignitaries will gather at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4 adjacent to the Performing Arts and Event Center to cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of the Town Center steps project.

The Town Center steps help improve the walkability of downtown Federal Way while connecting the PAEC to Town Square Park and the nearby Transit Center. The sweeping staircase also offers majestic views of Town Square Park below and Mount Rainier in the distance.

“Where there was once a wall, there will now be a place to recreate, eat or meet friends and family,” Ferrell stated in a press release. “These capital investments such as the park, the Performing Arts and Event Center and now the downtown steps, will be part of Federal Way’s landscape forever.”

The seven-month project entailed knocking down the approximately 200-foot long and 23-foot high wall that ran adjacent to 316th Street, replacing it with a crisscrossing connection of ramps, steps, sitting places and a small plaza.

The $2.6 million project utilized mainly Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT) funds, which can only be used for capital projects, as well as a $500,000 Regional Mobility Grant from King County Metro targeted at making pedestrian connections.