Lakehaven Water and Sewer District breaks ground on new headquarters facility

The $53 million project includes a headquarters facility housing four departments, vehicle storage and more.

By Olivia Sullivan • November 4, 2021 4:00 pm

Officials broke ground on Nov. 3 for the new Lakehaven Water and Sewer District headquarters site, which is set to open in 2023.

The new layout includes a two-story headquarters, vehicle storage building, 156 parking spots, renovated warehouses and more. It will redevelop approximately 7.6 acres of the district land and is being built adjacent to the existing headquarters along 1st Avenue South in Federal Way.

“For Lakehaven, this is a very important and strategic site for us,” said Lakehaven General Manager John Bowman at the groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 3. The facility is centrally located in the water and sewer district area, he said, and also sits above three groundwater aquifer systems that produce must of the community’s drinking water from the site.

The original building was built in the early 1980s to consolidate operations, he said. About 10 years ago, the district began funding for the site improvements and plan to bring field operations staff back from the Lakota Wastewater Treatment Plant site along Dash Point Road, about 3 miles away.

The new administrative headquarters lobby will feature one of the historic clock faces from Federal Way’s Old World Square Shopping Center along Pacific Highway South, built in 1956, thanks to a partnership with the Federal Way Historical Society. The clock was torn down in January 1995.

Lakehaven has a $43 million contract with Lydig Construction for the building and site work, and another $6 million for design and permitting. In total, the district is setting aside $53 million to complete the facilities, Bowman said. Also working on the project is Helix Design Group, which finished the designs in early 2021, and Parametrix.

“We’re extremely excited that we’ve reached this stage,” Bowman said.

The new 141,00 square foot building will house four departments, including customer service, field operations and water operations, among others, said Peter Sanchez, Lakehaven commissioner.

Lakehaven Water and Sewer District serves about 35 square miles in the Federal Way area, servicing a population of approximately 135,000 residents.