| Federal Way, Washington | |||
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| Coordinates: 47°18′46″N 122°20′21″W / 47.31278°N 122.33917°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Washington | ||
| County | King | ||
| Incorporated | 1990 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Jack Dovey[1] | ||
| - City manager | Neal Beets | ||
| Area [2] | |||
| - City | 21.1 sq mi (54.8 km2) | ||
| - Land | 21.0 sq mi (54.5 km2) | ||
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 515 ft (157 m) | ||
| Population (April 1, 2009[3]) | |||
| - City | 88,580 | ||
| - Urban | 84,309 | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | ||
| ZIP code | 980[01]/[03]/[23]/[63]/[93] | ||
| Area code(s) | 253 | ||
| FIPS code | 53-23515[4] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1534582[5] | ||
| Website | http://cityoffederalway.com/ | ||
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is considered a commuter town by some people and is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, Auburn, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south. The population is currently 88,580.[3]
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Originally a logging settlement, the area was first called "Federal Way" in 1929, when Federal Way School District #210 was created. The name derived from U.S. Route 99 (now State Route 99 or Pacific Highway South), completed that decade, which ran through the area on its way from Everett and Seattle to Tacoma. Federal Way High School was built, and about 20 years later, the name was adopted by the local Chamber of Commerce. The city was incorporated on February 28, 1990.
Federal Way is home to Weyerhaeuser, the largest private owner of softwood timberland in the world. Weyerhaeuser has opened much of its land to the public, including two botanical gardens: the Rhododendron Species Foundation and Botanical Garden, and the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. Federal Way is also home to the US office headquarters of World Vision.
Other attractions in the city include the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, which features an Olympic size swimming pool and had been used for the Goodwill Games in 1990, and Celebration Park, with sports fields and wooded trails. The city has also developed many lake front and neighborhood parks and playgrounds.
Wild Waves Theme Park, the largest amusement park in the region, is known as Wild Waves and Enchanted Village. It is located on the south side of the city and is the Seattle area's only permanent amusement park. Six Flags purchased Wild Waves in December 2000. However after low sales, Six Flags sold the park in April 2007 to Parc Management LLC of Jacksonville, Fl for $31.75 million.
Federal Way is locally identified by its 1990s semi-urban development, characterized by landscaped off-street multi-structure apartment complexes and shopping centers. The Commons at Federal Way (previously Sea Tac Mall), the city's largest and only indoor shopping center, is located on S 320th St. and Pacific Hwy South (State Route 99) near the city's main Interstate 5 exit.
Major city and state parks:
In 2007, the city of Federal Way purchased a downtown lot formerly used by a defunct AMC Theatres cinema, and invited proposals from two developers, United Properties and Alpert Capital, to develop a multi-use tower project in the downtown core, adjacent to the recently-built transit center. Such a project follows in the steps of similar multi-use developments such as Kent Station in nearby Kent. The city awarded the contract to United Properties' "Symphony" project, comprising four 15-22 story towers including 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) of retail and office space, 900 housing units, and a large downtown park which would be relinquished to the city. Transfer of the land to United Properties followed by construction of the first tower was scheduled to start in mid-[2008].[9] However, in July 2008, United Properties' requested a one-year extension on the terms of the purchase agreement, citing difficulties in the credit and housing markets to acquire the necessary funds.[10]
The park portion of the Symphony development was expected to serve as the main venue for Federal Way Festival Days, an annual city celebration. Festival Days were canceled in 2008 after the city's largest mall, The Commons at Federal Way, refused to allow the festival to use its parking lots, citing an increased demand for parking after a mall revitalization, as well as loss of parking land due to the introduction of retail pad lots.
The Federal Way City Council consists of seven at-large seats who serve for staggered two-year terms. The city mayor acts as chair of the Council and is elected by the Council from among its members. As of 2008 the mayor is Jack Dovey. The city manager is Neal Beets. The city operates under the council-manager form of government.
As part of the Washington State Growth Management Act of 1990 (GMA), Federal Way, along with other Puget Sound suburban cities have identified Potential Annexation Area's (PAA's) as areas of unincorporated King County that they feel could best be serviced by them. Federal Way has indicated interest in Auburn Hills (east of the city to the Auburn city limits), Lakeland (south and east of the city to the King/Pierce County border and east to the Auburn city limits), and Star Lake (north and east of the city to the Kent city limits). In 2004, the city annexed the Northlake, East Redondo, and Parkway neighborhoods into the city, adding over 2,700 people and nearly 1 square mile (2.57 km²) of area. Other possible annexation areas include the Jovita and Camelot neighborhoods.
In February 2007, the city announced formal plans to annex the majority of unincorporated land on its east border as one PAA named East Federal Way, comprising the Star Lake, Camelot, Lakeland, and Jovita neighborhoods,[11][12] and a strip of road connecting them. Annexation of the area would add 20,000 people and nearly 7 sq. mi (18 km²) to the city, creating the 6th largest ciy in Washington by population, at over 106,000 residents and nearly 29 sq mi (75 km2). (75 km²)[13]
On August 21, 2007, residents of the proposed East Federal Way annexation area rejected annexation to Federal Way by a 66% to 34% margin.[14] Opponents of the plan, favoring remaining under direct King County government, asserted fears that increased density and higher taxes would result from annexation despite proponents showing studies that taxes and fees would be unchanged.[15]
Federal Way is located at 47°18′47″N 122°20′21″W / 47.31306°N 122.33917°W (47.312960, -122.339173)[16].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.1 square miles (54.8 km²), of which, 21.0 square miles (54.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.61%) is water.
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Puget Sound | Des Moines | Kent | |
| Browns Point |  |
Auburn | ||
 Federal Way
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| Tacoma | Milton | Pacific |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1970 | 22,485 |
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| 1980 | 44,900 | 99.7% | |
| 1990 | 67,449 | 50.2% | |
| 2000 | 83,259 | 23.4% | |
| Est. 2008 | 84,309 | 1.3% | |
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 83,259 people, 31,437 households, and 21,251 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,959.4/mi² (1,528.6/km²). There were 32,581 housing units at an average density of 1,549.4/mi² (598.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.1% White, 8.7% African American, 0.8% Native American, 17.5% Asian, 3.0% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.5% of the population.
There were 31,437 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,278, and the median income for a family was $55,833. Males had a median income of $41,504 versus $30,448 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,451. About 6.9% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Two newspapers are published within Federal Way. The Federal Way Mirror[17] and the Federal Way News.[18] The city receives additional coverage from most major media sources in both Seattle and Tacoma.
In 2008 the Federal Way Historical Society worked with Arcadia Publishing to publish Images of America: Federal Way (ISBN 0-7385-5898-2), a photographic history of the traditional Federal Way area.[19]
Federal Way has the following sister cities:[25]
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Federal Way is a city in King County in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. With a population of nearly 90,000, Federal Way one of Seattle's largest suburbs. Federal Way is home to the world-headquarters of Weyerhaeuser and World Vision.
Federal Way is less than 10 miles south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and is located along Interstate-5 and reaches to the Puget Sound.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Like the rest of the Seattle Area, Federal Way is served by King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit as well as being the northern most service area of Pierce Transit. The transportation hub in Federal Way is the Federal Way Transit Center on South 317th St. The FWTC offers routes with service to Sea-Tac Intl. Airport, Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Puyallup, and other surrounding cities.
The City of Federal Way has a huge population of Korean Americans. Thus, Federal Way hosts the annual Hanwoori Korean Festival, which is a huge event sponsored by the City of Federal Way, Washington State, and various other business organizations. Like any other festivals, it has many family geared activities ranging from food, games, karaoke, public shows, etc.
Wild Waves Enchanted Village Operated by Six Flags, it is the main attraction in Federal Way, being the only existing water amusement park in Washington State.
Downtown Federal Way Is the main shopping and business center of Federal Way and is very multicultural. The Commons (formally known as Seatac Mall) is the main attraction of Downtown Federal Way. But also, along Pacific Highway and 320th St, there are many plazas and restaurants. H-Mart, happens to be the largest international market in Federal Way, and is also an interesting place to visit.
Redondo Beach A place to enjoy Puget Sound
Federal Way is best known for its Korean Cuisine, thanks to the high concentration of Korean Americans living in the city.
Recommended Korean Restaurants: Mirak, Shin Sung, Kokkiri, H-Mart [Houses various small restaurant inside]
Recommended Japanese Restaurants: Akasaka, Koharu, Hanabi
Recommended Thai Restaurants: Indochine
Recommended Chinese Restaurants: Peking Wok
| Routes through Federal Way |
| Seattle ← Kent ← | N  S |
→ Fife → Portland |
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