Forest City updates Community Event Center design, shoreline work; permits and grants driving schedule

Architects from Rice Fergus Miller updated the Forest City Council on the Community Event Center project, Orchard Plaza and the adjacent shoreline restoration, saying designers are in the construction‑documents phase and are preparing permit submissions in the coming months. The city’s consultant team told council members the shoreline restoration permit review has been active since last year with the Army Corps of Engineers, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Ecology and that “this month is the month” to conclude technical review or extend to August. The city also raised a timing issue: the overwater restoration portion carries grant conditions and deadlines that the project team said affect whether design changes are feasible without risking the funding.

Why it matters: the project combines a downtown plaza, a new library‑anchored community event center and an overwater deck intended to restore nearshore habitat while creating multi‑level public gathering space. Council members and designers discussed how permitting decisions (including Ecology’s shoreline calculator and minimum 50% graded exposure for some deck areas)…