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El Centro de la Raza outlines Federal Way plans, seeks funding to finish phase 1 of Mercado and skate‑rink campus
Summary
El Centro de la Raza on Feb. 11 updated the Federal Way Parks and Recreation committee on plans to develop a multi‑phase Mercado, renovate the El Centro skate rink and pursue workforce housing and community center space at its Patterson property.
El Centro de la Raza presented a progress update to the Feb. 11 Parks and Recreation committee on its plans for Federal Way, describing completed projects in Seattle and a multiyear plan for mixed‑use development at the organization’s Patterson property in Federal Way.
“Mierra…we call it building the beloved community,” said Miguel Maestas, associate director at El Centro de la Raza, summarizing the organization’s approach to mixed‑use developments that combine early‑childhood classrooms, retail, cultural spaces and workforce housing. Maestas described the group’s accomplishments in Seattle and the Columbia City neighborhood and outlined a three‑phase plan for Federal Way centered on the skating rink property the organization purchased about three years ago.
Phase 1 would convert an adjacent parcel into an indoor‑outdoor market (Mercado) with year‑round vendor space, a commercial/commissary kitchen and a park area; Maestas said construction cost for phase 1 is about $4,450,000 with a recommended 20% contingency that would raise the total to about $5,300,000. Maestas said El Centro currently has roughly $4,000,000 in commitments and expects to secure the remaining roughly $1.3 million in about “9 to 18 months.” He added a best guess of 12 to 15 months for build‑out once funding is in hand.
El Centro also plans to invest in the existing indoor skate rink (new sound, lighting, remodeled restrooms) and expand programming, and to build later phases for a community center, senior services and workforce/housing units. The Phase 3 mixed‑use portion could require a comprehensive plan amendment and zone change, city staff advised, because current zoning may not support the full mixed‑use vision where the organization hopes to build later phases.
Councilmembers asked about funding sources and partnerships. Maestas said El Centro’s funding mixes include fundraising, United Way grants, municipal service contracts, state and federal grants, philanthropic foundations and a congressional appropriation that supports phase‑1 development. He told the committee El Centro partners with Mercy Housing and the University of Washington on other Seattle projects and intends similar collaborations in future Federal Way efforts. On the marketplace concept, Maestas emphasized the commissary kitchen as central to supporting small food entrepreneurs and said El Centro would provide business‑development assistance and licensing support through its business opportunity center.
Why it matters: the plan combines community services (senior and youth programs), affordable/workforce housing and economic development in a redevelopment site near transit. Committee members expressed interest in a site tour of El Centro’s Beacon Hill projects in Seattle to visualize outcomes.
Next steps: staff and Maestas said they are coordinating permits and predevelopment funding steps. City planning staff warned that the mixed‑use phase further east on the site likely requires a legislative zone change and that a missed submittal window could delay that stage by a year. Maestas said he will continue coordinating with city planners and community partners and that El Centro welcomes council members to tour Beacon Hill examples.
