Federal Way Public Market group asks city to match state funding for feasibility study

The Federal Way Public Market nonprofit asked the City of Federal Way on Jan. 7 to match $77,000 in state funding so the group can complete feasibility and site studies for a proposed downtown public market at the transit-oriented development (TOD) site.

Greg McCann, board vice president of the Federal Way Public Market, described a vision for a roughly 50,000-square-foot market building on the TOD site with covered space, permanent power, cold storage and restrooms; the ground floors could host market vendors while upper floors could include housing, a senior center and childcare. The group said the combined feasibility and site studies and a community advisory process would cost about $150,000; the state has provided $77,000 and the nonprofit requested the city fund the remainder.

McCann said consultants Public Market Development — led by Aaron Zaretsky, a former director of Pike Place Market, and market architect Mark Ernst — have already been contracted to perform the studies and that the TOD site offers regional access by I-5, state routes and light rail. McCann described public markets as “place making” and argued the project would increase downtown property values and foot traffic. He cited an estimate that the market could produce about $1,000,000 in additional annual property tax revenue to the city and reach roughly 1.2 million people within a 30-minute drive-time, claims McCann offered as part of market rationale.

Council members questioned the scope, ownership and funding pathway. McCann said ownership of the eventual market building would lie with the nonprofit (the Federal Way Public Market) or a foundation established to run the market; the nonprofit would operate the market with a board and an executive director. McCann said a positive feasibility study would lead to a business plan and then fundraising through county, state, port and private financing.

Council members also discussed the site acquisition path. McCann and other presenters said the city could negotiate to acquire the TOD site from Sound Transit, citing Lynnwood as a precedent where a city purchased a TOD site for a nominal fee; presenters referenced state law and TOD requirements (Senate Bill 5958 was cited in discussion) as constraints on how property and development would proceed.

Councilors raised overlapping proposals in the area: Dr. Koranda noted El Centro del Raza is pursuing its own market and estimated a $10 million building cost for that project; McCann said Federal Way could accommodate more than one market and emphasized the transit adjacency for his group’s proposed location. Council members also discussed the RFP timelines for contaminated and uncontaminated parcels at the TOD site and asked staff to consider whether the market group could be part of any RFP response.

No formal resolution or funding commitment was made during the Jan. 7 session; councilors asked legal staff and the administration to explore acquisition and procurement options, RFP timelines, and the feasibility request. McCann and the public market group said they would return with additional materials and handouts to councilors.