Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, WASHINGTON delivered on those promises of incorporation and we continue to move forward.” Lakewood’s current population is about 60,000. Its largest employer is the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), a U.S.military installation that is an amal- gamation of the United States Army’s Fort Lewis and the United States Air Force’s McChord Air Force Base.The city also hosts some 3,500 other busi- nesses, some of which are housed at the 180-acre, Lakewood Industrial Park, the fourth-largest private, for-profit employer in Pierce County and third-larg- est industrial business park inWashington State. In addition, one of the city’s ongoing key initiatives is the creation of theWoodbrook Business Park in an area adjacent to the JBLM.“A number of years ago, City Council zoned that for light industrial and man- ufacturing,”Caulfield explains.“Our second project is coming out of the ground, now, and will be complet- ed later this year.Once that acreage is fully devel- oped–and it could take upwards of ten years for that to occur–the economic impact, both directly and indirectly to our region will be 3,500 jobs,with a dollar impact approaching a billion dollars.That is something that our community is very, very proud of taking the lead on.” “Lakewood’s approach to the Woodbrook project is a little different than some other communities,” Anderson adds.“Not only did we change the zoning, recognizing the need for a light industrial proper- ty,we have successfully advocated for Interstate 5 project improvements to the tune of about a half billion dollars that will redevelop the intersection that feeds that area. Instead of having impact fees, we actually went forward with our own project to extend sewers so that the infrastructure is ready and, in trying to solve another issue with respect to the encroachment of the Joint Base’s runway,we’re attempting to facilitate a land swap with the base that might add a hundred more acres to that area. There’s a shortage of light industrial lands in Pierce and King Counties, and we think this is a real oppor- tunity to get people off the commute and working in our local community.” “Another economic initiative that we’re working on is a property up on Pacific Highway South that is adjacent to I-5,”Caulfield notes.“It’s located where Interstate 5 and State Road 512 come together -