Lakewood, Washington

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10 LAKEWOOD , WASHINGTON without the hustle and bustle added to everyday life. The British who first settled the area left a legacy that saw mistreatment of the local indiginous population and this is a legacy that the city of Lakewood does not condone. The city has gone to considerable length to make up for this part of the region’s history. Now, the city is working to repair its relationship with the Nisqually Indian Tribes by incorporating the story of their people at Fort Steilacoom Park. Caulfield says, “We work very, very closely with them, as a matter of fact, we are currently working with them to recognize their ancestral homelands here at Fort Steilacoom Park, by incorporating some art and some signage, as well as recognition of their Chief Leschi here in Lakewood.” The city was incorporated in part to improve public safety, to reign in zoning issues, improve the parks, and to provide a sense of place to, at the time, fast-growing South Sound community. Caulfield believes in their 26 years they’ve more than exceeded expectations and emphasizes, “Not only have we achieved that, but I would say we have exceeded those expectations of incorporation. Today Lakewood is much safer.” Becky Newton, Lakewood’s Economic Development Manager, reports that in recent years the city has pinned down a number of industrial development projects in their 150- acre Lakewood Industrial Park, as well as a few warehouse and distribution centers. They are also building out the new Woodbrook Industrial Park, which has 1.8 million square feet of usable space and is planning to add up to 300 more square footage. That park now hosts a large Amazon distribution center, Schylling (a well-known toy company), GEODIS, DAMCO and others. Newton explains, “We worked in partnership with the Port of Tacoma, seeing that this was a big need coming forward, and so that is now coming to fruition. We’re also seeing quite a bit of other industrial development in other areas within Lakewood.” Lakewood is also working to develop in-fill in the downtown area with mixed-use residential and commercial density development. Many restaurants have come into the Downtown Business District over the last few years and the city has worked diligently to create a downtown where residents and visitors can gather; to create spaces like a festival street at the heart of one of its original shopping centers from the 1930s. They also hope to build a green park downtown and are working with the property owner KITE to do so. Newton noted that Green Street Loop will connect the festival street space to the Lakewood Towne Center. The city is also collaborating with the Pierce County Library System to either have the current library renovated or to have a new library constructed that could possibly house a community center as well. In the Lakewood Station District sub area (which hosts the transit terminal that takes commuters to and from the larger cities), there is an 11- acre residential development which will have townhomes and multi-family units totalling over 600 units along with a park. Mayor Jason Whalen says they are planning more than 4,000 residential units downtown and in the Station