18-103613Is—iosc013 ,
CITY OF CITY HALL
Federal
Way,
, Avenue South
FederalWay Federal Way, WA 3) 835-6325
RECEIVED offed 835-7000
com
Centered On Opportunity wwwcityoffederalway.com
AUG 10 2018 Jim Ferrell, Mayor
July 31, 2018 CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
L. Oh�Mi1?41iY DEVELOPMENT
Attn: Great Places in Washington Awards Program Email: office washin on -a a.ore
Washington Chapter American Planning Association
2150 North 107`' Street, Suite 205
Seattle, WA 98133
Dear Great Places Nomination Committee:
The City of Federal Way enthusiastically submits the enclosed nomination packet for the Federal Way
Town Square Park for the 2018 Great Places in Washington Award - Large Space Category.
The 4-acre park is part of the city's 15-acre Town Center Redevelopment Initiative. The concept of the
park is a significant component of the "Placemaking" planning incorporated in the city's City Center Core
revitalization effort.
Planning began in earnest in 2015 with input through a year of community design charrettes. Residents
spent months working with city staff to identify the following goals for Town Square Park:
• Act as the center of Federal Way and establish a strong identity for the city's downtown.
• Connect to Performing Arts and Events Center, the Federal Way Regional Transit Center, the
Commons Mall, and a future light rail station all within walking distance.
• Encourage surrounding existing and future transit -orientated development.
• Establish a communal open space for active and passive recreation for area residents to exercise
and community gathering for free movies in the park, concerts, our annual tree lighting and
special events.
■ Incorporate significant urban design elements and public art murals made by our citizens.
City staff began the in-house design process, by incorporating the community's recommendations such as
the "Great Lawn" for outdoor open space and community gatherings. It also incorporates contemporary
play equipment such as a climbing structure, kid's zip -line, and a splash pad. Low impact development is
a critical component of the Park's design, in the form of green building design of the restrooms and picnic
structure which contains a green roof public demonstration project. The walking loop is entirely
composed of pervious concrete and a rain -garden lies on the northeast corner of the park.
The park has become as it was envisioned, a catalyst for the city's downtown revitalization efforts. It has
and is leveraging other public and private investments estimated at $350 to $500 million.
In a short period of time, Town Square Park has become the heart of our city. This project is a milestone
in the city and the first toward identifying a `Great Gathering' place in our downtown. It represents major
city commitment to `Placemaking' for the community and visitors from all backgrounds and ethnicities as
our young city matures.
Great Places Nomination letter to APA WA
Page 2 of 2
We are pleased to support this important nomination for the American Planning Association's Great
Gathering Spaces Award. We look forward to hearing from your organization on the final results of APA
Washington's nomination process.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate through the local Washington Chapter of the American
Planning Association.
Sincerely,
Brian Davis
Community Development Director
c: Robert `Doc' Hansen, Planning Manager
Steve Ikerd, Deputy Parks Director
Tim Johnson, Economic Development Director
Leila Willoughby -Oakes, Associate Planner
enc: Federal Way Town Square Park Nomination Packet
Nomination Form Great Neighborhoods In Washington State
Great Places in Washington xi{
Awards Program
An awards program co -sponsored by the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association
(APA WA) and the Planning Association of Washington (PAW)
Nominations Due: July 16
Please send a digital copy to - and a hard copy to Washington Chapter American
Planning Association 2150 N 107tn Street Ste 205, Seattle, WA 98133 postmarked by July 16. Submittals
are limited to six pages total (including this cover page).
The 2018 Great Places in Washington Awards program will recognize Great Gathering Spaces in
Washington State. Awards this year will be given to three different gathering spaces based on their
relative size. Small spaces are generally less than 10,000 square feet, or 100'x100'. Medium spaces are
generally up to about an acre in size, and large spaces are more than an acre. This program is based on
the American Planning Association's Great Places in America Program (www,Ulannina.org/greatolaca,Z).
Who Should Apply?
All are welcome to apply. Examples include cities, counties, towns, community/neighborhood groups,
chambers of commerce, and planning professionals.
Great Gathering Space Awards Criteria.
Great spaces must:
1. Be located in Washington State and may be within a town, city, county, or tribal land.
2. Be mostly outdoors and open to the public and free of charge at least 12 hours a day.
3. Include a variety of functional attributes that encourage human contact and may have social activity
for all age groups. Larger spaces are expected to include a wider variety of such attributes.
4. Should feature definable boundaries while having good linkages to surrounding uses and areas. X
5. Incorporate design elements and architectural features that are visually interesting and contribute to
the use and enjoyment of the space.
NOMINATION FORM
Name of Gathering Town Square Park
Space
Name of Jurisdiction
City of Federal Way, King County, WA
Brian Davis, Community Development Director
Contact Person/Title
Steve Ikerd, Deputy Parks & Recreation
Leila Willou hb -Oakes Associate Planner
Phone and Email
P: 253-835-2612
E: Brian.Davis@city_offederalway.com_
253-835-6911
Steve. I kerdI
253-835-2644
h - f I
Submittals will be evaluated by a committee including academics and APA WA/PAW chapter members.
Winners will be announced at the Fall Washington APA chapter conference in Spokane (October 4-5).
Questions?
NOMINATION STATEMENT — A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT (50 words or less)
Briefly describe the gathering space and its context.
Located in the city center, Town Square Park is the "beating heart" of the community. The 4-acre site is
connected to public buildings, regional transit and redevelopment parcels. -Accessed by seniors and
families, it is a major city investment in public space in anticipation of a 2024 light rail station 2024.
MEETING THE AWARDS CRITERIA (this page and up to four additional pages, including graphics)
Tell us why you think this gathering space meets the five award criteria on the previous page. Please
include photos supportive of the criteria (within the page limit). Links to supportive websites or
documents might be useful as background information.
Please find supporting documentation attached.
1) Cover Letter w/ Award Criteria evaluation (1 % pages)
2) Nomination Pamphlets- Photos/Town Square Park Details (3 pages)
Contact Hiller West, APA Co -Chair at: h.west(cbco.island.wa.us or 360-678-7814 or
Lloyd Skinner at LlovdsDes(a)amail.com or 206-919-5090
Federal Way Town Square Park is nearly 4-acres of active and passive recreation space open to all abilities and ages
with free parking for our 97,000 residents, and much welcome visitors!
CONVIENIENT
31600 Pete von Reichbauer Way S.
Federal Way WA
OPEN -CLOSE
!U.
Dawn until dusk, everyday!
PHYSICAL
CONWRE�T10N 5s
Federal Way Transit Center
Performing Arts & Event Center
Restaurants, shops and senior housing
FREE COMMUNITY
cl1,fNrqv�AMM
Movies in the Park
Music in the Park
Holiday Tree Lighting
LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
1;WJSTAJNAB1L1T%
Green -roof
Raingarden
Pacific NW Plantings
Public Education Tours
Town Square Park
Town
re Park
Town Square Park
Prior to Construction
(Former site of a vacant movie theater)
Opening Day 7/9/16
Great Gathering Space Features — Town Square Park;
• Downtown Community Park is open to all abilities and • 3 full service restrooms with hot and cold water.
ages from dawn to dusk at no charge and free parking. . Large covered picnic shelter open to the public and
• Nearly 4 acres of active recreation and passive also has the ability to be reserved for special group
settings with trees, great lawn and views of Mt. Rainier. events at a reasonable rate.
• Large gathering plaza for special events.
• Playground that accommodates all abilities and
ages with several specialized features such as a 66'
ZipKrooz two-way track ride, Oodle dish swing and a
unique climbing Explorer Dome structure.
• Playground is surrounded on 2 sides with a high
existing retaining wall which adds an extra security
measure and safety to the setting.
• Water feature that serves as an active spray park
during the day and a lit water fountain at night.
• Large-scale outdoor chess board.
• Two outdoor basketball courts with one court rim at
standard height and the other at a lower height for
young children.
• LID funded green initiative measures that were
included in the development and .construction of the
park include: Pervious concrete loop walking path,
pervious plaza with a special paver system. Restroom
and picnic shelter have green roofs, large rain garden
for filtering the surface water. Recycling containers and
interpretive signs for education opportunities to teach
and promote many forms of green initiatives.
• Site of Community free gatherings such as: Music in
the Park, Movies in the Park, Holiday Lighting event,
etc.
CITY OF
Federal Way
Leila Willoughby -Oakes
From: Bob Bengford <BobB@makersarch.com>
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2018 10:21 AM
To: Steve Ikerd; Leila Willoughby -Oakes; Brian Davis
Subject: APA Great Places Award Announcements
Steve, Leila, and Brian,
We were excited to receive twenty nominations for APA Washington's Great Gathering Places Award this year, including
yours for the Town Square Park. This resulted in some very good competition between some wonderful gathering
spaces. While Federal Way Town Square park wasn't the large place category winner, committee members felt that the
park certainly had the potential to win such an award in the future once downtown's context evolves around the
space. We want to again thank you for submitting and it's great to see how Federal Way's downtown evolving!
The winners included:
Great Gathering Spaces (small): Second Street Plaza, Langley
Great Gathering Spaces (large): Eagle Harbor Waterfront Park, Bainbridge island
For the mid -sized space, we ended up awarding two Seattle spaces that ended in a virtual tie:
Great Gathering Spaces (medium): Hing Hay Park, Seattle
Great Gathering Spaces (medium): Pike Place Marketfront, Seattle
We will be announcing these winners at the APA Washington conference in Spokane on Friday October 5 at 12:10 with
the Lunch/Annual Meeting/Awards Program, but we wanted to send out an email to you thanking you for submitting
the award. Again, while the park didn't win this award, it looks like it's already a winner for the community and is going
to get even better as the area develops around it.
Bob Bengford, AICP
Partner
MAKERS architecture and urban design LLP
500 Union St, Suite 700, Seattle WA 98101
Tel 206 652 5080
www.makersarch.com
MAKERS is a certified women -owned small business (Federal WOSB & Washington WBE/DBE).
Great Neighborhoods in Washington State
Nomination Form I 1
Great Places in Washington
MW
Awards Program
An awards program co -sponsored by the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association
(APA WA) and the Planning Association of Washington (PAW)
Nominations Due: July 16
Please send a digital copy to hi n- and a hard copy to Washington Chapter American
Planning Association 2150 N 107rh Street Ste 205, Seattle, WA 98133 postmarked by July 16. Submittals
are limited to six pages total (including this cover page).
The 2018 Great Places in Washington Awards program will recognize Great Gathering Spaces in
Washington State. Awards this year will be given to three different gathering spaces based on their
relative size. Small spaces are generally less than 10,000 square feet, or 100'x100'. Medium spaces are
generally up to about an acre in size, and large spaces are more than an acre. This program is based on
the American Planning Association's Great Places in America Program ( ww, plan n i nr I ).
Who Should Apply?
All are welcome to apply. Examples include cities, counties, towns, community/neighborhood groups,
chambers of commerce, and planning professionals.
Great Gathering Space Hwaras Lraeria:
Great spaces must: 10
1. Be located in Washington State and may be within a town, city, county, or tribal land.
2. Be mostly outdoors and open to the public and free of charge at least 12 hours a day.
3. Include a variety of functional attributes that encourage human contact and may have social activity
for all age groups. Larger spaces are expected to include a wider variety of such attributes.
4. Should feature definable boundaries while having good linkages to surrounding uses and areas. X
Incorporate design elements and architectural features that are visually interesting and contribute to
the use and enjoyment of the space.
NOMINATION FORM
Name of Gathering
Town Square Park
Space
Name of Jurisdiction
City of Federal Way, King County, WA
Contact Person/Title
Tim Johnson, Economic Development Director
Steve Ikerd, Deputy Parks & Recreation
Leila Willoughby -Oakes, Associate Planner
Phone and Email
P: 253-835-2412
E:Tja,1ohn_san('0cityoffederalway.com
253-835-6911
Steve. Ikerd(Mcityoffederaluyay.com
253-835-2644
Lelia.Willouahbv-Qakes(&cityoffederalway.com
Submittals will be evaluated by a committee including academics and APA WA/PAW chapter members.
Winners will be announced at the Fall Washington APA chapter conference in Spokane (October 4-5).
NOMINATION STATEMENT— A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT (5o words or less)
Briefly describe the gathering space and its context.
Located in the city center, Town Square Park is the "beating heart" of the community. The 4-
acre site is connected to public buildings, regional transit and redevelopment parcels.
Accessed by seniors and families, it is a major city investment in public space in anticipation
of a light rail station in 2024.
MEETING THE AWARDS CRITERIA (this page and up to four additional pages, including graphics)
Tell us why you think this gathering space meets the five award criteria on the previous page. Please
include photos supportive of the criteria (within the page limit). Links to supportive websites or
documents might be useful as background information.
Please find supporting documentation attached.
1) Cover Letter
2) Five Award Criteria Discussion
3) Photos/Websites
Contact Hiller West, APA Co -Chair at: h.west(@co.island.wa.us or 360-678-7814 or
Lloyd Skinner at Llovdsoes(@omail.com or 206-919-5090 ,
Town Square Park
Town Square Park
Prior to Construction
(Former site of a vacant movie theater)
Opening Day 7/9/16
Great Gathering Space Features — Town Square Park:
• Downtown Community Park is open to all abilities and • 3 full service restrooms with hot and cold water.
ages from dawn to dusk at no charge and free parking. . Large covered picnic shelter open to the public and
• Nearly 4 acres of active recreation and passive also has the ability to be reserved for special group
settings with trees, great lawn and views of Mt. Rainier events at a reasonable rate.
• Large gathering plaza for special events.
• Playground that accommodates all abilities and
ages with several specialized features such as a 66'
ZipKrooz two-way track ride, Oodle dish swing and a
unique climbing Explorer Dome structure.
• Playground is surrounded on 2 sides with a high
existing retaining wall which adds an extra security
measure and safety to the setting.
• Water feature that serves as an active spray park
during the day and a lit water fountain at night.
• Large-scale outdoor chess board.
• Two outdoor basketball courts with one court rim at
standard height and the other at a lower height for
young children.
• LID funded green initiative measures that were
included in the development and construction of the
park include: Pervious concrete loop walking path,
pervious plaza with a special paver system. Restroom
and picnic shelter have green roofs, large rain garden
for filtering the surface water. Recycling containers and
interpretive signs for education opportunities to teach
and promote many forms of green initiatives.
• Site of Community free gatherings such as: Music in
the Park, Movies in the Park, Holiday Lighting event,
etc.
CITY OF
.� Federal Way