Federal Way Downtown Station TOD

Project facts

• Location: Federal Way, WA
• Site area: ±6 acres across 4 blocks
• Current use: Transit construction
• Status: Defining site goals and development strategy
• Development partner(s): None selected

About this project 

Sound Transit is partnering with the City of Federal Way to produce transit-oriented development on approximately six acres of land next to the future Federal Way Downtown Link light rail station. The under-construction station is one of three new stations for the Federal Way Link Extension. The area around the Federal Way Downtown Station is part of the City of Federal Way’s plans for their City Center. Together, Sound Transit and the City of Federal Way look forward to fulfilling the City’s vision for a compact, mixed use, mixed income, and walkable urban center.

The approximately six acres of land near the Federal Way Downtown Station site is currently being used for equipment storage and staging during construction of the Federal Way Downtown Station. When the station is complete, the property will be available for transit-oriented development.

Sound Transit involves communities to envision development near the stations that foster vibrant neighborhoods with seamless connections to regional transit. We engaged the Federal Way community earlier this year to guide the vision for bringing a keystone transit-oriented development project that will be part of Federal Way’s City Center neighborhood.

Our public input survey was open between May 29, 2024, and June 17, 2024. Key themes from the input shared in the survey and other engagement efforts are highlighted in the Community Engagement Summary. Your feedback will help to inform our preliminary development strategy and upcoming conversations with potential partners. Sound Transit will continue to provide opportunities to engage with this project as the plans continue to develop.

What we heard from the community, along with information collected during technical and market studies, will inform our next steps as we engage the Sound Transit Board of Directors later this year. Their input and direction will result in a development and offering strategy for a future request for proposals. Through that competitive process, Sound Transit will select a partner to develop the site once the land is available at the end of light rail construction.

We will continue to share updates and engage the community and stakeholders throughout this process. Sign up for Sound Transit’s transit-oriented development email updates to stay informed on next steps and opportunities to stay involved. 

About this project 

Sound Transit held an in-person informational meeting with interested developers and partners on January 29, 2025, to introduce the development opportunity, describe the project goals and proposal process, and provide time for questions and discussion. The recorded presentation is available here, and the meeting summary is linked here.

Sign up for Sound Transit’s transit-oriented development email updates to stay informed on next steps and opportunities to stay involved.