SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Proposed development on Weyerhaeuser campus sparks outrage
Sep 1, 2016, 1:36 PM
When finished, the new headquarters will be 216,000 square feet and eight stories tall. It is being built on a 26,000 square foot site. (Image courtesy of Weyerhaeuser)
(Image courtesy of Weyerhaeuser)
As Weyerhaeuser prepares to open its new headquarters in Pioneer Square, a seafood company is hatching plans for a new warehouse on a portion of the manufacturing giant’s old Federal Way property.
Renton-based Orca Bay Seafoods has proposed a 314,424-square-foot warehouse on a portion of the 425-acre campus.
According to a land use application, the 68-foot-tall warehouse would include food processing space, parking for 310 vehicles and 35 truck-trailers. Associated site work would include wetland filling on 19 acres.
A map of the proposed site shows the warehouse would be built on what is now mostly forested land.
The Seattle Times reports the developer that purchased the land wants to build “at least 1 million square feet of new warehouses on the property.” And that’s why a group of people are trying to stop it from happening.
As of Thursday afternoon, Save Weyerhaeuser Campus group the group had received 684 of 1,000 needed signatures to petition the decision. The group was trying to gather 1,000 signatures by the Sept. 1 council meeting.
The group argues that the Weyerhauser campus is more of a wildlife corridor than an industrial zone. That, the group says, would all change if the new developer is allowed to go through with its plans.
The Federal Way Mirror reports groups such as the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation are trying to keep the Weyerhauser site as-is through historical preservation. Preservation groups have told the city to “consult with professional historians and cultural experts” before approving any new development.
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