Planning 2011-10-27 COMPLETE AGENDA PACKET

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ATTACHMENT C DRAFT EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT Tukwila's Urban Center The condition of the Tukwila's urban center, "Southcenter at the inception of this Subarea Plan is detailed in this section. Ultimately, the implementation of the Plan's Phase I strategies will result in sufficient modification of these conditions as to make this Plan obsolete. At that point, a newly updated Southcenter Plan will need to be prepared to engage the problems and opportunities presented by the modified existing conditions. As change occurs, the community intends to measure those changes against the conditions recorded herein to monitor the degree to which the Plan remains sufficiently current. A.1. INTRODUCTION The City of Tukwila is located 12 miles south of downtown Seattle, 17 miles north of downtown Tacoma, and two miles from the Sea -Tac International Airport. The Plan Area is comprised of approximately 1,000 acres located in the immediate southeastern quadrant formed by the crossing of Interstates 5 and 405. It contains the City's primary commercial center featuring by far the greatest proportion of the City's development and its primary source of sales tax revenue. The Plan Area contains a sufficiently wide range of retail offerings to make it the largest shopping destination serving the South King County region. Its primary shopping anchor is Westfield Southcenter Mall, the largest mall in the state of Washington. The Mall recently went through a substantial expansion and renovation. In addition to the wide range of shopping venues, the Plan Area also contains a substantial amount of other commercial uses, especially distribution, warehousing, office and lodging. A.2. CONTEXT 1) History The land area of Tukwila has historically been inhabited by the Duwamish, the Native Americans who made their homes along the Duwamish River. They were followed by Euro- American settlers in the 1850's who began the development of a small community based on farming and coal mining. Tukwila was incorporated in 1908, and its development was spurred by accessibility from the Duwamish, Green and Black Rivers, then by train lines that connected it to the major cities of Seattle and Tacoma, and finally by the construction of a regional freeway system. Over time, Tukwila has grown as a center of commerce due to its location at the crossroads of rivers, trails, highways and railroads. The majority of growth in the City, and especially in the Plan Area, has occurred over the last fifty years. The area to be known as the Tukwila Urban Center was annexed to the City as an industrial park in 1956. The construction of Interstate 5 and 405 in the mid 1960's opened the area up for commercial development, and instigated a rapid transformation of what was largely undeveloped open land and dairy farms (see Photo 1). The Southcenter Mall (currently the Westfield Southcenter Mall) opened in 1968, becoming a commercial anchor for the area. Over the subsequent twenty years, more industry and commerce located in the area, providing space for over 1,000 businesses. W: Long Range Projects Southcenter Plan PC REVIEW 922.11 attach C Esistin.g Cond Sununary.docs 9/14/201 1 15