Focus will be the Woodbrook Business Park Development Report

Port of Tacoma Commissioners and Lakewood City Council members will meet for the first time together Aug. 24 to review a presentation on the Woodbrook Business Park Development Report.

In 2001, the Lakewood Council zoned 117 acres of the Woodbrook neighborhood for industrial uses in light of its proximity to surrounding military bases, the Cross-Base Highway project, and Interstate 5, among other key factors. This summer, the City began construction of new sewer lines to Woodbrook and Tillicum. The Woodbrook Business Park Development Report contains in-depth information on current conditions, infrastructure, property holdings, and land uses and values.

The Port of Tacoma partnered with the City of Lakewood in 2008 at the request of the city to fund this study of Woodbrook’s redevelopment potential.

Mayor Doug Richardson remarked that “producing this report is consistent with the Council’s top priority of redeveloping Tillicum and Woodbrook; these locations have really been underutilized because they haven’t been served by sewers and that’s about to change.”

Elected officials will get their first look at the report, which identifies such redevelopment opportunities as wider roads, street trees, and sidewalks to safely accommodate both truck and pedestrian travel; areas for future additional sewer extension; and fencing and landscaping sites to separate industrial areas from residential neighborhoods. The report also outlines such challenges as offsets in affordable housing, the potential need to relocate Woodbrook Middle School, and the area’s relationship to the planned Cross-Base Highway project.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, at the Clover Park Technical College Rotunda (Building 3). The public is welcome to attend and may review the report at www.cityoflakewood.us.

About the Port of Tacoma
The Port of Tacoma is an economic engine for South Puget Sound, with more than 43,000 family-wage jobs in Pierce County and 113,000 jobs across Washington state connected to Port activities. A major gateway to Asia and Alaska, the Port of Tacoma is among the largest container ports in North America. The Port is also a major center for bulk, breakbulk and project/heavy-lift cargoes, as well as automobiles and trucks.

Contact: Tara Mattina, Port of Tacoma, (253) 428-8674