A proposal has been submitted to replace the 66-acre Wild Waves amusement park site in Federal Way with a 1 million-square-foot industrial warehouse, a change that would shift one of the city’s best-known properties from a local attraction to a vast logistics hub.

The plan is drawing quick attention because neighbors are already worried about what the building would bring. David Cook said the project would mean far more semitrucks and truck traffic cutting through the backstreets of Federal Way, and he said, "There’s going to be so much more traffic, truck traffic, through the backstreets of Federal Way." He added that people would leave if that became the future of the site.

Wild Waves has long been seen as a local aquatic treasure, which is why the warehouse proposal landed so sharply with residents. KOMO News reported that neighbors are not thrilled about the idea of more semitrucks rolling into the community, and the scale of the project makes the shift especially stark: a 1 million-square-foot building on land that has been associated with family recreation for years.

The discussion has also turned into a broader argument over what should replace the park if it does move forward. Ursula Reutin said the site should be used for housing instead of a massive warehouse, arguing that the region needs to do more to address affordability. She said every community in western Washington will have to do its part to provide more affordable housing, and she called for more housing with appropriate planning, streets and services.

Gee Scott agreed that the area needs more affordable housing, but he pushed back on apartments next to a freeway. He said, "I just don’t want to see apartments next to a freeway, that’s the only thing," and described a commercial building as a better fit than apartment housing for that location. His view matched a broader concern that freeway-adjacent land can be a poor place to put homes, even when the need for housing is real.

Scott and Reutin discussed the options on The Gee and Ursula Show, which airs weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio. For now, the proposal is only that: a proposal. No final decision has been announced on the Wild Waves site, and the next step will determine whether the longtime amusement park property becomes a warehouse, housing or something else entirely.