Only a few steps from the Federal Way Transit Center will soon stand the mixed use senior housing project spearheaded by the Korean Women's Association (KWA) known as "Senior City."
"Senior City" will combine housing for over 122 low-income seniors, 3,000 square-feet of commercial space for the KWA social services office to serve tenants and the general public of south King County, and a social hall.
Last Thursday, September 25, marked the groundbreaking ceremony for "Senior City," and community leaders from across the region came to celebrate this historic project.
Speaking at the ceremony was Korean Consul General Haryong Lee, State Representative Mark Miloscia, State Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, Federal Way Mayor Jack Dovey, Federal Way City Councilmember Mike Park, U.S. Housing & Urban Development Regional Director John Meyers, Reidun Crowley of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, King County Executive Ron Sims, and representatives from the Korean Women's Association.
"When you look at the number of agencies that worked together to get us to groundbreaking, we can see that this really was a project of partnerships," said King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. "The Korean Women's Association helped pull together Sound Transit, King County, the federal government, the state, and the City of Federal Way to make this groundbreaking a reality."
The Korean Women's Association was originally founded in 1972 as an organization dedicated to addressing the needs of Korean wives of American servicemen.
Since its inception, KWA has become a vital organization that provides social support services for the low income, elderly, and non-English speaking communities throughout the Puget Sound region.
Today, KWA hosts and administers 22 social services and programs which serve more than 1,500 clients of 17 different national backgrounds and languages each month.
In its history, KWA has served over 290,000 clients and documented over 5.7 million hours of service.
