By Alia Sinclair

The SeaTac Council passed a resolution directing the City to explore the feasibility of adding revenue-generating parking options to the plan for the new Civic Campus (now referred to as the International Village) in Tuesday night’s (May 13) council meeting.

The proposed option would include 960 total parking stalls, 780 of which would be revenue generating stalls, and 180 would be for City Hall staff.

The estimated cost to the city is $1.2-1.5 million base annual cost, while the projected revenue is $2.2-4.7 million per year.

In an April 14th Council Study Sessions, the council outlined several priorities for the possibility of a parking structure for the International Village:

  • Support for additional structured parking but concern about ground-level exposure near key pedestrian areas.
  • Strong desire for pedestrian-oriented retail and commercial uses near the transit station.
  • Ensuring community and employee parking remains protected.
  • Maintain prominence for community-driven programs.
  • EV charging infrastructure.
  • Options for covered outdoor/event space.
  • Wind study to ensure pedestrian comfort.

In his comments, Councilmember James Lovell emphasized the necessity of studying the option of revenue-generating parking, stating,

“This is the time to do it. After we’ve built this, ten years from now, we really, really love this place, the new International Village, and we just wish we had parking underneath is the wrong time. For a future city council to say, ‘what were those bozos thinking’ We need to at least explore the feasibility.”

Councilmember Peter Kwon brought attention to the fact that, without a revenue-generating parking option, the International Village would not generate revenue, stating,

“This [parking structure] is really the only revenue-generating feature of this entire thing. We have to keep that in mind.”

The resolution passed unanimously, and the City’s next steps are to refine the parking structure design concepts and associated cost, update the project’s financial model, and integrate parking scenarios into ongoing site planning for future Council review and direction.