Wild Waves Theme & Water Park is on track to trade water slides for loading docks. Newly filed plans with the City of Federal Way show the 66-acre site along Enchanted Parkway could be completely cleared to make way for a roughly 1,000,000-square-foot industrial building, a project labeled Podium I-5. The proposal calls for high-capacity warehousing, long-haul truck docks and space for trailer storage. The park is set to run one last season before closing on Nov. 1, 2026, and the landowner says he intends to lease the property to a development firm rather than continue operating the park himself.
What the plans call for
According to FOX 13 Seattle, city filings describe an industrial building of about 1,000,000 square feet, with roughly 98% of the space dedicated to warehouse use and about 2% to offices. City records and technical reports reviewed by the Federal Way Mirror outline a planned height in the 35- to 55-foot range, dock-high loading positioned on the east and west sides, approximately 589 parking spaces for cars and 327 stalls for trailers. A geotechnical summary submitted with the application lists the building footprint at around 1,033,680 square feet and sketches out anticipated tree removal and drainage work needed to prep the site for redevelopment.
Owner and developer
Property owner Jeff Stock, who has held the Wild Waves site for decades, told the Mirror he considered other ideas for the land, including hotels and convention facilities, before settling on an industrial project. He plans to lease the property to Panattoni, which would handle construction and manage relationships with future tenants, although Stock says he will keep final say over who those tenants are. “I’m trying to make it good for the city,” Stock told the Federal Way Mirror. No main tenant has been identified in the public filings so far.
How the site was made available
The shift toward industrial use traces back to a 2023 amendment to the park’s development agreement that lifted a cap on warehouse activity and extended the agreement through 2053, according to the state Department of Ecology’s SEPA record. State SEPA documents show the city’s environmental review also flagged possible frontage improvements along Enchanted Parkway South and Milton Road South. The park operator has said that rising operating costs in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the decision to close after the 2026 season, a point first reported by The News Tribune.
What’s next
Developers have already submitted permits that cover tree conservation plans, wetland and fish-and-wildlife habitat evaluations, and geotechnical and fill-and-grade work. That paperwork officially starts the clock on city review and opens the door for public comment, according to reporting by the Courier-Herald. City staff are calling for street-frontage upgrades on nearby roads to accommodate increased truck traffic, and the wider area is already drawing more industrial proposals; a public land-use hearing on related Woodbridge Corporate Park projects is set for June 8, according to public filings. For now, Podium I-5 remains a proposal, and the future of the Wild Waves property will ultimately hinge on the permit process, environmental review and any challenges from neighboring residents or businesses.
