Planning for the future of Covington

Published 9:48 am Thursday, October 13, 2011

Destination Covington was all about opportunities and how to make the most of them during the next 20 years.

The event — jointly hosted by the city of Covington, the Covington Economic Development Council and the Covington Chamber of Commerce — brought together a diverse group of more than 60 attendees to learn about economic development in the past, present and future in Covington.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with Destination Covington,” wrote City Manager Derek Matheson in an email afterward. “Our guests — a mix of property owners, brokers, developers, retailers and civic leaders — thought the information we provided was highly valuable and they absolutely loved Costco’s presentation about doing business with the city. Every single response to our post-event survey has been highly favorable and I’m aware of at least five firms that want to schedule follow up meetings with the city.”

That was just what the city was hoping for, as Mayor Margaret Harto told the crowd at the start of the event.

“We have some outstanding guests who have been invited to share their perspectives,” Harto said. “So, you can go away saying, ‘Covington has really got it together,’ because I know we do.”

Harto attributed a significant part of the city’s economic development success in the past few years to the hard work of Covington’s staff.

“They don’t just work here,” she said. “We are most fortunate to have the staff we do. We believe in teamwork here in Covington.”

Rick Olivera, chair of the Covington Chamber of Commerce, said he hoped the event would encourage more interest in the city.

“We have a vested interest in this community and the commerce of this community,” he said.

MultiCare also knows something about being invested in Covington, explained Covington Director Hugh Kodama.

“We’re really excited about this event,” Kodama said. “We really believe in where we’re going. We’re investing $175 million in our facility in Covington. That, we believe, is going to be one of the cornerstones for this area.”

As Covington plans for its town center area that is just a few blocks from MultiCare’s existing facility and future 58-bed hospital, Kodama said, residents want that kind of development and more here.

“They want to live, work, play and recreate in this area,” Kodama said.

Paul Bernal, who serves on Economic Development Council, explained that Covington is a destination.

“We want people to know where Covington is,” Bernal said. “Why would you want to come to Covington? Most people don’t know how centrally located we are. We want to get the word out about where we are.”

Bernal talked about the city’s downtown core, which is surrounded by single family homes for the most part, “which makes the heart of Covington ideal for both existing and new businesses.”

In addition to being so close to state Route 18, Covington is with a 15 minute drive from six golf courses, Tahoma National Cemetery, Pacific Raceways, a number of lakes and the Cascade Mountains.

“We are a central hub for surrounding communities,” Bernal said. “We want this to be a destination, not just a pass through for those communities.”

Bernal also pointed the importance of young people in the city, something Eric Hovee of E.D. Hovee and Co. supported with data later, and the strength of the relationship between the Kent School District — which serves Covington residents — and the city.

“We’re very proud of family values, focusing on our youth… the next generation to come,” Bernal said. “How do we balance what our residents wish for? How do we balance quality of life and family values?”

Community Development Director pointed out that the streamlining of the city’s downtown plan provides something crucial for developers in this current economic reality: predictability.

“Our council has a vision, are committed to that vision, they have put their money where their mouth is,” Hart said. “We don’t just serve people in Covington. We serve a much larger market area.”

Hart explained the original downtown plan had 13 small zoning districts but now it has four.

“It was complicated, confusing and no one liked it,” he said. “The city now has everything in place to guide planning for the next 25 years. How much parking you can get on your site is really the only limitation.”

Hovee told the audience the city has a history of action when it comes to economic development.

“Covington is economically distinct, diverse and vibrant,” Hovee said. “Covington nurtures families and business entrepreneurs.”

Research shows, Hovee noted, that Covington should meet or exceed its population growth projections of more than 19,000 residents by 2023, that the city has a young population with an average of 3.1 people per household.

The median income of a household in Covington is $84,100 a year.

“There are opportunities in the future to reduce the long commute with jobs close to home,” Hovee said.

Opportunities abound for growth in areas such as hotels, banquet and event space, and retail sales in general, he noted, pointing out that in 2007 there was $1.08 billion in demand for retail in the city’s trade area but $460,000 million in supply with the demand staying steady in 2010 but the supply increasing only slightly.

Peter Kahn, director of real estate development for Costco, talked about his company’s experience working with Covington to get its 154,000 square foot warehouse store open in the city in October 2008.

It was not easy, Kahn said, and there were times when everyone involved was frustrated.

“Covington, in the past, was a big hole in the map for us, so it was a logical place for us to be,” Kahn said. “We didn’t have the infrastructure to support a Costco, we didn’t have a road, we didn’t have utilities. Over time we worked with the city of Covington.”

Throughout the process, the sticking point was the road, Kahn stated.

“Who was going to build it, who was going to pay for it and how were we going to time it,” he said. “We let the city take the lead (on the road). The city was very innovative.”

At one point, Kahn said, Costco walked away from the project but due to the efforts of city staff to find ways to defray costs and get things done the project worked out.

“We’re very happy with the store’s performance,” he said. “We’re very happy with the relationship with the city. We all rolled up our sleeves. We wanted a solution that would work for both and we got it.”