What's next for Federal Way theme park Wild Waves?

Sorry to the kids hoping for a Wild Waves resurrection.

Instead of brightly colored waterslides tempting harried freeway drivers, the Federal Way site is likely to soon be home to a vast warehouse.

Documents filed with the city of Federal Way show plans to transform the site into a 1-million-square-foot industrial warehouse with parking, as first reported by the Federal Way Mirror.

Park operators announced in December that Wild Waves would close on Nov. 1, following its final season this year. Oklahoma-based Premier Parks, which operates Wild Waves, blamed rising operation costs since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Property owner Jeff Stock said in a statement at the time that he hoped the site's next use would be "beneficial to the city and surrounding areas."

Stock told the Federal Way Mirror last week that he considered a hotel or convention center for the site but didn't find much interest and worried about leaving the property vacant. The Seattle Times could not immediately reach Stock.

While Stock will hold onto ownership of the property, California-based Panattoni Development Company will lease the site, redevelop it and manage future warehouse tenants, the Mirror reported Thursday.

High fuel costs and other expenses are keeping a lid on the industrial real estate market across the Puget Sound region, according to recent research from the commercial brokerage Kidder Mathews.

Vacancy rates in industrial warehouses and offices have ticked up in recent years and rents have dipped. A limited number of new warehouse projects remain in the works, especially in Pierce County. In South King County, about 10% of industrial space is vacant, roughly on par with other parts of the region but up from just below 8% in 2022.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 4:51 PM.