The Burien City Council will receive an update on Monday, Feb. 9, on a proposed refresh of the Gateway Monument sign at the northwest corner of SW 148th Street and First Ave South (map below), a project funded by federal pandemic recovery dollars and a state arts grant.
According to the agenda packet, the monument enhancement was identified as an economic development priority during community outreach tied to the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) implementation plan. In September 2022, the council approved the plan directing staff to invest $10.8 million in federal funds for pandemic recovery projects.
The council allocated $143,000 in federal ARPA funding for the monument refresh. City staff also partnered with the Burien Creative District to secure $75,000 in grant funding from the Washington State Arts Commission to support the project.
The existing Gateway Monument structure is more than 20 years old and features a Downtown Burien logo that was not widely adopted, according to the city. The materials also note that the covered structure has physical characteristics that often attract garbage and litter at the city’s visitor gateway.
The city retained Psomas as a design and engineering consultant to develop the refresh concept. Psomas is also serving as consultant on the city’s Parks Wayfinding project. Stakeholders consulted during the process included the Business and Economic Development Partnership, the Burien Creative District and the owner of Burien Plaza, where the monument is located. As the private property owner, Burien Plaza has final approval authority for the design.
Because of limited funding, the project will retain the four structural columns of the current monument to reduce costs. The refresh concept is intended to place a new top element on the structure that is more modern and reflective of present day Burien, rather than its design from more than two decades ago. Extensive underground structural work was deemed cost prohibitive.
The Business and Economic Development Partnership (BEDP) voted on a preferred design concept developed by Psomas and shared it with the property owner, who approved moving forward. The concept was also presented to the Burien Creative District administrator, the Seattle Southside Chamber and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Advisory Board on Jan. 28, 2026. According to the agenda packet, both the Creative District and the advisory board expressed support for the design.
Funding timelines require that the Washington State Arts Commission funds be expended by the end of June, and the federal ARPA funds by the end of 2026. If the council concurs following the Feb. 9 presentation, staff plan to finalize construction documents and release a request for proposals to select a contractor for fabrication and construction.
Both the advisory board and city administration recommend moving forward with construction and fabrication of the gateway monument sign refresh based on the recommended design concept.
