Colonial Plaza
Transforming an Avenue into a Civic Plaza
The wide and underutilized Motor Avenue was identified by the City as an opportunity for public open space within Lakewood’s Central Business District. Motor Avenue runs along Colonial Center, which was one of the region’s first auto-oriented malls. The Central Business District has been well trafficked by surrounding communities since it was first developed in 1937. The District’s Lakewood Theatre, with its distinctive cupula clock tower and colonial architectural style is a popular local destination.
The KPG Team, including a Seattle-based firm named Framework, created the urban design vision and led the community planning efforts for the transformation of the corridor. The resulting product gained full community support and was renamed Colonial Plaza. KPG provided initial engineering layouts for the project, then teamed with the City’s Engineering Department for final design. The KPG Team assisted in public outreach and facilitation during initial design. They also provided final plans for custom streetscape and plaza design. The custom streetscape details included large raised decorative concrete paver plaza, sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, plaza and street lighting, and catenary lighting.
