FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — The iconic indoor roller skating rink in Federal Way, known for the Olympic speed skaters who trained there, is getting new owners.
The Pattison family, longtime owners of Pattison's West, decided to sell and retire after more than 40 years in business.
Since being put up for sale, many have worried the roller skating rink would be redeveloped, but El Centro de la Raza, the soon-to-be new owners, tell KING 5 that won't happen. Although, it will have to get a new name.
"We want to keep Pattison's the way that it is," said Estela Ortega, the executive director and co-founder of El Centro de la Raza.
The organization, whose name translates to "The Center for People of All Races" in English, opened a location in Federal Way in 2020 with the goal to expand. It said Pattison's West is the opportunity to do that since the organization already owns other property in that area.
Ortega said they are planning for work to be done inside and outside at the property. Inside, they plan to do some renovations to the interior, such as making the birthday area bigger. "We spoke to the Pattison's and what their recommendations were." Ortega continued, "they showed us where we could do that."
"We may expand by making it a little bit larger, but we do not especially want to change the roller rink area because the Pattison family has told us that's a very special floor. People come from all over the country to skate there," said Ortega.
Outside, Ortega said they're planning to add a new three-story community center, artist space, youth services center, and across the street, it plans to build a new affordable housing development. It also is planning to build a space for vendors to sell their wares. "Kind of like a mini little Pike [Place] Market in Federal Way," Ortega said.
Ortega said one of the biggest goals is to continue to give kids a place to hang out and work. "We have a commitment to keeping Pattison's. There's not a lot of activities for youth in south [King] County, so having a roller rink and the other thing we think is extremely important is that they employ a lot of youth." Ortega said they plan to keep employees on board after the sale.
The sale is expected to be finalized at the beginning of October and El Centro de la Raza will immediately take over and keep the rink open.
"We don't plan to skip a beat. Pattison's will remain open," said Ortega.
Ortega said once the sale goes through, they will plan to get feedback from the community about the plan.