El Centro de la Raza will preserve beloved Federal Way roller rink

The community nonprofit El Centro de la Raza plans to redevelop the two-acre site of Pattison's West Skating Center in Federal Way.

But this isn't the story of another community landmark going away.

The organization El Centro de la Raza, or “The Center for People of All Races,” announced it has purchased Pattison’s West Skating Center, located along Pacific Highway South and across the street from its existing Federal Way office building. (El Centro is still headquartered at its landmark school building on in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood.)

Executive Director Estela Ortega said the roller rink isn’t being torn down. It will be part of a campus that will include a senior center and a park for people to play dominos.

Aurea Estrella-Geraghty is a regular at the rink. For her, the news of El Centro purchasing Pattison's was welcome, after several years of uncertainty about the rink's future.

“There had been rumors in the past about the rink being sold and in each of those cases, the buyers had no interest in keeping Pattison’s open as a rink,” Estrella-Geraghty said. “With the sale of the rink to El Centro, and their plans to continue operations of Pattison’s and not miss a beat, [it] puts the skate community at ease. Knowing we will not be losing the rink is the best news ever. Many of us come here several nights a week. It’s more than just skating — it’s a family.”

Sunday was the rink's last night under its previous ownership. The energy was “upbeat and slightly bittersweet,” Estrella-Geraghty said.

“Even though the rink will continue running, it's still uncertain if the vibe will be the same,” she added.

Ortega said El Centro is in the process of hiring the skating rink’s current employees.

“We’re not making a big change there because they know the operations, they’re committed." She said. "So we feel that is a really big win for us.”

El Centro’s nearby office building will be demolished to build 228 units of affordable housing, including two- and three-bedroom units, an early childhood development center, and a marketplace for small vendors.

“We want a place, a mercado, a market where people can sell year-round” that is indoors, Ortega said, similar to Pike Place Market.

Ortega said Pattison’s West rink is now open for special events, but will expand its hours after the state’s Covid restrictions expire next month. She said they will also seek community input about their plans, as they did when they redeveloped their Beacon Hill site.

Ortega said the Federal Way expansion is in response to census data showing the majority of King County's Latino population lives in the southern part of the county.

El Centro also plans a groundbreaking in January for a smaller project in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood, where it plans to build 87 units of affordable housing.