Town Square Park, Federal Way’s downtown attraction that designers and promoters say will anchor a revitalized city core, opened Saturday to about 400 attendees, live music and visible pride from those involved with it from its first design.

“This is going to be the beating heart of our city,” Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell said from a stage in front of the 400 or so community members who braved gray clouds to attend the opening.

Speaking after him, King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer said, “This park is not the end of a process. It’s the beginning of a process for a new Federal Way.”

Park-goers Saturday were able to sample previously promoted features like the playground, two basketball courts – a small half-court for children and a larger half-court – a picnic area and restrooms. An oversized chess set built into the walkway, as well as four “welcome”-themed murals contributed by four Federal Way-area high schools for the park’s perimeter, were less-heralded features unveiled.

Heralded highly, however, was the park’s spray feature, a fountain/art piece with the ability to pump 210 gallons of reclaimed water per minute. Several nozzles surround the columns, shoot water at random intervals and at varying heights. A motion detector near the feature keeps the installation from spraying when no one’s around to appreciate it.

“I’m a real big history guy, and this is a truly historic moment for this community,” Ferrell said after his son, 9-year-old Ben, activated the water jets for their first spray. “And more importantly, it’s about families and its about the region. It’s really about families and about community – for decades to come. Just think of all the tens of thousands of people who are going to be here.

“It’s an honor to be here and it’s an honor to be mayor. It’s going to be a great facility for us all.”

This final version of the park cost $2.1 million, including $400,000 for a stormwater reuse project, and has been a long while in the making. The architect of the park, Dave Clark, noted cheerfully that the grand opening happened to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the day the city opened bids on phase one of the park.

An initial phase one of Town Square Park was completed in July 2014 for $267,000, but that work was sold off or repurposed after the city of Federal Way acquired additional space for the park. The city later canceled its contract with the park’s first contractor, and in spring 2015 the city’s Parks Department took over designing the park. That summer, construction began on what would become the current Town Square Park.

Total costs for the park, after the initial phase one cancellation and including the 2006-07 land purchase and labor costs for construction, were around $6 million.