IRG seems determined to turn a South King County gem, the former Weyerhaeuser Campus, into a warehouse wasteland. Because they imagine they can.

Imagine instead a California-based IRG finding buyers willing to protect the environment and the unique characteristics of this Federal Way treasure. Imagine IRG selling to buyers who will create living-wage jobs in Federal Way. Imagine IRG investing in this community — not just quickly flipping this property and skedaddling back to Los Angeles with cash-filled pockets.

There are indeed responsible developers in this world who care about the impact of their actions — who want to build things that contribute to communities rather than things that devastate those communities.

It isn’t too late for IRG to demonstrate they care about anything beyond adding to their personal wealth. Out-of-state IRG picked the wrong corner of the world to exercise their greed. The IRG “profits before people” approach is not welcome here and will not be allowed. We imagine better.

Laurie Brown, Federal Way