The city of Kent recently accepted a $1.2 million federal grant to pay for the Meet Me on Meeker promenade under construction on the south side of the street from Russell Road to the Midtown 64 Apartments to the east, a distance of about 700 feet.

The project includes a two-way shared use path, streetscape amenities, wider sidewalk, street trees and vegetated buffers, pedestrian-scale lighting and curb extensions at the intersection with Russell Road.

Crews began work on the project in November after the City Council in October awarded a a $1.4 million contract to Maple Valley-based Axum General Construction Inc.

“The project should be completed around the end of February or early March depending upon weather and other factors,” said Mark Madfai, city engineering supervisor, in a Jan. 11 email.

The city applied for grant funds for construction through the Puget Sound Regional Council and was successful in receiving grant funds in 2020, which were officially accepted by the City Council on Dec. 15. The council at that meeting also accepted a $235,280 federal grant for the design portion of the project. Those funds also were awarded to the city through the Puget Sound Regional Council.

The city’s Meet Me on Meeker project is an effort to improve the safety, identity and connectivity of the historic core of Downtown Kent to the Green River. Sidewalk improvements also were made as part of the Ethos Apartments project across from the 18-hole Riverbend Golf Course. The developers of the Ethos and Midtown 64 apartment complexes paid for the improvements along their property as part of a city requirement for the Meet Me on Meeker standards.

City leaders have asked the state Legislature this year for $5 million to help complete the sidewalk connection from Kent Elementary School to downtown.