Press Release
September 4, 2014
Contact: Katie Swickard
253-838-4646 Ext. 100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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What: Weyerhaeuser Company Relocation – the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and Pacific Bonsai Museum are still in Federal Way
Where: Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
2525 S. 336th Street, Federal Way, WA, located where I-5 and Hwy 18 meet
When: Garden hours remain the same: Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm
Contact: 253-838-4646 Ext. 140
With the surprising news of the impending relocation of the headquarters of the Weyerhaeuser Company from their Federal Way corporate campus to their new site in Seattle in 2016, many people are expressing concern over the fate of two of the Pacific Northwest’s finest public gardens – the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden (RSBG) and the Pacific Bonsai Museum. Both of these independently funded, 501c3, non-profit organizations currently lease land on the Weyerhaeuser campus and both are Puget Sound institutions, each featuring a world-class collection and beautiful display gardens.
The good news is that these two organizations and their display gardens are NOT moving, will not be moving, and have no reason to move. Weyerhaeuser spokesperson, Anthony Chavez says,
“The Bonsai and Rhododendron Gardens will not be affected by the announcement of moving our corporate headquarters to Seattle.” They are both completely independent of the Weyerhaeuser Company and so will still be located in the exact same place where you have enjoyed them for so many years, in Federal Way at the intersection of Highway 18 and I-5. The hours are the same, the gardens are the same, nothing has changed and they are open for business! Please stop for a visit Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Future events that both gardens hold will continue as planned.
Both organizations sincerely appreciate their long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Weyerhaeuser Company and wish them all the best in their new headquarters in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle. We will miss their incredibly positive presence in our city and can only hope that the future owners of what is definitely one of the most beautiful campus settings in the country will be as generous as they have been over the past several decades.