Quil Ceda Village is a municipality established by the federally recognized Tulalip Tribes of Washington within the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County. It includes the Quil Ceda Village Business Park, a commercial development constructed and operated by the tribe. The tribe developed the 495-acre village and related business park to further its goal to diversify its economy with funds generated by its successful casino operations, the first enterprise in the business park. THe land was originally home to a testing site that was leased by the United States Department of Defense for ammuninition storage in the 1940s and 1950s and later Boeing for jet engine testing until 2000. The retail section began with Walmart and The Home Depot stores in 2001. In 2004, the tribe signed a deal with a developer for a retail mall, and in 2005 the tribe opened a 125-tenant open-air mall, known as Seattle Premium Outlets, at the business park. It will also develop a cinema complex and hotel.
Status
The Business Park contains the Tulalip Resort Casino, big box stores Walmart and The Home Depot, Seattle Premium Outlets, Cabela's, and several restaurants, such as Bob's Burger and Brew, Olive Garden, and the Ram Brewery. In 2001, the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the Village's status as a tribal municipality, and the IRS "designated the village as a political subdivision of the federally recognized tribe" under provisions of the Indian Tribal Governmental Tax Status Act of 1982. It provides essential government functions. Quil Ceda Village is the first tribal political subdivision in the nation established under this Act, and the only federal municipality besides Washington, D.C. The village is chartered by the tribe as a consolidated borough with a council-manager government. The first independent retail businesses at the Business Park were Walmart and Home Depot. In 2002 the Tulalip Tribe sought legislation that would give its government a share of the sales taxes generated at the business park, as the tribe provides services at the business park similar to those provided by other municipalities. The "tribe has spent millions of dollars to build and pay for Quil Ceda's infrastructure and to provide such government services as police and fire protection there." According to a public policy think tank, in 2001 about $50 million in sales taxes was collected at the Quil Ceda stores; most of this money went to the state. Legislators were reluctant to establish a precedent for rebates to the tribe, especially at a time of severe budget issues. "Under the proposal, the state would still receive its full 6.5 percent share of sales." A seasonal fireworks market, named Boom City, operates out of a lot behind the Tulalip Resort Casino before Independence Day.
