So far, Mayor Denis Law said the response to his plan to move the transit center out of downtown has met with a mostly positive response from other local officials and Sound Transit.

Now it’s just a matter of matter of working behind the scenes to put all of the pieces into place.

“So far it’s been very favorable,” Law said this week. “This does make sense and there’s a genuine need.”

In something of a surprise announcement last week, Law proposed moving the Sound Transit transit center to the 8.3-acre former Sound Ford lot on the corner of Grady Way and Rainier Avenue South. The move, he said, is a better use of money set aside for an Interstate 405 interchange at 8th Avenue, planned two decades ago, and should provide easier access for bus and park-and-ride users.

“I was just trying to think ‘what is our best option for transit?’” Law said. “Move it to where it makes the most sense.”

Law said his proposal is partly due to plans by the city to take South Second and South Third Street back from the state and re-route state Route 900 down Rainier and around Grady.

The money, he said, is available in the form of $68 million approved by Sound Transit voters 20 years ago for a new interchange along I-405. Law said changes in the population and development make that interchange less viable now.

“Eighth just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Law also said the corner is located in a transportation corridor that is easy to access, has enough space to build a new 1,500- to 2,000-stall parking garage and is located next to the Metro park-and-ride, allowing for easy access for commuters between the properties.

“We’re not asking for extra money,” he said.

The site has been on the market for about eight years. Under Law’s proposal, Sound Transit could use the already-approved money to buy the property, build the garage and prepare for future enhancements should this fall’s ST3 package pass.

“It’s ideal for Sound Transit to pick it up,” he said.

The mayor also said the Rainier and Grady location makes more sense when you look at the job growth happening in the city’s southern, industrial section, including two large Group Health offices currently being built.

However, part of the move is an acknowledgement that the original hope that people using the transit center would spend some extra time shopping downtown has not planned out as planned.

Initially, the idea was that while waiting for their next bus, a commuter might take advantage of the time to grab a bite to eat or check out a few shops, but City Administrator Jay Covington said it has not been a “big economic boom for us.”

“There’s not a lot of staying in the downtown area,” he said.

But while they want to move the transit center, both Covington and Law were clear that would fight to continue the same level of King County Metro bus service through downtown so residents would still be able to get in and out of the area. The only change, under Law’s proposal, would be fewer transfers taking place downtown, he said.

“We just don’t want that to be the collection point for people wanting to go somewhere else,” Law said.

But if the move is made, the mayor also has plans to expand the piazza, creating a “festival street” along South Third that would have lowered curbs, additional lighting and a painted surface designed for parades and larger events.

“Part of the whole downtown vision … is to create a lot more activities downtown,” Law said.

Law said there is $350,000 in the 2016 budget to study and redesign the downtown piazza and events center, which could be used for this purpose.

Ultimately, the decision to move the transit center will be up to the Sound Transit Board so the mayor said his role now is just to meet with them and continue to push to get them on board. So far he has met with six members of the board and was scheduled to meet with the secretary of transportation by the end of the month, though he hopes the move can happen “sooner rather than later.”