[5][6] The station is one mile (1.6 km) west of the Westfield Southcenter Mall, a major regional shopping center, and is connected to it via the RapidRide F Line.

[7][8] To the north of the station area is Tukwila's commercial district, which includes businesses that specialize in goods and cuisine that draw from the city's ethnically-diverse population.

In 2013, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) counted a population of 4,155 residents in 2,332 housing units within a half-mile (0.8 km) radius of the station, of which 95 percent were considered affordable.

[5] The King County Housing Authority purchased 286 apartments in a building near Tukwila International Boulevard station in 2015 to preserve their affordable rates for low-income households.

[11] The PSRC describes the area as one dominated by auto-oriented development leading to "poor pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure that impedes walkability".

SeaTac adopted a redevelopment proposal in 2006 for 42 acres (17 hectares) of land west of International Boulevard, with the goal of bringing an additional 2,600 people daily to the area by 2020 via mixed-use development.

[14][15] The earliest proposal for a light rail station near Tukwila came from the Puget Sound Council of Governments in 1986, as part of a north–south line from Lynnwood to Federal Way.

The plan included an at-grade light rail line on Pacific Highway (State Route 99; later International Boulevard), with stops at South 144th and 158th streets in Tukwila.

Tukwila leaders preferred a route serving the Southcenter Mall that would add six to seven minutes of travel time and $150 million in project costs.

[22][23] The Sound Transit Board chose an at-grade line on International Boulevard as their preferred routing in February 1999,[24] which the city argued would interfere with their near-term plans to revamp the street.

[25] The board's preferred route, selected in November 1999, included an at-grade line on International Boulevard through Tukwila and an elevated station at South 154th Street with a park and ride facility.

[30] Budgetary problems with the project led to the shortening of the line in late 2001, terminating at the South 154th Street park and ride instead of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.

[46] The station and its 600-space park and ride opened on July 18, 2009, the first day of Central Link service, and served as the line's interim southern terminus.

[50] The station consists of two side platforms, elevated 51 feet (16 m) above ground level, and a mezzanine with ticket vending machines and rider information.

[52] At platform level, the station features large glass windows with views of Tukwila, Mount Baker, and the Sea-Tac airport control tower.

The piece, which also features ambient noise, was inspired by the Chinook Jargon name for Tukwila, k'ap'uxac (translated to "place of hazelnuts").

The Stride S1 Line is scheduled to open in 2028 and connect Tukwila International Boulevard to Burien in the west and Bellevue Transit Center in the north via Interstate 405.