Just a reminder that you can help plan a new park somewhere in Greenwood-Phinney. The Seattle Parks Department will meet with neighborhood folks from 6-7:45 p.m. next Monday, Nov. 2, at the Greenwood Library.
If you know of a spot in the neighborhood that would make a great park, then this is your chance to be heard. Funds for this new potential park are coming from the 2008 Parks & Green Spaces Levy. Here’s the Parks Department’s acquisition criteria, to help you find a suitable site.
- Site location within or adjoining the Urban Village
- Minimum area = approximately 10,000 square feet (about 1/4 acre)
- Frontage on key pedestrian routes
- Flat terrain or gentle slope to facilitate ADA accessibility and uses such as short-term sitting and picnics, as well as to minimize site development costs
- Sun orientation and avoidance of shading from existing or future Midrise buildings (i.e., location on SW or SE corner of block preferred)
- Location adjoining existing and/or immediate future uses that will generate appropriate park uses and provide “eyes on the street” to deter inappropriate uses – both for as much of the day as possible
- Willing sellers
- “Underutilized” sites without existing uses or structures that contribute significantly to property value or to demolition costs; i.e., vacant properties or properties with “tear-down” buildings
- Properties with no or minimal relocation costs; i.e., vacant properties or those with fewer tenants
- Absence of development permit activity or development very early in process
- Minimal remediation costs for hazardous materials
23 responses so far ↓
1 Gimme a view // Oct 27, 2009 at 7:56 am
We need a park with a view to the West. Fremont Peak Park is great but too far south.
2 etta // Oct 27, 2009 at 9:56 am
Gimme, “need” becomes “have” only when people put energy into making something happen. Perhaps it’s your turn to scout around for properties with a view to the West that are vacant or under-utilized and do some investigating.
3 Anon // Oct 27, 2009 at 10:18 am
There’s some vacant land near 85th and Greenwoood…
What, too soon?
4 john walker // Oct 27, 2009 at 12:55 pm
no wonder you’re anon.
5 Rob McMurtrie // Oct 27, 2009 at 1:56 pm
It looks like the property on 85th and Dayton is for sale. It stretches between 85th and 84th, is a block from the town center, bordered by single family homes and the Pullington Apts., flat terrain, underutilized (it’s a small office building and big parking lot), on the SW corner.
Current use as a parking lot and small office seem inconsistent with the development path of surrounding area (single family residential on 84th and multi family/mixed use) on 85th.
Only problems could be displacing parking for the Pullington Apts. and the proximity to Greenwood Park.
6 Neighbor // Oct 27, 2009 at 5:04 pm
@2 Why the tone? I appreciate the commenter’s idea, and I look forward to myself and others brainstorming feasible sites with maximum dialogue while keeping the commenter’s sentiment top of mind.
7 Mike Perry // Oct 27, 2009 at 6:45 pm
How about at the corner of 68th and Greenwood in the lot where our fire station will have its temporary home?
It’s at the top of the ridge, flat and well trafficked by pedestrians. It’s undeveloped and right now an eyesore desperately needing beautifying. It’s mid-way between the park just north of the zoo and Greenwood Park and, being on the favored SW corner, gets the sun on all sides. Last but not least, the view to the east (Green Lake and the Cascades) is marvelous.
I certainly can’t think of a better place, particularly a better place with ample sunshine, a great view and numerous nearby eateries.
8 Weenie d // Oct 27, 2009 at 6:53 pm
There’s that vacant lot on the Corner of 85th and 6th, where they tore the house down that had been lit on fire by an arsonist. Also let’s face it, until the freddys project gets underway, the west section of greenwood is sadly lacking attention and development. The few businesses on that block are in pretty dilapadated buildings. And I’m sure the Greek place that stores inventory could find a much better warehouse type location. Plus it faces South, and is only a few blocks from the urban village.
9 Neighbor57 // Oct 28, 2009 at 9:52 am
I agree with Weenie D. The Greenwood Ave corridor has everything. Parks, nice retail, library. N of 85th and W of Greenwood needs a lot more inviting spaces. Too bad some of the worst buildings are on parcels too small to build a park- what can we do to redevelop the All Ages Night Club into something useful?
10 Neighbor // Oct 28, 2009 at 11:01 am
I agree with the above comment about the All Ages Night Club site. But I’m curious about if a park in this location will attract the wrong element. See the corner of 28th and Jackson for an example.
11 Iron City Mike // Oct 28, 2009 at 11:47 am
In spite of Anon’s joke, I don’t think we should be converting every building torced by the arsonist into a park – the community needs to rebuild. I’m sure there are plenty of good locations left for parkland.
12 Alex // Oct 28, 2009 at 8:03 pm
But there is a park up there! Just west of Greenwood near 92nd. How about near the Goodwill, on NW 65th and 6th/7th (or is that really considered Ballard…)
13 aaron // Oct 28, 2009 at 9:11 pm
How about on 85th right across the street from Fred Meyer, where the old Pizza Hut was? Seems like it has been an eyesore for sometime now.
14 Phinneyman // Oct 28, 2009 at 9:22 pm
What about expanding the 6th Avenue pocket park (on 7th Street)? It’s a great place and we could use a bigger gathering/playing/sitting space. There are parks in the North neighborhood (Greenwood and Sandel) and the South neighborhood has Woodland park, but the middle part of the neighborhood doesn’t have a park, other than the pocket park in the West and Greenlake in the East. The pocket park is by far the smallest of all the parks, so it would be great to use some funds towards obtaining additional parcels.
15 Phinneyman // Oct 28, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Sorry, I meant the pocket park on 6th ave and 77th street.
16 Amalala // Oct 29, 2009 at 10:25 am
Tear down that eyesore of an old McDonald’s building and put a little community garden/park there — people could sit and eat their lunch, etc. etc.
I understand about the All Ages Dance Club, but that art-deco architecture is CLASSIC. that better be preserved if anything happens to that building…
17 etta // Oct 29, 2009 at 12:57 pm
@6, the “tone” is one of frustration. I’ve spent years working on community projects with small groups of dedicated volunteers, while others took no meaningful action to achieve neighborhood improvements.
I am glad to hear that you and Gimme a View will be brainstorming and dialoguing. And writing grant applications. And going to community meetings. And fundraising.
Talk is cheap. Action takes effort.
18 etta // Oct 29, 2009 at 1:10 pm
There was discussion of the all-ages club at 3rd NW and 85th being turned into a park during the time that the LIHI building (the residential building just to the west) was being planned. The Parks Dept. did not like the idea of a park on that corner due to the high level of traffic adjacent to the site.
19 Clara // Oct 30, 2009 at 11:27 am
I like the 68th and Greenwood spot too. If the new condos across the street are home to a lot of kids it would be a great place for them to play. AND my kids and I would use it alot too:) The PNC playstructure is off limits during weekdays.
20 John // Nov 2, 2009 at 1:00 pm
We already have Greenwood Park at 87th and Evanston and Sandel Park at 90th and 1st. I think that if new parks are to come into the neighborhood, they should go to either the north end of Greenwood or south of 85th. My selfish side would like to have a park near my house near 81st and Dayton, but I think that a new park would do the most good in the northern part of greenwood. How about at the location of that creepy Anderson-Magruder building at 102nd and Fremont. It is adjacent to the pea patch and fronts the Fremont Bike Boulevard. A park at this location would also give that area a safe place for families to go since they don’t even have sidewalks.
21 Harry Tracy // Nov 3, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I too would like to see the park developed at 68th and Greenwood. No business to displace and would provide dearly needed aesthetics for that empty lot.
Will someone be posting notes from the meeting on Monday? And perhaps a schedule for future meetings?
22 RidgeDweller // Nov 6, 2009 at 11:47 am
Greenwood has two great parks–Sandel and Greenwood–and Sandel is scheduled to get a huge makeover with the levy money.
South Phinney has Woodland Park.
As this map indicates that there are no parks (look for the absence of green
shading) for a large part of the neighborhood west of Greenwood Avenue between
Sandel and Woodland parks.
http://www.pan.ci.seattle.wa.us/parks/publications/GapReport/Update/Map2.pdf
NW Phinney/SW Greenwood is in an area that does not have parks
(except a small pocket park of less than 10,000 sq. feet).
Thus, I support a park on 68th and Greenwood, because right now there are no
larger parks anywhere in that area and could service the people who don’t live near a park in NW Phinney/SW Greenwood.
23 Bill Farmer // Nov 30, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Seattle Parks has created a webpage for the Greenwood-Phinney Ridge Park acquisition on their Parks & Green Spaces Levy website and posted the 11/2/9 meeting notes. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/greenwood_phinney_uv/
At the public meeting we presented the preliminary sites that R mentioned above that the two Community Councils had considered and we had good discussions about those and possible others. Feel free to provide additional input on other sites that meet the park acquisition criteria (posted above) or in general to Chip Nevins who is the Levy Acquisition lead: chip.nevins@seattle.gov.
Seattle Parks was going to begin discussions with property owners to find “willing sellers” and to determine options for moving forward. Next step would be for Parks to report back on findings and to have another public meeting probably early 2010 to gain consensus on site priorities for more serious acquisition negotiations.
There apparently might be some challenges finding a park site that is agreeable to both Greenwood and Phinney Ridge. That should not stop us from trying to acquire a park that will be beneficial to all of us. Be engaged positively, provide your feedback to Parks, and communicate with your Community Council are my suggestions for helping us work through the process.
BF
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