Lower Woodland Park

Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Green Lake community and sportsfield users are celebrating the renovated Lower Woodland Park fields #2 & #7 on Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 9 – 11 a.m. The event will include a special soccer clinic and games hosted by current Major League Soccer players and professional trainers, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. The fields’ inauguration is co-sponsored by Seattle Youth Soccer Association and Woodland Soccer Club.

The fields now have new green synthetic turf with markings for lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee and soccer. As one of Mayor Nickels Seattle Jobs Forward projects, these two fields were planned, designed and constructed in less than one year.

“The local sports communities, and especially our youth soccer association, have been working hard for many years to get these fields renovated and into great playing condition,” said Ed D’Alessandro, Executive Director of Seattle Youth Soccer Association. “We are happy with the quick construction time and excited to have them back in play.”
The Seattle voters approved the Parks and Green Spaces Levy in November 2008 and this Levy provided the funding for the renovation. The original Olmsted design included playfields that have been a vital part of Woodland Park throughout its history.

For more information, please contact Parks Project Manager Ted Holden at (206) 684-7201; e-mail ted.holden@seattle.gov.

68th & Greenwood is a possible location for a new park.

There’s a good chance that the Phinney-Greenwood corridor will get a new park in the next few years. The biggest question isn’t whether the neighborhod should get a park, it’s where the park should go. If neighborhood residents have their way, it will be on the northeast corner of 68th and Greenwood. The site was formerly a service station, and will soon become the temporary home of the Greenwood Fire Station. After that, though, it could become a centrally-located park with a great view.

Nearly 70 neighbors got together at the Greenwood Library with representatives from Seattle Parks and Recreation to voice their opinions about which parcel of land the City should buy for the park. The parks levy gave the City about $24 million to spend on new parkland, split between 20 different neighborhoods that were identified as lacking adequate park space, including Phinney Ridge-Greenwood.

The 11,000 square-foot spot at 68th was not the only option on the table. Four other sites were discussed, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

• Another 11,000 square-foot parcel at 83rd and Greenwood, which is currently a dry cleaner.
• .38 acres on 85th St, across from Fred Meyer. Formerly a Pizza Hut, now a chained-off vacant lot.
• 81st and Greenwood, across the street from the library. Currently home to three businesses.
• 87th and Greenwood, where there’s currently a wall, mid-block, that connects to a large parking lot in the rear of several businesses.

Of these other four sites, only the 81st and Greenwood location received significant support. As the Parks & Rec representatives pointed out, though, the City would prefer to purchase land from a willing buyer, and relocating three different businesses would be difficult.

68th and Greenwood seemed to be the overwhelming favorite because, aside from the fact that it’s not in use right now, it’s halfway between Greenwood and Sandel parks to the north and Woodland Park to the south. It also wouldn’t displace a current business, only a lot that several people described as “blighted.”

There was some concern about cleanup costs, because the site was formerly a gas station, but a neighbor who had looked into the matter told the audience that the underground storage tanks were removed more than a decade ago, and recent environmental assessments said the area isn’t contaminated. The assessed value of the land is just under $1 million, which probably falls within the city’s budget for Phinney-Greenwood parkland.

Parks and Rec stressed that they wanted to have a backup plan, but support for a park on 68th St. was nearly unanimous. There’s no official timeline yet, but the next step involves the City making an offer for the land.

More information about the parks levy is available from City of Seattle Parks, which should be updated as the project moves forward.