A skate dot and bocce are out and a garden is in. As ideas for the Broadway Hill Park coalesce, funding sources still remain up in the air.

“Fundraising is definitely the most important element in keeping this going,” said Norah Kates, member of the Friends of Broadway Hill Park. “We want to connect with anyone interested in raising money.” Expect organized events at the park to go into full swing this summer.

Pam Kliment, neighborhood planner with Seattle Parks and Recreation, told CHS while the process has been slow, the park at Federal and Republican is still right on track. City representatives hope the community effort gels in time to begin construction of the park in 2013 with a planned opening in late summer or early fall.

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The schematic is complete. Now it’s time to flesh the park out. View Larger Diagram

With the preliminary design phase complete, the Broadway Hill project has entered the second phase of design development. The goal now is to decide the final look and placement of specific features, including art and seating.

 

Two park features definitely in, Kliment says, are a “natural play” area and a community garden. A natural play area –built with logs, stones, and existing elements — was chosen over traditional playground equipment because of space and budget constraints.

Kliment said a barbeque and picnic area on the park’s “front porch” (the raised northern edge) is likely, given its near unanimous support.

Out are a bocce court and an idea for a small stream.

The last public meeting before the design is finalized will be Sunday, April 29th at 2 p.m. at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1313 E. Aloha. The format will be open, allowing people to come and go as they please.

Kates lists the priority areas for finishing the park’s design:

• Front porch
• Federal Ave edge
• Garden/planting
• Play and art
• Interim use

Landscape architecture firm SiteWorkshop is developing the design and schematics. The firm has designed several Seattle parks, including Madison and Greenwood.

The project timeline will largely depend on grant funding cycles, with an official completion date still far-off. Broadway Hill received a $10,000 gift from Umpqua Bank and neighbors have raised $1,000 towards construction. Otherwise, the estimated $200,000 construction price tag is still unfunded. UPDATE: Parks tells us the construction budget could actually reach $400,000 depending on the final features and if elements like a drinking fountain are included in the plan.

Kates told CHS the group will apply for a $100,000 construction grant in July through the city’s Neighborhood Matching Fund. Some features may not be incorporated depending on how much money the group can raise.

Demonstrating widespread neighborhood support for the project can go a long way towards winning grants, Kliment said. One way to do that is to utilize the existing space, like the movie nights, art projects, and yard sales organized last summer. An Interim Use committee at the Friends group is working to sustain such activities.

Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day 2012?

Treasures of Garage Sale Day (Image: CHS)

One example interim use that CHS will be a big part of is the annual Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day. In 2011, the day used the lot at Federal and Republican as the event’s central community sale area — and we’re talking to the Broadway Hill group about doing the same thing in 2012. If you’re planning ahead, by the way, Saturday, June 9th would line up as the week we’ve typically organized the sale. Stay tuned.

 

A concurrent effort to get a P-Patch at the property could also help secure more grant money. Oftentimes gardens are installed after park construction, but Kliment said the proposed garden location at Broadway Hill would prevent it from getting trampled during the park’s construction.

To raise money for the P-Patch, Friends of Broadway Hill applied for a $19,940 Small and Simple city grant through the Neighborhood Matching Fund, with a pledge to match the same amount. That grant will be awarded sometime this June.

Kliment said the park’s neighborhood support, natural amphitheater, and cozy size make Broadway Hill an ideal city park. She told CHS “this has been the most positive, hardworking group I have ever worked with.”

 

Possible designs for the neighboring development

In 2010, the city acquired the Broadway Hill land where a townhome development failed for $2 million. While the city had cash to acquire the land, the current Seattle Parks process leaves the design and construction end of things requiring significant community capital campaigns. The Friends of FedRep group — Now Friends of Broadway Hill Park — quickly galvanized around helping bring the park to fruition. We documented the initial design of the park space here. The design proposal includes a northern strip of p-patch and community garden space and a series of benches and “coffee table” installations along the eastern retaining wall of the park lot. 

 

The neighboring development has raised concern about its future impact on the neighborhood and the park space.

General meetings of the Friends of Broadway Hill Park are held at the Capitol Hill library branch at 6:30 p.m., every second Monday of the month.

If you want to get involved or make a donation, contact [email protected].

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