The community project to develop a park at 19th and Madison has their preliminary landscape design completed. Now the park is waiting on two things: funding, and a name.

The city is currently soliciting suggestions for the park’s name — community members with ideas can email [email protected] or fill out the survey here.

The final design sketches include a plan to replace the concrete wall on Madison Street with a terraced amphitheater and a slide. The design features a large concrete path which will run through the middle of the park.

“A lot of people use it as a cut through, which we were cognizant of for our design,” said park steering committee member Tomilyn Rupert.

Because grass has high maintenance costs, there will be no grass field at the new park. Instead, the steering committee has formed a partnership with nonprofit Seattle Works to maintain the park’s plantings.

The city has final say on the park’s name, but they will likely listen to community input. The committee hopes to assemble a list of several names to present to the city group in charge of the decisions. Suggestions so far include:

• Diverse City Park
• Cascade View Park
• Chestnut Park/Mystique Park (in reference to the historical street names of the corner where the park stands)
• Nexus Park (“We’re at the convergence of Capitol Hill and the Central District,” Rupert said).

Once a name is selected, the next step for the 19th and Madison Park will be making the design a reality by bringing in volunteers and securing grant funding. Getting the community involved in the park’s development will be crucial, Rupert said.

“There’s a wide range of opportunities and time commitments available,” said committee member Stephanie Henning.

The park stands in the shadows of the Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center building and across the street from the Lawrence Lofts building that replaced the old Fratelli Brothers site.

Henning said the park will host a community party at this year’s Capitol Hill Night Out, including lawn games and possibly a barbeque.

Community members looking to get involved with the park’s development can attend the monthly general meeting on the 2^nd Tuesday of every month at 6:30 on the 2^nd floor of the Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center or email the organizers at parkat19thandmadison (at) gmail.com.

The planned design for the park at 19th and Madison will include a terraced stone or concrete amphitheater and will retain the maple tree on the 19th Avenue sidewalk.