Last week, CHS shared the most recent vision for the audacious idea to lid I-5 with a park to better connect Capitol Hill with downtown and South Lake Union. There’s zero dollars to pay for it.

But the good news is there are more than zero dollars to pay for plenty of other parks and community projects around Capitol Hill and District 3. Here are some projects ready do dig in or already in progress around the Hill and Central Seattle plus news on new grants to help pay for more.

Summit Slope Park E John Enhancement
E John next off E Olive Way will be “enhanced” starting this winter, Seattle Parks says. The plans to “pedestrianize” E John adjacent Summit Slope Park next to the E Olive Way Starbucks were mostly finalized way back in fall of 2013 but the end product will be a $150,000 compromise version. The effort to transform the street was part of the original plans for the park as ideas coalesced in 2009 but had to be put off in early planning and construction due to costs. The plan will reconfigure sidewalks and trees along the street and eliminate parking on E John as well as close off access to the street from E Olive Way. Starbucks customers, however, will still be allowed to exit the cafe’s parking lot onto John to Summit. UPDATE: Awesome planning and development site The Urbanist has more information about the E John changes:

With the removal of parking lanes, the sidewalk will extend into John Street, with room for a bioswale, new p-patches, and even two new tables for seating.

12th Avenue Square and Broadway Hill Park
12th Avenue Square on 12th at E James Ct and Broadway Hill Park at Federal and Republican were both under construction this fall. 12th Avenue Square, with its woonerf and giant hanging sculpture, is close to wrapping up though the official opening party will probably be held in 2016. Also lined up for a 2016 opening is the long awaited Broadway Hill Park on land purchased for $2 million five years ago.

New grants
Meanwhile, $464,823 in Neighborhood Matching Fund grants were announced in the latest wave of awards for organizations across the city. With the advent of Seattle’s new district system, the Department of Neighborhoods provided this year’s roster of grants organized by district. Your home district did well — D3 raked in more than $160,000 of the funds made available in this round.

District 3

• $25,000 to Gay City Arts to organize events exploring the experiences of three marginalized groups within LGBT communities: people of color, transgender and genderqueer people, and people over 40. The free events will include classes in visual, literary and performing arts, along with community dialogues and performances. (Community match: $33,404)
• $25,000 to Tasveer to organize the 11th Aaina: South Asian Women’s Focus festival to celebrate the artistic and activist work of and about South Asian women and their community through film, visual art, performances, and conversations. (Community match: $48,750)
• $15,000 to Madrona PTSA to install a reader board at the school’s front entrance to engage the Madrona community with school news and neighborhood events. (Community match: $15,085)
• $12,800 to Friends of Mt. Baker Ridge Viewpoint to remove invasive plants, restore native habitat, preserve the view corridor and do some replacement planting. (Community match: $12,820)
• $10,000 to Capitol Hill Champion to organize community engagement regarding neighborhood priorities for Capitol Hill Station Transit Oriented Development though focused conversations and design charrettes with underrepresented populations to promote inclusion of neighborhood preferences. (Community match: $7,720)
• $25,000 to First Hill Improvement Association to engage the community in a visioning and concept design for First Hill Park to make it a safe, active open space. (Community match: $13,500)
• $25,000 to Friends of the Conservatory to conduct a feasibility study addressing improvements of water usage in Volunteer Park. Study will include preliminary design and cost estimates. (Community match: $12,500)
• $24,640 to Montlake Community Club to work with community stakeholders to develop a planning document to improve the vitality of the Montlake business district along the 24th Avenue corridor to Highway 520. (Community match: $15,900)

County, too
King County has also announced a wave of grants for Capitol Hill and Central District arts organizations including $986,000 to help complete the $9.8 million restoration of Washington Hall:

The funding for maintenance, repairs, and preservation were allocated from the Building for Culture Program and unanimously approved by the County Council. Building for Culture is a partnership between King County and 4Culture, King County’s cultural services agency, using bonds backed by the hotel-motel tax to build, maintain, expand, preserve, and improve new and existing cultural facilities.

After the Council approved the creation of the Building for Culture Program, 4Culture put out a request for proposals to nonprofit arts, heritage and cultural organizations and eligible public agencies, as well as owners of national-, state-, or local-designated or eligible landmark properties. 4Culture then convened independent peer panels composed of arts, heritage, and preservation professionals, and other community representatives to review applications and make the final selections.

In a round about way, you have the old Kingdome to thank for the county cash. “The bonds supporting these projects are made possible by early retirement of the Kingdome debt,” the county’s announcement reads. “State law requires that hotel-motel tax revenues King County collects this year after repayment of the Kingdome debt be directed to arts and cultural programs.”

Capitol Hill recipients include the Northwest Film Forum ($50,000), Richard Hugo House ($205,000), and Velocity Dance Center ($27,000).

More District 3 Building for Culture recipients

Agency/Government/Organization	Project	Grant Award
Central Area Senior Center	Green Dolphin, Entertaining Seniors and the Community	$27,500
Coyote Central	HVAC for Coyote Central	$17,500
Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle	Eritrean Community Kitchen	$75,000
Friends of Jimi Hendrix Park	Central Shelter at Jimi Hendrix Park	$200,000
Historic Seattle	Completing the Rehabilitation of Washington Hall	$986,000
Japanese Cultural Community Center	Phase II Facilities Preservation and Long Term Operations Plan	$32,500
Northwest African American Museum	Strength and Security: Floor and Door Replacement	$75,000
Pratt Fine Arts Center	Art Based Community at Pratt Fine Arts Center	$600,000