Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) invites the community to join in the celebration for the expansion of Hing Hay Park on Saturday, March 24, 2018 from 1 to 3 p.m. The event will begin with a lion dance from Northwest Kung Fu & Fitness followed by the official ribbon cutting and a performance by the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team. The afternoon will be filled with fun activities including face-painting, park games, fitness instruction and light refreshments. Hing Hay Park is located in the heart of the Chinatown International District at 423 Maynard Ave. S at the corner of 6th Ave. S and S King St.
This project doubled the size of the original Hing Hay Park. Hing Hay literally means “pleasurable gatherings” and the park serves as an important community gathering place for the neighborhood. The park opened in June 2017 and in February 2018 Studio Fifty50 installed the final design element of the expansion project, the iconic artistic gateway. It is a geometric red metal arch that welcomes the community into the park and defines the entry. The abstract perforations in the gateway represent leaf patters, an inclusive pattern representing all cultures in the Seattle Chinatown-International District. It is made of similar red metal used in the seating and stairs at the park.
The new park design includes a cultural performance space, with custom integrated seating that punctuates the terraces and provides micro-stages, activity areas for all community members to enjoy, including ping pong tables, seating, exercise machines, a badminton area, and shade trees. Other features include planted terraces, lighting, necessary utilities and sidewalk improvements with ADA accessibility through the park.
The team of MIG|SvR, a local design firm, plus Turenscape, a Beijing-based firm, created the park design that reflects the many cultures of the neighborhood and seamlessly embraces the old with the new. InterIm CDA and SCIDpda provided outreach support and together we hosted a series of community outreach meetings, and gathered input from local organizations and Friends of Hing Hay Park.
SPR purchased the International District Station Post Office site with funding from the Pro-Parks Levy to expand the original park. The 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy provided the development funding and brought the community vision alive.
SPR and our partners in the event, SCIDpda, InterIm CDA, Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area, and the Friends of Hing Hay Park encourage the community to visit the park and join in the celebration. Thank you to Unstill Life Fitness Coaching for providing instruction on the adult exercise equipment machines.
For more information, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/hing-hay-park or contact Kim Baldwin, Project Manager, Seattle Parks and Recreation at kim.baldwin@seattle.gov.