Join us for community ribbon cutting on September 4
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is excited to celebrate the opening of the Urban Triangle Park with the community. Please join us on Wednesday, September 4 from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2100 Westlake Ave. The event includes music by Whitney Mongé, an official ribbon cutting ceremony and small bites from neighborhood restaurants.
“This new park offers valuable public open space for the increasingly dense, fast growing South Lake Union neighborhood,” said Jesús Aguirre, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent. “We are excited to be opening the second of 14 park sites that will be completed around the city in Seattle’s growing neighborhoods over the next couple years.”
In 2008, SPR purchased the 8,722 square foot site at Westlake and Lenora to provide open space for this urban neighborhood, and in 2014 funding was allocated for the design of the park in order to coordinate with the adjacent development. The design team from SiteWorkshops, the community, adjacent properties and SPR worked together on the park design to incorporate the property seamlessly into the neighborhood. This is the first SPR property to have a coffee shop integrated into the design with direct access to the park. The design includes an open lawn, new central play structure (not yet installed), seating edge, lighting, ADA access, places for vendors, landscaping, and other park elements.
SPR awarded the construction contract to MidMountain Contractors, Inc. in early 2019 and the park project was substantially complete by September 2019. A final component of the park is the play structure which is undergoing final review. It will be built off site and installed as soon as possible.
This park project is made possible by the voter-approved Seattle Park District, which provides more than $47 million a year in long-term funding for SPR, including maintenance of parklands and facilities, operation of community centers and recreation programs, and development of new neighborhood parks on previously acquired sites.
Janet Zweig created the public artwork Escape Destinations for the park. The artwork, which was commissioned with funding from SPR’s 1% for Art funds, consists of two signs that employ a bus-blind device to scroll through lighted names of fictional destinations found in literature, games, film, television and comics from the eighth century BC to 2019. The yellow sign displays places from works made for children; the blue sign displays places from works made for adults. Changing every day, the piece regularly gives the park a new name. Some may be instantly recognizable, while others may inspire viewers to search and discover something new.
The event music by Whitney Mongé is sponsored by GID, Windsor Communities, and Stratus. Thank you to Amazon and event food sponsors Princi, Shake Shack, and Bounty Kitchen.
For more information, please http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/westlake-and-lenora-park-development. If you have questions about the event, please contact Karen O’Connor at karen.o’connor@seattle.gov or 206-233-7929.