Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is excited to announce the Magnuson Community Center is open and invites the community to a ribbon-cutting celebration on Thursday, July 6, at 4:30 p.m. Please come tour the $4.5 million building renovation and join your neighbors for an afternoon of food, music and festivities. The community center staff will be on hand to sign people up for programs and help people with scholarship applications if needed.
“The opening of the Magnuson Community Center is exciting news for Northeast Seattle neighbors and our entire city who will benefit from this new gathering space,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “Access to recreational opportunities are vital to healthy, thriving communities, and this state-of-the-art facility will allow for expanded, multigenerational programming that brings people together and strengthens the fabric of our neighborhoods.”
The expanded community center creates a welcoming place for people to gather with a variety of activities and opportunities for classes and formal gatherings. The renovation includes a build-out of the south wing of Building 47 at Magnuson Park and gives SPR greater programming capacity. The improvement also created more accessibility to the entry, parking and lobby of the center.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in the public, community process who helped create a vision for this beautiful, newly renovated Community Center. Today’s reopening is framed by collaboration and generous support from our Park District funding, King County and State of Washington resources,” said AP Diaz, SPR Superintendent. “This new facility offers the community a more welcoming space for people to recreate, learn, and play. Most importantly, the much-needed Teen Room will provide a safe place for young people to thrive as Seattle Parks and Recreation shines brightly for all.”
Magnuson Community Center is located at 7110 62nd Ave. NE. The ribbon cutting will be held in front of the community center.
The community center offers an inclusive safe space serving people and communities by connecting them in a multi-generational and multicultural environment that supports activities for all. It features 4,800 square feet of renovated space, including physical activity rooms with a dance floor, a multi-purpose room connected to the kitchen, a music room, new furniture, all-gender restrooms, all new furnishings from Catalyst Workplace Activation and new heating and air conditioning systems. SPR worked with Buffalo Design and Western Ventures to design and construct building improvements.
The Magnuson Community Center Advisory Council was active in advocating for the build-out of the space and received $1 million in grant funding from King County Parks and a $500,000 award from Major Project Challenge Fund 2016 that funded the 2017 Architectural and Engineering Study. The project was also funded by a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce, Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) funds and Seattle Park District funding.
For more information about the project please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/projects/magnuson-community-center-improvements or contact Rhys Harrington at Rhys.Harrington3@seattle.gov. To learn more about what the center offers visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/all-community-centers/magnuson-community-center.
