Today Mayor Ed Murray announced the acquisition of property at 8118 Greenwood Ave. N. for a new park in the Greenwood-Phinney neighborhood. The deal closed on July 1, 2015.
“As Seattle’s neighborhoods grow, residents must have access to public amenities like parks,” said Mayor Murray. “By adding this property, we’re increasing recreational opportunities for the Greenwood-Phinney community and creating more public space next to the new Greenwood Library for families and children.”
This acquisition will double the size of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s property on Greenwood Ave. N., encompassing the block between N 81st and N 82nd streets. The addition of this site to the mini-mart property at 8100 Greenwood Ave. N, purchased in May 2012, will now offer the community a total of 0.43 acres of new park space adjacent to the new Greenwood library.
Phinney resident and Parks and Green Spaces Levy Committee Member Bill Farmer was heavily involved in the search for a new park location and was glad to hear the City had acquired the additional acreage.
“The additional space will allow the community to do a lot more with this site,” Farmer said. “It’s a great location being next to the library. It will be able to accommodate more activities for kids, which wouldn’t have been feasible with a smaller property. Greenwood is booming right now, and it will be important for the community to have this green space.”
The property’s current tenant, Bleacher’s Pub, will remain under a new short-term lease while the City helps relocate the business. Seattle Parks and Recreation is still working with the Manna Teriyaki business, part of the mini-mart site, to relocate. The property was purchased for $1.7 million, drawing from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy approved by Seattle voters in 2008.
The mini-mart site, a “land-banked” property, is one of 14 sites that was purchased with funding from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy to address lack of green space in neighborhoods. Seattle Parks held this site in the current condition with minimal maintenance in anticipation of demolishing the building and developing the new park with funding provided by the newly created Park District. Parks plans on developing the land-banked sites in the order they were purchased with funding from the Seattle Park District, which was passed by Seattle voters in August 2014.
