Seattle Parks Invites Community To Meeting To Discuss Future Of Capehart Housing Site
November 4, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — The entire 24-acre Capehart Housing Area at Discovery Park became the property of the City on Friday, October 22, 2010. The $11.1 million purchase was funded by a combination of state and county grants, as well as from proceeds from the sale of surplus City property.
The City has been actively negotiating for the acquisition of the Capehart property since 2004. The effort has involved discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including Citizen’s groups, the Navy, American Eagle Corporation, Forest City, various regulatory agencies and other parties. This transaction has also engendered a great deal of interest and public investment in other matters related to the park, including long-needed revisions to the Historic Landmark District and major utility relocations.
“All of us are now looking forward to the physical transformation of the site to a more natural state,” said Terry Dunning, Parks Major Transaction Manager.
Prior to the demolition of the Capehart houses, the City already had possession of approximately 6 acres of the eastern portion of the parcel, and had removed the children’s play structures, the NEX Mini-Mart, and the Maintenance Building that were located there.
The Parks and Green Spaces Levy which was approved by the voters in 2008, allocates $1 million for Capehart restoration. An additional $500,000 in funding comes from the West Point Settlement Agreement Fund. Seattle Parks and Recreation will work to restore the site to natural habitat with a variety of meadows, forest thickets, and typical under story vegetation.
Parks is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 from 7 – 8 p.m. at the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center, 3801 W. Government Way. The community is encouraged to attend to learn about the project and the effort to restore the area to a more natural state.
This project was recommended by the West Point Citizens Advisory Committee as part of the 2005 revision to the list of projects recommended in the 2004 Memorandum of Agreement, between King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks and the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, for use of mitigation funds pursuant to Section 1(d) of the West Point Settlement Agreement (Ordinance 121488).
For project information please visit: http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/discovery/capehart/
For additional information, please contact Gary Gibbons, project manager at 206-386-1511 or gary.gibbons (at) seattle (dot) gov
Contact:
Karen O’Connor 206-233-7929
