Friends of Junction Plaza Park: How you can help finish the park

junctionplaza.jpg

(August 2008 photo of park site at 42nd/Alaska)
Earlier this month, in our coverage of the Southwest District Council‘s latest meeting, we mentioned a preview of the upcoming Junction Plaza Park campaign, from West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose. This morning, we have full details of the plan to finish the park – purchased with city ProParks money in 2005 — and how you can help. Susan says a group called “Friends of Junction Plaza Park” is being formed to head up the project, with leaders including Junction Neighborhood Organization president Erica Karlovits and Friends of Ercolini Park chair Katie Hjorten. The group will apply for a city Neighborhood Matching Fund grant of $100,000, to be applied toward the $350,000 needed to finish the park. Where you come in: Commitments of community support and volunteer hours are needed, to qualify for the grant – just like so many other projects that have benefited from the NMF, including Ercolini. And Susan says they only have about a month to get those commitments lined up; you don’t have to make a big commitment, she says: “We have exciting ways for people to help out with the park, and we’re looking to bring the community together – looking for small commitments of volunteer time to involve a wide section of the community.” You’ll see volunteers out at places such as the West Seattle Farmers’ Market to talk with people about volunteering for the Junction Plaza Park project, and you are invited to the first Friends of Junction Plaza Park meeting: 6:30 pm March 3, Senior Center of West Seattle. Susan stresses, they’re not looking for “huge” commitments – a little help from a lot of people will turn the long-planned park from dream to reality. If you have any questions in the meantime, or want to extend an offer of help ASAP, please contact her by e-mailing susan@wsjunction.org.

7 Replies to "Friends of Junction Plaza Park: How you can help finish the park"

  • concerned citizen February 23, 2009 (11:41 am)

    $350,000 needed to finish the park? I can plant some trees, add a couple of park benches for $500.

  • WSB February 23, 2009 (12:04 pm)

    I’m sure they’d love to have your ideas. For comparison’s sake, the Morgan Junction park project has a price tag of $480K for planning/design/construction:
    http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/proparks/projects/morgan.htm
    and a similar cost is listed for Ercolini Park west of The Junction
    http://www.seattle.gov/parks/proparks/projects/ercoliniDev.htm
    Dakota Place Park north of The Junction has a listed budget of nearly $600K
    http://www.seattle.gov/parks/ProParks/projects/DakotaPlace.htm
    -TR

  • 56bricks February 23, 2009 (12:18 pm)

    Hey, give me half a mil and I’ll take care of this place for the rest of my life. And yours. And your kids too.

  • Denny February 23, 2009 (1:50 pm)

    (I placed a portion of this comment the other day under Cottage Grove Park’s development, and it’s appropriate here, too.)

    When will someone challenge the Parks Department’s continued ability to hold neighborhoods hostage to their high costs for development?

    Junction Park is down to $350,000 (started at $600k?) for a small lot worth of trees, grass and concrete. That’s about $50 per square foot for landscaping? It has sat there for 10 years, and wasn’t just purchased with ProParks $, local Service Club money went into buying it.

    At Cottage Grove, it would cost ten times the value of the item (climber) they are considering installing to put it there.

    Skateboard Parks? – we draw the plans, and probably even put it in delridge (which has the worst bus access for young people), but there’s no money in the levy we just approved to build it. Even though we’ve had an approved city skate park plan for +6 years.

    Ercolini, Morgan Junction, Dakota? Everyone of them required siginificant local fundraising to get off the books and into development. Even then, only one is done.

    I love the parks that we have, and wish they were managed so that we could afford them and get the most out of them.

  • KT February 24, 2009 (9:10 am)

    And this is why I voted NO for the Parks Levy. Ridiculous amounts of money being spent and continued begging for more. Can anyone really justify this money for that little plot of land considering the problems of today?

  • Daniel A. Berry February 24, 2009 (10:55 am)

    When the made up fence disappeared pickups, trucks, suv, and commerical equipment vans soon began parking in the park.

    Someone placed three unpaid sentries next to the alley and they seem to sort of work to stop the parking.

    Perhaps this little place could be a real $$$$$ if it were a parking lot for gas hogs and the like at the expense of everyone else. Noise, pollution, more concrete, more business tax sure beats the h888 out of green grass, flowers and trees.
    … Daniel A. Berry

  • average joe February 25, 2009 (7:30 am)

    it’s going to be great when the whole park is shaded by the new ‘lovely’ huge building across the street!

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