In case you wondered too: Fairmount Playfield’s new-but-not-open restroom building is almost ready

Jeff sent that photo on Monday, wondering why the new restroom building at Fairmount Playfield is still closed, though it’s looked complete for weeks. We took the question to Seattle Parks, whose Karen O’Connor replied:

We have a couple of punch list items for the Fairmount Playfield restroom building including locks and the installation of the electric meter. We are working with our shops and Seattle City Light to get this done. In the meantime, the temporary bathrooms will remain on site. … If the final inspection goes well – we anticipate the restrooms opening the weekend
of May 15.

The restroom replacement has been in the works for almost four years; the project finally got going last fall.

OP May 5, 2015 (10:05 pm)

Question: How much did it cost?

WSB May 5, 2015 (10:12 pm)

OP, there actually are two figures in our past coverage so I’m not certain. One was $200,000, one was $325,000, but there was also a mention of some other work at the field. I have to look a little further into the files to know which (if either) is what it turned out to be. It was from the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy. – TR

alki resident May 5, 2015 (10:27 pm)

So for the price of a house equalled the amount it took to pay for a tiny cabin size building with two bathrooms? Asinine

WSB May 5, 2015 (10:49 pm)

Restroom construction is expensive and that’s why you don’t see it in all park projects. I found the project page; $200K. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/fairmount/comfort_station.htm

K'lo May 5, 2015 (10:48 pm)

Butt, of course, someone had to poo-poo the cost of this tiny bathroom!

alki resident May 6, 2015 (6:50 am)

I just Googled” What is the cost of a public restroom”. With two stalls, two sinks, plumbing, workers, urinals and materials. It should cost right up to $150,000. It didn’t mention the handicap and men and women’s signs, so those were probably around $25,000 a piece.

wasted $ ? May 6, 2015 (7:36 am)

alki Resident,
The Parks Dept is using an off the shelf prefab crapper – http://www.cxtinc.com/denali.asp
that lists a basic model for about $50,000.
–
Delivery, installation and add-ons such as drinking fountains increase the costs perhaps to $70 -80,000.
That leaves quite a bit for site prep and design costs.
–
Judging from past performance, I have little confidence in Park’s concerns over costs, once they get their levy funding.

WSFam May 6, 2015 (8:32 am)

Any idea when the new playground opens at Westcrest park?

WSB May 6, 2015 (9:30 am)

June.

West Seattle Steve May 6, 2015 (8:47 am)

@ wasted$
Not shure where you got that price, but the building in the photos isn’t the basic building. It’s like a car ad, they list the base price but the model shown has all the options. The specs also call for a crane to install the building. With transportation, laying in the plumbing and a foundation, I easily see how the cost reaches $200K.

Militant Moderate May 6, 2015 (9:26 am)

But will it serve merlot?

wasted $ ? May 6, 2015 (9:52 am)

@ West Seattle Steve,

Reading my post, you will see I included the exact elements you claim are not included?
“Delivery, installation and add-ons such as drinking fountains increase the costs perhaps to $70 -80,000.”
–
Like the car analogy, the basic structure is $50,000 to which accessories such as drinking fountains were added. “Delivery, installation” (your transportation and crane) were also added.
To continue the car sales analogy it would be about $70-80,000, out the door after all of the added accessories.
–
Since an existing facility was removed some of the site work mentioned (pipes and sewer) would be less. Foundation work might be an additional $10,000.

civilized? May 6, 2015 (10:21 am)

It’s sad that this new restroom will be soon thrashed like the others in Seattle parks. A lot of money to create something needed by people of all ages only to have graffiti painted and scratched on surfaces, disgusting things smeared on walls, etc.
.
Is there a budget to service park restrooms in general? Doesn’t seem like it.. and who would want that job? !!!

OP May 6, 2015 (11:50 am)

Thanks. That’s one expensive pooper.

OP May 6, 2015 (1:30 pm)

wasted $ ?:

From where on the website you provided are you getting the $50K figure? I don’t see that listed on the site at all—not under the Specs PDF, Drawings, etc.

pat May 6, 2015 (1:51 pm)

Having retired from working for the City after 36 years, I can see how what should look like a $50-$100,000 job can turn into $200,000 but that does not answer why it took so long to get this project completed. The levy was 2008, right? This project did not start until 2014, six years later. Furthermore,I watched this project and I swear that workers were on site only one day a mnth, no kidding. Okay, maybe there were a few times when they showed up twice in a month but then little or no work was done during the “coldest” months of winter.

The one day a month idea was a running joke with my wife and I as we drove by the park pretty much every day (we live in the neighborhood) but it started to look like reality. I wish I could get a contract like that. Oh, and as for the Honeybucket that is now on site, it appeared only a few days ago, probably after numerous complaints from organized groups using the fields had no facilities, disgraceful.

Wasted $ ? May 6, 2015 (1:54 pm)

The price list page.

kg May 6, 2015 (3:52 pm)

RE: Vandalism/graffiti

Instead of waiting for the upcoming graffiti would it not be a better idea to recruit some community artists to put some murals on there?
Even I don’t really like the plain building.

OP May 6, 2015 (8:12 pm)

Here’s what’s disturbing and mind-boggling about all this: That $200K is a seemingly acceptable and reasonable price tag for an “off-the-shelf” crapper. Our priorities are out of whack.