(WSB file photo)
We’ve received a new round of questions about the status of Hiawatha Community Center, where the pandemic closure segued into a closure for what was supposed to be an imminent upgrade project – which still hasn’t started. For many months, Seattle Parks‘ reply to “why hasn’t the work started yet?” has been “we’re waiting for a federal grant” but that approval was believed to be imminent. That was the answer when we asked back in June, and it’s what the Admiral Neighborhood Association was told in September. (One big reason it matters to ANA – they’re still trying to bring back their summer-concert series, which has historically been held at Hiawatha.) So we asked Parks again – and “waiting for the grant” is still the answer. The grant has been described as half a million dollars, about a quarter of the project’s funding, Previously, Parks had said they couldn’t start work because that might affect their eligibility for the grant but now, Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor tells WSB, “We are moving forward with the project and hope that FEMA grant approval comes before bidding. We are making building code updates to the design and anticipate the project will go out to bid in early spring 2023 with construction starting in May 2023.” The previously announced expected duration of the project is nine months, so even if work does start next spring, that means Hiawatha wouldn’t reopen any sooner than early 2024. The upgrades it’s supposed to get have been listed as “electrical repairs, water and sewer pipe replacements, furnace and water heater repairs, roof replacement, and more.”
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