FOLLOWUP: Camp Long Lodge rebuild may still be 5+ years away; Councilmember Saka promises restoration but says ‘other funding sources’ needed

More than 10 months after its historic lodge was ravaged by fire, Camp Long remains open as a park and environmental learning center, but the lodge is years away from full restoration. A reader suggested a followup this week. The newest online update on what’s being done right now details the stabilization work and “pre-design study.” But the update concludes:

Our current estimate is that the renovation construction would begin in 2031.

That’s 3+ years after the early estimate we reported a little over a month after the fire. Part of that might be related to the funding issue mentioned by District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, whose newest newsletter includes his report on a Camp Long site visit:

(Photo from Councilmember Saka’s newsletter)

I recently joined Seattle Parks Superintendent AP Diaz at Camp Long to tour the site and see the stabilization work underway following last year’s brazen arson attack that caused significant damage.

Camp Long is truly a community treasure. While the historic lodge remains closed as repairs move forward, many other parts of the park remain open and accessible for neighbors to enjoy. Camp Long continues to be a special place in the heart of West Seattle.

I’ll keep working closely with the Mayor’s Office and Parks Department to ensure the site is fully restored to its former glory – and that it remains a place where community can gather, learn, and connect with nature for generations to come. We will build back better! In the near term (2025-26), we believe that we can fund initial planning and design costs associated with this restoration project by using insurance proceeds. After that, we’ll need to look for other funding sources, with a potential renewal of the Metropolitan Parks District Fund being the most viable candidate (assuming this Fund ends up being considered for renewal upon its expiration in 2027).

But again, Camp Long remains open as a park and offering events; just this morning, in fact, we published a call for organizations to join this year’s “Trail or Treat” event by stepping forward to decorate the park’s also-historic cabins for visitors on October 25.

Brandon September 24, 2025 (6:09 pm)

Probably a dumb question. But did the building not have insurance? Not sure if it was a parks dept asset, and if the local gov doesnt require insurance for its buildings…

If its insured, why wouldn’t the restoration be covered under the claim?

If its not, why dont we insure these properties so this never becomes a problem?

WSB September 24, 2025 (6:27 pm)

Insurance is mentioned above, in CM Saka’s update: “we can fund initial planning and design costs associated with this restoration project by using insurance proceeds.” So the question is, were they underinsured? I’ll ask …
- Brandon September 25, 2025 (8:50 am)
  
  Thanks! Sorry i missed that line.
- S September 25, 2025 (11:56 am)
  
  My guess is that it’s underinsured for the same reason that lots of people are underinsured: years old policies that don’t reflect current values or costs. (Remember to review your homeowner’s coverage every couple years!)

Joan September 24, 2025 (6:37 pm)

Wow, that’s a long wait. There are a lot of rich corporations in Seattle. How about seeking corporate sponsorship of the restoration? It’s a historic city park.

K September 24, 2025 (9:14 pm)

Saka easily found millions of dollars in funding to turf his kids’ playfield and remove Curby. Weird how funding is suddenly an issue when something doesn’t impact him personally.

Frog September 24, 2025 (10:09 pm)

In Saka’s defense, the cost of this project will probably be breathtakingly huge, in the range of 10 Curbies. It always seems to be that way with Seattle parks. Use common sense to estimate how much it ought to cost, and then multiply by 10. Probably the building was insured for whatever it would cost to rebuild in the private sector, but for Seattle parks, that’s only enough for “initial” design.
- K September 25, 2025 (4:00 am)
  
  Two Curbies and one field turf at the most. And with insurance picking up part of the tab, it’s hard not to feel like Saka is just not willing to make hard choices about the budget, and just wants to say whatever he thinks will get people to stop asking questions.

Eric 44 September 24, 2025 (10:53 pm)

Recall Rob saka(he’s a joke)use his salary to rebuild camp Long Lodge problem solved

Jort September 24, 2025 (11:14 pm)

I see former corporate Facebook lawyer Rob Saka is, unsurprisingly, being played like a gullible fool by the Parks Department, which manages to make projects take 10 times as long and cost 10 times as much as expected in nearly everything they’re involved with. Apparently all it takes is a field trip and the chance to play dress-up with a shiny, shiny hard hat helmet to abandon your responsibility as a council member to hold Parks accountable to delivering on promised projects with reasonable budgets. Maybe there weren’t enough “marginalized communities” for Saka to cravenly pretend to care about to support his self-dealing personal agenda, so he just doesn’t care? Or maybe he’s still stung by how his own fellow council members — clowns in their own right — were recently so tired of hearing him blather on and on that they wouldn’t even second one of his pointless amendments and denied him the chance to prattle on in another aimless, meandering self-dialogue at the dais? Sure, Rob, if AP Diaz says it’ll take 30 years, just nod along and smile. That’s what your job is, right, Rob?

Camp long neighbor September 25, 2025 (8:59 am)

2031!? Rob had no problem finding $2,000,000 when he wanted to remove a Delridge safety curb that he found inconvenient. But he can only offer hollow words when it comes to a historic city treasure in need? It’s about priorities, Rob, and yours are all wrong.

Gofundme? September 25, 2025 (9:51 am)

Can anyone in our community start a GoFundMe for this project and oversee it ? meaning set it up on GoFundMe and get the message out broadly within the community so that we can get money to correctly, restore our beautiful lodge? Also, Canada has significant old growth fir forests. Perhaps we could get some logs there for that project? Or maybe a local donation from Weyerhauser …or or one of the major corporate owners of forest in Washington? Maybe our historical Society here in West Seattle can get that rolling? We need some dedicated residence who will see this project through to the end financially and otherwise. Myself, I’m not healthy enough to do that

GH September 25, 2025 (12:32 pm)

With how much time and money seems to be required to rehab the remnants of the lodge, I seriously wonder if preservation is the best path forwards. I recognize there’s an inherent value if historic structures, but parks aren’t museums, and I think it’s worth asking if the best path forwards isn’t to start from scratch. If costs and timelines are reduced with a complete replacement (and maybe they aren’t), that may serve the community better. And if the lodge space is re-imagined, what could we gain in a new space that wasn’t possible in the old space?

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