FOLLOWUP: Long-landbanked West Seattle Junction park site going out to bid

(WSB file photo)

Thirteen years after the city bought that parcel on 40th SW to “landbank” it as a future park, it’s going out to bid, with a downscaled plan. Seattle Parks sent the announcement late today:

Seattle Parks and Recreation is soliciting construction bids on the City’s Procurement Portal for the future park at 4723 40th Ave SW, in the West Seattle Junction neighborhood. The park will provide a nature-themed play area, native plants and trees, a drinking fountain, leisurely walking paths, lawn area, a long shaded concrete seat wall and will seamlessly integrate into the neighborhood on the west side of 40th Ave SW. SPR anticipates the project will be in construction by this fall, and the new park will open in summer 2027.

SPR purchased this 0.38-acre property to provide additional open space for this high-density neighborhood. The public design process occurred in 2017-2018; however, the project was placed on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic as the City focused on essential services. In September 2022, the Seattle City Council, acting as the Park District Board, approved funding for the project as part of the 2023–2028 Park District cycle.

SPR planted grass and opened the area up for interim use by the community. We have secured all construction permits and updated the design to fit within the budget. The park design includes the top three park elements that came out of the public process and will provide native plantings, a drinking fountain, and natural play elements. There are two elements – the wooden boardwalk system and the seating stones – that will only be included if funding is available.

The city bought the park site in 2013 for $1.4 million, half what it’s currently listing as the total cost of planning, designing, and building the park. We haven’t found the bid-solicitation documents yet but will add to the story when we do.

Morgan June 17, 2026 (12:40 am)

This sounds a whole lot like the park project in Morgan Junction. It would be great if that actually ever became a thing. Typical over promises, I wouldn’t plan on enjoying either park in this decade.

JC June 17, 2026 (6:02 am)

This is great to see, we’re sorely lacking in green space and places for kids to play in the junction! Looking at the site map, it does seem like the timing is unfortunate though, is this not immediately adjacent to the site of the future Junction light rail station? It seems like we should hold off on redeveloping the site until after design progresses on that project and we know the construction impacts/footprint. Plus, access/egress to the west or northwest might be desired for pedestrians coming north on 40th going to the station. Would not want a full redesign as I know that would be a huge cost/time sink, but it just seems unfortunate that this was designed a decade before this stuff was known.

Mellow Kitty June 17, 2026 (6:06 am)

So happy some developers won’t be cramming an apartment building in the space!

Curious George June 17, 2026 (7:16 am)

It will be very nice to finally have a real park in this location. I like the design but question the wooden board walk due to the life expectancy due to the effects of weather and the required maintenance. A example of promised maintenance and what didn’t happen is the wooden replica of a ship’s structure on the Duwamish.

Robert June 17, 2026 (8:04 am)

Great news! Glad this is finally getting done

Villagreen June 17, 2026 (8:22 am)

Thirteen years. Seems about right.

KT June 17, 2026 (2:03 pm)

Shocked there hasn’t been 15 public meetings to discuss the design.
- WSB June 17, 2026 (2:05 pm)
  
  There were public meetings, last decade. We covered them all.

Brian June 17, 2026 (9:36 am)

Why does the City’s design pretend there will not be dog owners continuing to use it as a defacto dog park? Even a small fenced section similar to the Regrade Park in Belltown would relieve the needs of the hundreds apartment dwellers living in the density that the city planned for this area. I am neither an apartment dweller, a dog owner nor am I a dog, and yet it’s very easy to see how obvious this need is.

dogpolicy June 17, 2026 (11:14 pm)

I agree with this^ every new park should have a small dog friendly fenced off section. This park is already basically an off leash dog park as there is no enforcement and the park offers no services outside of the frisbee golf someone tossed in there. Fencing off 10% of this park for pet owners would be a win for an area this dense and make no noticeable difference to future park users ther the. Fewer offleash dogs to navigate. Increase enforcement to offset the fencing cost. I also don’t own a dog or live an apartment but live nearby and want my kids to stop being bothered by scofflaw offleash dogs.
22blades June 18, 2026 (6:20 am)

“…nor am I a dog” LOL. Most dog problems are dog handler problems. Not the dog’s.

anonyme June 17, 2026 (1:58 pm)

Dog owners who currently allow their dogs to run off-leash will not be constrained by a fenced-off area, any more than they are respectful of the unfenced area (all of Seattle) that now exists. Instead, they would see it as an “extension” of the defined space. As much as an actual urban park would be welcome, clean, free of campers, drug use, and off-leash dogs, I don’t see it as functioning any better or differently than Junction Park. Today I was actually hustled out of the bus shelter behind Wells Fargo by a couple of drug addicts in a rush to use. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be are neither behind nor protective of the lawful use of public spaces.

Arbor Heights Resident June 18, 2026 (11:22 am)

Here’s hoping they’ll choose to plant native species in the landscaped areas. Some plants which belong in our region and have millions of years of co-evolution alongside our other flora and fauna. And which will actually grow and thrive, unlike the many recently planted exotic trees, looking bare and slowly dying across the city.

anonyme June 19, 2026 (2:14 pm)

There are a lot of misconceptions around the idea of “native” species. Both flora and fauna have changed dramatically over “millions” of years, not to mention just the last few decades, and our landscape has been forever changed by humans in ways that have nothing to do with evolution . And let’s not forget about micro climates and habitat; vine maples, for example, are widely planted here, despite naturally occurring primarily in the understory of conifer forests within a certain distance of the ocean. “Native plant” designation becomes largely meaningless outside of native habitat – which exists only in rare pockets within the city of Seattle. Another myth is that native plants are pest-resistant. Nonsense. Native plants evolved right along side native pests and pathogens; they did not evolve in a vacuum. Insects did not suddenly show up only once non-natives were planted. The trees that are dying all over Seattle (many in Lincoln Park) are primarily native conifers that are dying due to climate change – not “exotic trees”. Planting “natives” is fine as a way to preserve species, but the idea that they are somehow healthier or that planting a few will replicate or restore a bygone habitat is a myth.

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