West Seattle, Washington
10 Friday
What was dispatched as an overdose response at the encampment stretching from Rotary Viewpoint Park to West Seattle Stadium has turned fatal; SPD has been dispatched, after SFD reported that the patient, a man in his mid-40s, has died.
5:47 PM: Side note, numerous readers have asked recently what the city’s plan is for addressing this encampment, especially in light of the recent assaults; we’ve been trying to find out but haven’t gotten an answer yet, as the mayor’s office pointed us to the Human Services Department, which then pointed us back to the mayor’s office.
7:20 PM: We’ve been out checking on a few things since publishing that. Shortly after we left, the city sent this response to our original inquiry (initiated Wednesday, before this latest death) regarding the encampment; this response was attributed to the Human Services Department:
The Unified Care Team (UCT) is actively monitoring encampments surrounding Camp Long and Rotary Viewpoint, with outreach partners working to connect individuals onsite to available services. UCT crews continue to remove debris and hazards to mitigate public impact.
Additionally, UCT coordinated with Seattle Public Utilities to conduct a recent two-day deep clean at Camp Long. UCT also met with West Seattle Golf Course staff and SPD to discuss ongoing concerns and the benefits of a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) review.
Unsheltered people are often more exposed to danger and can be vulnerable to violence. The City continues to advance its work to quickly stand up more shelter capacity because we know programs with 24/7 staffing and other safety protocols are a much safer environment for people experiencing homelessness as well as surrounding neighbors.
2:56 PM: Seattle Parks sent this news release about Seacrest today, and it immediately raised questions, so we sought answers. First, the news release:
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a qualified operator for the Seacrest Boathouse in West Seattle. SPR is seeking to partner with an operator who can keep the park activated and engaged year-round.
The selected party will be responsible for operating the restaurant and retail spaces within the boathouse, providing a healthy and reasonably priced menu, and offering or coordinating watercraft-related activities such as kayaking or rentals. The operator will also oversee routine maintenance and custodial care of the facility and patio, and maintain strong partnerships with other park users, including the King County Water Taxi, watercraft and diving groups, and SPR staff.
Proposals are due by 3:00 p.m. on May 15, 2026. Late applications are not accepted. All RFP proposals must be emailed to: Joann.gunter@seattle.gov
For more information or to download a copy of the RFP packet, please visit: https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/contracts-and-partnerships/partnership-opportunities/seacrest-boathouse-rfp
Taking it on face value, you might wonder where the current longtime tenants at Seacrest – Marination ma kai and Alki Kayak Tours – are going. So we checked with both of them. Both are planning on staying. So far as we’ve learned – pending confirmation with Parks (we’ll update when we hear from them) – the RFP is just something the city has to do every so often. (If you’re a longtime reader, you might remember a bit of a stir almost a decade and a half ago when Marination became the official Seacrest operator.)
ADDED WEDNESDAY: Here’s how Parks spokesperson Kasey Smith replied – “This is a routine process done with concession locations when contracts are expiring. Current operators are welcome to apply, along with other businesses who meet the RFP requirements.”
For almost two years – since the battle over a now-scrapped plan to convert a former tennis area at Lincoln Park to pickleball – Seattle Parks has been working on a new “racquet-sports strategy.” Now, it’s out, released late today. At the heart of it: Parks says striping courts for both tennis and pickleball isn’t optimal, so the “draft racquet sports strategy” proposes each sport get its own focus sites “to balance the needs of pickleball and tennis users in our park system.”
The strategy is spelled out here in exhaustive detail, for sites around the city. We’re just pulling out the West Seattle mentions, starting with:
For Phase I, the existing dual use courts will be designated for the racquet sport listed below in Table 1. The racquet sport chosen was informed by the level of existing Seattle school use, pre- and post-dual use demand, and the site’s ability to best meet the needs of a particular racquet sport over the other.
It is recognized that this approach will immediately result in a loss in the total number of available pickleball courts. To see how we plan to address this, see [“expansion” section].
Table 1. Proposed Dedicated Use Change
Alki Playground
TennisDelridge Playfield
PickleballWalt Hundley Playfield
TennisThen, there’s a section about “hubs,” with only one proposed in West Seattle:
In April of 2024, three locations were designated “hubs” meaning they were dedicated specifically to tennis or pickleball. These sites were Lower Woodland (tennis), Amy Yee (tennis) and Green Lake Park East (pickleball). … At the same time as these designations, we set out to identify additional hub locations in the city for both racquet sports. …
Table 2. Proposed Additional Hub Locations
Solstice Park
TennisCapital investments like lighting and court covering should be focused first on hub locations to have the greatest impact on the greatest number of users. … A “Hub Advisory Group” will be established for each hub location. These advisory groups are intended to provide streamlined communication and organized coordination with SPR. Ideally, an advisory group will be formed for each hub by the end of 2026. …
Finally, there’s a “Table 3” identifying whether pickleball sites will be “open play” or “drop-in/reservation.” This list only mentions one West Seattle location, Delridge Playfield, which would be “drop-in/reservation.”
As for the acknowledgment above that the new “strategy” would reduce the number of available pickleball courts, Parks explains in the website’s “expansion” section that it needs room and money to add more, but in 2027 it will look at some possibilities, including these West Seattle mentions:
…Determine alternative locations for pickleball courts on existing impervious surfaces near Alki Playground, Walt Hundley Playfield … within a reasonable proximity of the existing sites. …
The following courts also have the potential for added density when resurfaced:
…Delridge Playfield
Besides the linked webpage, Parks also has the entire “draft strategy” in report format here.
WHAT’S NEXT: Over the next month-plus, Parks plans an online survey and four meetings (none in West Seattle), as listed in a news release:
April 16 at 9 am – ONLINE SURVEY LAUNCH
April 23 at 6 pm – BOARD OF PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSIONERS MEETING (VIRTUAL OR IN-PERSON) 100 Dexter Ave N.
May 4 at 6:30 pm – BITTER LAKE COMMUNITY CENTER (IN PERSON) at 13035 Linden Ave N
May 7 at 7 pm – GARFIELD COMMUNITY CENTER (IN PERSON) at 2323 E Cherry St
May 9 at 10:30 am – VAN ASSELT COMMUNITY CENTER (IN PERSON) at 2820 S. Myrtle St.
All in-person meetings are scheduled for two hours with doors opening 30 minutes prior to start time. To view the agenda and respond to the online invitation please go to the project website RS – Engage! | Outdoor Racquet Sports Strategy | Engage Seattle Parks. Registration is not required but is appreciated to help us plan for attendance numbers.Following the conclusion of engagement, the final strategy will be published on the project website and begin implementation.
More on the engagement/feedback options can be found on this site.
P.S. For anyone wondering – Lincoln Park is not mentioned in the draft, for either sport.
Photojournalist Oliver Hamlin, at the Delridge Community Center egg hunt this morning for WSB, reports it was all over in five minutes! Five fun minutes, of course:
Above, that’s two-year-old Kai reaching for an egg on the tennis courts … below, 10-year-old Adele posing with her prize, an Easter basket filled with treats and toys. Kids who found the secret egg in each age group were awarded the basket.
Delridge was one of three city-run community centers in West Seattle that hosted egg hunts this year – also including High Point (concurrent with Delridge at 10 am today) and Hiawatha (which had a “flashlight egg hunt” for teens and tweens Friday night).
(WSB photos)
A month and a half after Hiawatha Community Center reopened following a six-year shutdown, today you’re invited to visit for today’s “Housewarming,” happening right now. When WSB’s Torin Record-Sand stopped by a little while ago, pickleball play was under way:
The history display was set up:
And you can vote on a Hiawatha mascot:
This all continues into the evening, ending with a flashlight egg hunt for teens and tweens at 6:30 pm. (Hiawatha is at 2700 California SW.)
(February WSB photo by Dave Gershgorn)
Hiawatha Community Center has been ramping up operations since it reopened a month and a half ago, and now it’s ready to welcome the community to a bigger celebration. Tomorrow (Friday, April 3) you’re invited to the free “Hiawatha Housewarming,” and Seattle Parks says plenty of activities are planned:
Hiawatha Community Center welcomes you to its Community Housewarming!
Crafts, food, games, raffles, giveaways, and various drop-in activities for all ages in the building alongside Recreation staff and community members.
Come view the “115 years of Hiawatha Community Center and Playfield History” exhibit
Your vote will help select the new Hiawatha mascot!
Some Activities:
Morning coffee and tour 11 am
Pickleball 11 am-1 pm
Tot Gym 1:15 pm-3:00 pm
Tot Dance with Teacher Marika 3:15-4 pm
Under 18 Basketball 4:15-5:30 pm
Adult Basketball 5:30 pm-8 pm
Historic Tree walks
Craft projects
Come knit with Hanan
Ping Pong, Corn Hole and table games
A Disco themed photobooth and all-day dance party
The evening culminates with a Tween and Teen Flashlight Egg hunt from 6:30-7 pm
Hiawatha is in The Admiral District at 2700 California SW.
In recent years, summer hours and patrols at Alki Beach (and Golden Gardens) have started around Memorial Day and ended around Labor Day. This year, the city Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners was told tonight, they’ll start earlier and end later – May 1 through September 30. While the “Summer of Safety” briefing did not get into specifics like park hours, some other details were discussed such as plans for more patrols by Park Rangers, police, and Animal Control, plus larger signs about park policies, and a “really fun” social-media campaign including the mayor and police chief.
The city’s 31 rangers will be spread out on shifts between 9 am and midnight.
And they’re trying a pilot program with overnight private security guards to be posted at two parks – Golden Gardens and Magnuson. One other note, though “summer” will start earlier and end later, beach-fire season will remain as it’s been, Memorial Day through Labor Day, and there’ll be a “support program” to go with that. We’ll follow up with Parks to see what other details are available for this summer’s plan.
This week’s closure of what’s currently West Seattle’s only off-leash area at Westcrest Park led to several readers asking for a schedule update on what’ll be the second local dog park, just south of West Seattle Stadium. The last update had suggested construction would start this spring, but there’s been no sign that was indeed imminent, and as of yesterday, the project website hadn’t been updated in more than half a year. So we asked Seattle Parks. They tell us the construction schedule has now slid to next year: “Construction is now expected to start in early 2027 and be complete by Fall 2027.” What’s happening right now? “We are currently preparing review of 60% Design documents … and expect to go to bid in December of this year.” This info will be added to signage on the site, and – since our inquiry – has been added today to a new “engagement hub” project page (to which the previous project page points). It’s been two years since the site was chosen.
(WSB photo: 2024 event featuring food harvested at PREP)
Much of the food grown at our area’s one-of-a-kind Puget Ridge Edible Park [map] is donated to West Seattle Food Bank to feed those in need – but somebody has to harvest it, and Stu Hennessey is hoping for more helping hands this season. Here’s his community invitation:
Harvest fresh vegetables for the West Seattle Food Bank! Come to Puget Ridge Edible Park every Thursday from 5 to 7 pm to help harvest a variety of fresh, healthy, and nutrient-rich food for Friday morning delivery at the West Seattle Food Bank. This Seattle public park produces an abundance of the healthiest vegetables, some of which you will never find in a store. Enough for the volunteers to share as well. Contact Stu Hennessey, alkistu1@gmail.com
As announced by Seattle Parks, West Seattle’s only dog park is closed this week for work. That work at Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area involves bringing in new wood chips for the “terraced area,” but leaving the small/shy-dog area open this week for all dogs to use.
Reopening is expected by Friday. Meantime, what will be West Seattle’s second off-leash area, south of West Seattle Stadium, is in the planning phase; we’re following up with Parks on the latest construction timeline.
Morgan Junction All-Wheels Association – aka MJAWA – says there’s some good news about the plan they’ve long worked on, to include a “skate dot” area in the Morgan Junction Park expansion. (Above is a photo of the expansion area, where grass continues to grow so that it can be opened for interim public use before the addition is built.) MJAWA’s Matthew Lee Johnston and Josh Radick talked with Seattle Parks this week and report that a community meeting is still expected this spring – as mentioned at the last Morgan Community Association meeting – mostly as an update on where the project an design stands. Other points from MJAWA:
*The design is close to being revised and most features from the original plan have been retained, including the All-Wheels Area.
*The play area and hilltop feature have flip flopped in position.
*Skatedot may possibly need to be nudged to the south to accommodate for the Eddy street easement requirements, but they do not anticipate any design changes as a result.
*They need to extend the storm main to the north end of the site per SDOT requirement, but this also does not affect the skatedot.
*Due to the design being mostly unchanged, they should not have to go back through Design Commission. If it did, the schedule could be extended another six months.
*There is currently no need for additional funding.
*Grindline has been added back to the design team to work on integration and any tweaks needed.
In the January update, Parks said construction of the park expansion is expected next year; MJAWA says they were told this week that Parks is finalizing a schedule and budget update. (Regarding the site’s interim use, Parks has said they don’t expect to bring the fences down before “mid-spring.”)
Another closure alert – this time, the Alki playground adjacent to the elementary-school campus. That playground is getting overhauled as part of the school project, and it will close for construction two weeks from today, starting March 25. (See the design concept here.) The Whale Tail playground on the north end of the playfield will remain open. The playground-closure note is part of the latest project newsletter, which also takes a look inside the new building that’ll open this fall – see it here.
(Hiawatha Play Area, as seen when project first surfaced in 2019)
As reported here a month ago, the Hiawatha Play Area moving-and-renovating project has gone out to bid; now that the community center has reopened, the playground project is in the spotlight. Tomorrow (Wednesday, March 4) is the deadline for interested contractors to submit bids. The contract is estimated at $600,000 to $700,000, according to this brief description on the city’s bid site:
Project Description: This project relocates and replaces the play area at Hiawatha Playfield. Additives are Accessible Asphalt Paving, Site Furnishings, and Play Equipment; and Alternate is Synthetic Safety Surfacing and We-Go-Round.
Engineer’s Estimate: $574,916, Additive#1: $16,729, Additive#2: $15,700, Additive#3: $13,077, Alternate#4: $118,617.
Seattle Parks says it expects construction to start in “late summer/early fall.” The play area will move to a site south of the wading pool, as shown when the design was finalized five-plus years ago.
Today’s the first day you can sign up for Seattle Parks and Rec programs announced inn the spring brochures. Here’s the main brochure; here’s the brochure for Lifelong programs (focused on people 50+). This includes child care and sports programs.
3:43 PM: Just in case you visit the park by newly reopened Hiawatha Community Center and wonder about the yellow tape around one of the porta-potties on the wading-pool side – it was damaged by fire about an hour and a half ago. SFD was gone by the time we got there, but at one point they were asking for police to take “witness statements,” according to a dispatch; no police incident logged, though, so we’re asking SFD about the cause.
6:14 PM: They’re only saying that the cause “is under investigation.”
(WSB photo by Dave Gershgorn, Saturday)
Though the “grand reopening” was celebrated Saturday (WSB coverage here), today is the first official day for Hiawatha Community Center (2700 California SW) public use. Tot Gym is just wrapping up, and the fitness room remains open until 2 pm. It’s on a limited schedule for two “Welcome Back” weeks until March 6, then expands a bit for the rest of spring, to include some sports – you can see that schedule here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The first enthusiastic users of Hiawatha Community Center this morning, once the ribbon was cut and the doors were open, were the youngest ones.
Hiawatha’s downstairs gym quickly filled with toddlers and preschoolers zooming around.
(WSB photos from here by Dave Gershgorn)
Among them, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson‘s daughter Josie, who accompanied her mom for a brief speech pre-ribboncutting, in which Wilson declared community centers to be far more than “just amenities”:
She also hailed the conversion of Hiawatha to all-electric: “Our oldest community center is leading the way on our energy future.” As you also saw in that clip, the mayor was followed by District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, who (accompanied by daughter Maeve) noted the “who’s who of West Seattle” present for the reopening, and acknowledged the community advocates who pushed the city steadily to make sure the work to strengthen and renovate the 115-year-old center got done.
(Wilson and Saka with former Mayor Greg Nickels, longtime Hiawatha advocate Sharon Nickels, and Maeve Saka)
The center closed in 2020 for the pandemic and then stayed closed because the work seemed imminent, but – as we chronicled here many times – was not. A variety of delays dragged the closure out to almost six years; the eventual price tag, more than $7 million. In her speech today, interim Seattle Parks superintendent Michele Finnegan apologized:
But then, as DJ George Yasutake spun party music like Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration,” it was time to hand ribboncutting scissors to both dignitaries and young community members:
Here’s our clip of the snip:
The party inside included a spread catered by West Seattle’s own Husky Deli:
Parks and Rec swag, too:
If you didn’t get to the celebration, here’s the plan for Hiawatha in the weeks ahead:
Through March 6, there’s drop-in programming –
*Tot Gym 10 am to noon Mondays and Wednesdays
*Fitness Room 10 am-2 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (18 and over)
*Open Gym 2 pm-6 pm Tuesdays and Thursday, 10 am-2 pm Fridays (18 and over)
After that and continuing into June, programming expands to add badminton, pickleball, and basketball (adults except for basketball, which also will be offered for youth) – see the schedule on the center webpage.
Even the signage on California SW got a refresh before Hiawatha Community Center‘s grand reopening tomorrow. The Seattle Parks “rainbow sign” might look similar to its predecessor, but the lettering style is different these days. One sign that’s not getting a refresh or replacement is this marquee-style sign that had stood on a pole nearby; a commenter noticed its absence and pulled this image from Google Maps Street View (showing the old rainbow sign, too):
We asked Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor about it; she replied, “The green sign near California was removed as it was in disrepair.” In addition to the rainbow-sign replacement, she said, Parks crews planned to “prun(e) the bushes back to improve visibility of that sign before the opening.” All are welcome at tomorrow’s celebration, starting at 10 am. The center is just north of West Seattle High School, at 2700 California SW, and has been closed since 2020.
Two community-center notes tonight:
(Photo taken through the construction fencing)
ALKI COMMUNITY CENTER’S FUTURE: Chad asked about whether Alki CC will reinstate any recreational programming once it reopens along with the adjacent school; it’s been child-care-only for a few years now but previously had more-typical programming. We’ve reported before that Seattle Parks has declared it to be permanently child-care-only, but we asked again, Spokesperson Karen O’Connor replied with a reiteration that it is, and will continue to be, child-care-only. The center will reopen in fall, as a site for Seattle Preschool Program classes (applications for 2026-27 SPP open March 16) and after-school care, she added.
NEW CITYWIDE BROCHURE: Meantime, the community centers that are continuing – or resuming, in the case of Hiawatha CC – recreational programming have listed spring offerings in the newest combined brochure. See it here now and get ready for registration – for programs that require it – starting March 3.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Far beneath the bark chips, the reason for Thursday’s Roxhill Bog celebration is literally dug in and doing its job.
It’s a vinyl barrier, about 300 feet long, installed last fall as a test, to see if it could help keep water in the part of the historic peat wetland, which has been a source of concern over the years as it’s run dry. Now, the simple sight of standing water thrills those who’ve worked on the problem for years. Through a tangle of branches, here’s what we saw Monday on the south side of Roxhill Park:
This water is evidence the test barrier is working. And the rain that fell Monday brought more water to the wetland, while dousing us during a mini-tour with Sharon Leishman of the Duwamish Alive Coalition and Danielle Devier of Seattle Parks. They were two of the key participants in a 2021 online meeting we covered laying out the plan for “fixing the bathtub via blocking groundwater from leaving it, with a barrier – not just to save the bog, but to save the park, where trails and bridges have been sinking as the bog dries out.
They explained how the vinyl barrier was deemed to be the least damaging way to block it – they wouldn’t have to tear up so much of the bog in the process. Leishman stressed the collaboration that led to the plan, including Natural Systems Design and the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, which has been organizing volunteer restoration-work parties in the park – look closely at this photo and you’ll see a tiny starter clump of grass planted during one of those events:
Bog restoration projects are more common outside the U.S., we learned during the mini-tour, and they also serve an educational purpose – to teach people about peat’s role in carbon sequestration. All the harvesting of peat that’s sold or gardens is releasing a lot of it. So what’s happening at Roxhill Bog is just a start – more of the bog could be restored, and an outdoor education lab could follow, for example. Past surveys have shown area residents have an intense interest in access to more natural areas, and they hope to see some of them at the celebration Thursday, 10:30 am to noon, which will include art, speakers, and most importantly, guided bog tours so you can see and hear about all this firsthand,
(WSB photo, Hiawatha today)
One week until Hiawatha Community Center‘s grand reopening after a closure that’s lasted almost six years. In addition to the post-reopening programming we mentioned Friday, we have two more notes:
-The office of Mayor Katie Wilson says she plans to attend the 10 am reopening celebration next Saturday. This will be her first major public appearance in West Seattle since taking office.
–Seattle Parks has launched a survey to ask what programming you want to see as Hiawatha gradually reopens fully. You can answer it here.
One week from tomorrow, Hiawatha Community Center will officially reopen to the public after almost six years. Last night a commenter asked about the programming that would be offered at Hiawatha once it’s open, and we noticed it’s now on the center’s website, so in case you were wondering too and hadn’t seen it, we’re mentioning it – go here and click the Winter Welcome Back and/or Spring links on the left. The first schedule includes Tot Gym, Open Gym, and Fitness Room drop-in schedules; the second one also includes sports – basketball, volleyball, and pickleball. At the February 21 grand-reopening event (10 am-noon), you’ll be able to tour the historic center to see the work that’s been done – seismic stabilization, electrification, and more.
Almost two months after the February 21 date emerged for Hiawatha Community Center‘s grand reopening, Seattle Parks finally announced details today.
The event is set for 10 am to noon that day (one week from this Saturday), and will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, hot beverages, tours, and a “free tot activity.” The center’s been closed almost six years, first for the pandemic, then kept closed when there was anticipation its stabilization project was on the brink of starting – which it turned out not to be. A chunk of the closure was blamed on a wait for federal grant money. The scope of the project later expanded to add elements that will make Hiawatha the city’s first fully electrified community center; total price tag cited by the city, $7.5 million. That’s almost twice what was cited when it went out to bid two years ago.
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