City Acts to Increase Discovery Park Acreage
and Preserve Historic Housing

“I’m delighted to add 24-acres to Discovery Park. This is a win for everyone, especially the Magnolia community. It’s been a collaborative, respectful process, and I could not be more pleased with the result.”

--Mayor Greg Nickels

The City is expanding the acreage of Discovery Park and working to preserve the U.S. Navy’s historic officers’ housing in the interior of the park. The addition of the 24-acre Capehart barracks site to Magnolia’s 534-acre Discovery Park will achieve an important community goal and realize the vision of the Discovery Park Master Plan.

Currently the Capehart barracks house Navy personnel. It is anticipated that by 2009, the Navy will relocate their personnel to new housing closer to their base in Everett. Once the barracks are vacant and demolished the City will restore the site to a meadow as outlined in the Discovery Park Master Plan.

The U.S. Navy is selling the officers’ houses and they will be historically protected in private ownership by American Eagle Communities. The City has worked with the U.S. Navy, American Eagle Communities, the Washington State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and Friends of Discovery Park to ensure historic protections will remain on these properties as part of the Fort Lawton Historic District.

Links

• Mayor’s Press Release
• Discovery Park Master Plan
• Frequently Asked Questions