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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Mayor Announces New Park Site for Northgate
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
9/21/2005 10:00:00 AM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alex Fryer (206) 684-8358
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Mayor Announces New Park Site for Northgate
New park will replace Metro Park and Ride Lot on Fifth Avenue Northeast
SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels announced plans to buy a Metro Park and Ride
lot for a new park in Northgate today. Located north of Northgate Mall, on
Fifth Avenue Northeast, the 3.75-acre property has been eyed by the community
for years as a possible park.
“Great parks are the centerpieces of great neighborhoods,” Nickels
said. “The park will give the community a chance to really shape the
way the Northgate area grows in the years to come.”
Money for the property will be part of Nickels’ 2006 budget, which he
will deliver to the council Monday. The City is negotiating the final price
with King County.
The mayor, joined by King County Executive Ron Sims, said development in
the neighborhood is moving forward after years of stagnation. A new public
library, community center and park east of the mall are under construction
and due to open by June. The City is improving Fifth Avenue Northeast to
make it more attractive and pedestrian friendly.
Construction is also scheduled to start late next year or early 2007 on: Northgate
Commons, a mixed-use development on the south lot that includes housing, retail,
a new movie theater and an assisted-living facility; the Thornton Creek Channel
on the south lot; and the extension of Third Avenue Northeast between Northeast
100th and Northeast 103rd.
Additional private development is expected north and east of the mall, including
a mixed-use project at the corner of Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast Northgate
Way, which has applied for permits.
Expansion of Northgate Mall is slated to begin in coming months. The work
includes demolition of the theater and medical office building by the end of
the year, construction of approximately 100,000 square feet of new mall space,
installation of natural drainage in the west parking lot, and building a new
parking garage on the south end of the mall. New tenants announced today include
Barnes and Noble and Macaroni Grill.
“We blew up a logjam and now we are starting to see real progress at
Northgate,” Nickels said. “New shops, jobs and housing, a new library
and community center, new open space, improved streets - these are the signs
of a healthy, vibrant neighborhood.”
The Park and Ride lot is expected to close in 2008 when new parking is available
on the Metro site south of Northgate Mall.
View
a map of Northgate and the proposed park
Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s
inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic
opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter
at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm
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Office of the Mayor
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