Major Maintenance Project Information
Hiawatha Playfield Field Renovation

Address: 2700 California Ave SW; Seattle, WA 98116-2451

Current Status

The current construction schedule extends into November 2009. Parks will provide schedule updates as the work progresses.

December 2008
In July 2008 Parks submitted the Type V Master Use Permit (MUP) Application to the Department of Planning and Development to allow the replacement of the field light poles at Hiawatha Playfield with up to 90’ height. The track and athletic field is currently illuminated with 10 light poles ranging in height from 55’ to 84’. The replacement lighting system is designed to limit spill light and glare by raising the floodlight mounting heights from the code maximum of 30’ to a height of 70 to 90’.
Seattle City Council approved the land use permits for the work.

Project Description

Budget: $3,600,000
Funding sources:
Seattle Parks and Recreation, $2.5 million
Seattle Public Schools, $1 million
King County Council (Dow Constantine), $100,000

Construction begins: Summer 2009
Project complete: Winter 2009

The Hiawatha Playfield will be renovated with synthetic turf and updated lighting. Baseball, soccer, and football will be represented with full-sized facilities. Three lanes of a non-conforming rubberized track will encompass the sports field. Each lane will be 3.5 feet in width. The existing field events located on the east side of the Community Center will also be renovated.

Hiawatha Playfield is an Olmsted park and as such any changes to its existing condition must be reviewed and approved by the Landmarks Board and its subcommitte -- the Architectural Review Committee (ARC). ARC has reviewed the concept twice in the past few months and the full Landmarks Board will likely review the project details sometime in February 2008.

The football grid will be minimally striped with boundary and 5 yard lines.

When Olmsted designed the Playfield in 1911, he only needed to accomodate baseball: football, in its infancy, was primarily played at the college level, and soccer wasn't yet recognized in America. Now, almost 100 years later, those three sports (plus track) must fit into the space as it was created from Olmsted's original design.

In order to accomplish this so that the sports fields are optimally oriented, the single, signficantly large elm located at the south end of the existing soccer field, must come down. This elm suffered storm damage in 2003 and is susceptible to Dutch Elm disease. As the elm will likely suffer additional impacts during the pending field construction, it is prudent to remove the tree now rather than compromise the fields' orientation.

In recent years 13 young trees were installed within the inside of the existing track. These trees will either be moved or replaced elsewhere depending on their value.

Community Involvement

• Meeting Notes 12/12/07 (PDF)