12th Ave. Square Park Development
Project Information

Location: 12th Ave and E James Court, 98122

Project Status

Winter 2012/2013
12th Avenue Square Park is a 7,332 square-foot property at the southeast corner of 12th Ave. and E James Court. The new park consists of property transferred to Parks from the Department of Neighborhoods in January 2008 and the woonerf adjacent to the park along East James Court.

The Seattle Parks Foundation awarded this project $70,000 through their newly launched Stim Bullitt Park Excellence Fund. It will be used in the capital construction budget.

Seattle Parks is preparing to permit this project. The permitting process has been slowed because of supplemental funding provided by Seattle Department of Transportation which will allow for improvements to be made in the alley on the south side of the park. The design needs to be completed on this additional work as it must be included in the permitting process.

We anticipate being completed with the project in the third quarter 2013.

This project consists of the 12th Ave and E James Court Pro Park development project and a community initiated project that was selected to receive funding through the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund. The new pedestrian friendly park will be created within the street right of way in conjunction with the park project. A woonerf, a street where pedestrians and cyclists have priority over motorists, will be integrated into the park design. The design techniques will create shared spaces, traffic calming, and low speed limits to improve pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile safety.

Parks hosted two community meetings for the Opportunity Fund project. To see meeting notes and presentation please see below. At the first meeting over 20 community members and neighbors attended and contributed to ideas and concepts and concerns about the new Woonerf project.

At the second meeting Hewitt Architects and Seattle Parks presented the design concept.

Project Description

Park Development Project
Parks has been working with the community to develop a preferred schematic design for the 12th and James site. The park project was put on hold until project recommendations for the Opportunity Fund projects were announced.

These two projects will be built together in order to economize on construction costs and to minimize continued disturbance to the surrounding neighborhood.

This project was selected for the first round of Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Funding. The application received in this community-initiated process is a preliminary concept and the final design may be constrained by the project budget. All projects will go through Park’s public involvement procedure which includes public meetings and community input. They will also go through an internal Parks process to ensure the most effective implementation.

The 12th Ave Neighborhood Plan calls for developing 12 Ave into the “main street” of the urban village. The James Ct woonerf, abutting 12th Ave, would help provide the kind of environment envisioned in the Neighborhood Plan.

The Opportunity Fund proposal envisioned the development of a woonerf along James Ct spanning between the 12th Ave Park to the south and the new Seattle University and Seneca group development to the north. A woonerf is a street where pedestrians and cyclists have legal priority over motorists. The techniques of shared spaces, traffic calming, and low speed limits are intended to improve pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile safety.

In 2008, Seattle Parks hired Hewitt Architects to begin initial design development of the park site at 12th and James Ct. Several public meetings were held and a preferred schematic design developed. The design development for the park project was put on hold while awaiting the outcome of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund project selection.

Hewitt is also the designer for the Seneca development and will remain on as consultant for the woonerf project. The park project and the woonerf project will go through design development, construction documents and construction simultaneously.

Community Participation

Opportunity Fund Meetings

Public Meeting #1 5/10/11

• Meeting notes
• Presentation

Public Meeting #2 6/29/11

• Meeting notes
• Model Views Presentation

2010 Meetings

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the design team of Hewitt Architects, hosted three public meetings during 2010 with the community to develop a preferred schematic site plan and design for the new park site.

Meeting notes and draft schematic designs for the park can be downloaded below.

Public Meeting #1 5/18/10

• Meeting notes
• Presentation

Public Meeting #2 7/13/10

• Meeting notes
• Presentation

Public Meeting #3 9/14/10

• Agenda
• Meeting notes
• Presentation

Important Links

• Seattle Parks and Recreation
• Parks & Green Spaces Levy
• Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund
• 12th Avenue Village Gathering Place Acquisition
• Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund
• Squire Park’s First Woonerf Project Completes a Street

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