The Uptown Alliance is on a roll with its plans to create a new park at the corner of Roy Street and Queen Anne Avenue on the site of a former gas station.
A $225,000 donation from Shah Safari Inc. brothers Raj and Akhil Shaw on April 20 bumped the amount collected so far for Counterbalance Park: An Urban Oasis to $1,130,000.
The original fundraising goal was $1 million, noted the Uptown Alliance's Jean Sundborg. "We're saying a million dollars isn't too much."
And the neighborhood planning group is probably not done raising money for the project, said Alliance member Keith Biever. "Any money we get above the current amount, we want to set up a trust account," he said.
The Counterbalance Park, named after a trolley line that used to run up and down the steep Queen Anne Avenue grade, is not a simple passive park, Sundborg noted. "There are a lot of ideas for art, and that's included in the budget," she said.
And the park itself could be considered to be a work of art on its own. The design by Murase Associates architect Iole Alessandrini includes a raised platform in the middle with lighted edges on two sides facing the streets.
A model of the park showed just regular lighting on the edges, but the plan now calls for colored LED lights that can be changed and mixed, Biever said. The lights could be green for St. Patrick's Day and orange for Halloween, he said of two examples. "And they could be cycled through a series of colors."
There are also plans for a series of events each year in the park, according to a fact sheet Sundborg prepared. In fact, the next two Uptown Alliance meetings will be held there.
It's been 10 years since the idea of building a park at the location came up, and the plans got a boost in 2000 when $304,000 to buy the land was included in the Pro Parks Levy.
The city has contributed $200,000 to the project, matching funds add up to $100,000, and state senator and Queen Anne resident Jeanne Kohl-Welles secured $100,000 for the project in the budget.
And King County Council member and Magnolia resident Larry Phillips was instrumental in including $50,000 for the project in the county's budget.
However, there are still some hoops to jump through, Biever said. "The zoning has never been changed [from service station to park], he said. "They need 120 days to process the permit." In addition, a grading permit is needed, as well as a permit to install utilities.
Seattle Parks and Recreation has also provided a project manager for the park, Sundborg said. "There's only so much he can do," she said.
Biever estimates it will take only three or four months more to get all the necessary permits. "We're still hoping to break ground by the end of 2007," he said with a smile.
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