For all the Magnolia residents who had hoped that the Port of Seattle would just give the undeveloped waterfront property adjacent to Smith Cove Park to the city and double the size of the current park, you can forget about it.
Mark Griffin, the Real Estate Development Manager for the Port of Seattle, ended that wishful thinking during recent public forums in Magnolia. He had heard the request repeatedly in recent weeks, but told attendees at the Magnolia Community Club meeting on March 10 that such a gift was not part of current negotiations.
“The Port’s mission is about economic development,” Griffin reminded the crowd of people who were mostly against the Port’s development plans. “We have to look at the land’s use for the larger economic development for both the Port and the entire region.”
After two sometimes contentious meetings with local residents, it appears clear that, depending on fiscal constraints and environmental issues, the Port of Seattle and the Seattle Parks Department want to move forward with a land swap which would give the Port the site which now holds grass and two soccer fields. In return, the Parks Department would get the adjacent West Yard property, which is an undeveloped patch of scabland next to Smith Cove that is currently being leased by American Seafoods Company for storage of fishing nets and other miscellaneous equipment.
Potential problems
But the Devil may still be in the details for these two agencies. The Port of Seattle wants a cashless deal in which both sides swap financially equal patches of property. However, Griffin said that the properties have not yet been assessed. So, if one piece of property is found to be worth considerable more than the other, it could make the deal very complicated.
Another potential problem is whether or not there is any contamination on the West Yard property, which has been used for many things over the decades, most recently for maritime storage.
“The West Yard has been an armpit since I was in high school,” said Magnolia resident and Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips. “My perspective is that this is an opportunity to do something special with that piece of property, but we have to make sure we get as good or better than what we have right now.”
One of the reasons the new developments are being discussed is the need by the King County Wastewater Treatment Division to place a massive underground overflow sewer tank on the site. The Port doesn’t want the $40 million project on their property because it would limit development options. If the tank were placed underground on a new Smith Cove Park, then part of the cleanup and refurbishing of the Port’s West Yard site would be paid for by King County. The wastewater division would also pay a fee for the portion of the small portion of the property above the tank that could not be used as a park. But exactly how much money this would entail is still to be determined during negotiations. It was also unclear where the rest of the money would come from to create the new park. The current Smith Cover soccer fields cost an estimated $300,000 to develop, according to the Parks Department.
Shape of things to come?
If the Smith Cove land swap goes through, Port of Seattle officials have initial plans to construct an office building and parking lot on the soccer fields that currently cover most of the park property.
However, if the two sides cannot agree on the swap, Port officials could construct a smaller building on the West Yard site that they currently own.
Under city regulations, the Port’s building could be 45 feet in height, allowing a three or four-story building on the site. However, with waivers from the city, the building could be built higher.
The Port also wants to swap properties because it would free them from the fact that no construction can take place within 200 feet of the shoreline.
The following schematics are two of the four ideas and give a sense of what the Port and Parks officials have in mind for this section of property. Development Study Option "B" shows the properties if the land swap went through. This configuration is the only one that would allow the Parks Department to construct two soccer fields on the property. It also would offer room for beach access, a pedestrian-oriented waterfront park and a small boat launch. As for soccer balls finding the cove, Parks officials say fences and buffers would deter the balls from going in the water.
Development Study Option C does not allow for the creation of soccer fields, but it offers the most waterfront property.
To see all four of the initial options developed by the Port and Parks Department,click here.
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