Fun Forest on its way out at Center

'Eyesore' Mercer parking garage could become stellar theater district venue

Some of Seattle Center's architecture has come to define the city and those in it: The aspiring qualities of the Space Needle, the Northwest friendliness of the fountain, its neighboring semi-submerged orca sculptures and the flat out weirdness of the Experience Music Project.

But some of the World's Fair elements have run their course, are dated beyond measure and, say many residents and city leaders, are begging for a makeover.

The mayor-appointed Century 21 Committee's master plan to update the iconic headquarters will cost $676 million, add 10 more acres of open space and transform several of the concrete-heavy complexes into modern venues.

The main changes in the plan are:

• Replacing the Fun Forest with a kids play area and wading pool during the summer, which would become an ice-skating rink in winter (no word yet if the new rink would put the kibosh on the seasonal rink adjacent to the Center House).
  
  
• New exhibition space at KeyArena.
  
  
• A relocated and remodeled Mural Amphitheatre.
  
  
• Turning Memorial Stadium into an amphitheatre ideal for school sports and concerts. Underneath would be a parking garage and a transportation hub for buses and service vehicles.
  
  
• Razing the rugged, two-block parking garage along Mercer (opposite the Intiman Playhouse) and replacing it with a mixed-use development -likely condominiums with ground-floor shopping; or apartments on top and possibly a new theater venue at ground level, similar to the Paramount Theatre's configuration.

"My goal would be to have some other type of cultural organization located at that site," said Seattle City Councilman Tom Rasmussen, and chair of the Seattle Parks and Seattle Center Committee. "If we do sell the parking garage, the use of that site would have to be consistent, compatible and supportive of the Seattle Theatre District plan."

Margaret Irvine, executive director of the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce is abuzz about the plan, too. She calls the Mercer parking garage an "eyesore" and hopes that whoever develops the site, tries to keep the commercial rent at a marketable rate so local, independent businesses can locate there.

Nearly all of the chamber's members are independent businesses and the idea of the area turning into a strip mall with franchises makes her cringe.

"That's what makes our shopping district so unique," she said, "there are so many businesses that are locally owned."

Irvine lives and works in Queen Anne, and while Seattle Center is in some ways the cultural nerve center of the state, she said those in the neighborhood consider the area their park. She hopes after all the changes are made that it will still have that neighborhood flair. "It still needs to be a public park," she said.

The Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with the Seattle Center planning committee, offering support and feedback. Irvine said the committee, and Seattle Center's executive director Robert Nellams, is making a conscious effort to reach out to the community to make sure it's involved in the decisions.

The committee has held several informational public sessions throughout the city for the past month. Rasmussen said that if enough people demanded changes, then the committee would make changes. The last public presentation day is tonight, March 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Northgate Community Center at 10510 Fifth Ave. N.E. The committee is to make its first briefing to the City Council this week.

So where is the money going to come from? Likely a blend of public and private funds. The public being bonds or levies. The private being developers and philanthropists.