This year marks the 40th anniversary of the purchase of the Bellevue Downtown Park. The city purchased 17.5 acres for $14.3 million dollars in the southwest corner of the Bellevue central business district. At the time, this was the most money spent to acquire a public park in the history of Washington state. The site, which subsequently grew to 20 acres, would have accommodated about 4.5 million square feet of office and residential development. Today, this land is valued at approximately $400 million dollars and represents the only significant open space in Bellevue’s CBD.
Scaled for population differences, the Bellevue Downtown Park has a similar role to that of New York’s Central Park. The park is simple, elegant and timeless, a brilliant blend of artistry and pragmatism. The great meadow, waterfall, circular canal and pathway, formal garden, natural amphitheater and accessible playground are perfect complements to the growing density of the downtown. This is a safe, beautiful and flexible space that accommodates a stunning array of uses.
So, how did this spectacular park come into being and who should be credited? The site was owned by the Bellevue School District and contained a closed junior high school and administrative campus. There was the typical array of school recreation facilities, from soccer and baseball fields to tennis courts, gymnasium and performing arts space. This transformation alone, from recreation facilities to passive park, was a monumental achievement.
Additionally, the school district required fair market value. But funding was unavailable, there were a backlog of park needs elsewhere in the city, there was no organized constituency to champion the purchase, and there was friction between downtown business interests and residential groups convinced that the city was investing too much downtown. Finally, the school district offered to donate six acres for a park if it could sell or lease the balance of the property for commercial development.
Vision, political courage and leadership were necessary to move this project forward. Then-Mayor Cary Bozeman knew that this was the city’s golden opportunity to provide an impactful park and that all 17.5 acres would be needed to achieve this goal. Despite demands to hold a referendum on the purchase, he and an enlightened City Council majority decided to increase the sales tax to finance the purchase. A citywide survey was distributed that revealed the vast majority of citizens wanted an informal, bucolic urban space. These survey results were used to guide an international design competition that yielded a design for the ages.
Following a razor thin park bond defeat to develop the park’s first phase, Mayor Bozeman recruited John Ellis, then CEO of Puget Power, to form a Downtown Park Corporation that would raise $2 million privately, lease the site from the city, manage the construction of the first phase and dissolve the corporation once the work was completed. He succeeded on all counts and the first phase was dedicated in1988. Riding this momentum, subsequent phases were financed and constructed by the city.
With the park almost DOA on several occasions, the leadership provided by Bozeman and Ellis saved the day and the city of Bellevue now has an iconic urban park. Their contributions should be recognized and officially honored after all these years. Cities fail all too often to acknowledge those who absorbed the slings and arrows on behalf of the public good. Certainly, the quality of living for those working and residing in the CBD has been immeasurably improved because of decisions made over 40 years ago by a small group of visionary and courageous leaders.
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