The changing face of downtown will soon be getting a solid boost from the state.
The state will dole out $2 million to pay for needed infrastructure toward the Redmond Central Square city park project as part of its two-year construction budget, which was approved by the Legislature last weekend.
The construction budget now goes to Gov. Gregoire’s desk to be signed into law, which is expected to happen in the coming weeks.
The City of Redmond has already secured $9 million to go toward the $27 million park project and now the state will pitch in $2 million more.
This is good news. The mayor is excited and you should be, too.
“I am pleased to see the state grant for infrastructure to build a downtown park,” Mayor John Marchione said. “This means we are at $11 million towards our $27 million goal. Our next steps are to develop more specific ideas and begin the public discussion.”
Marchione said the city is exploring “the feasibility of private fund raising and pursuing other grants” to help fund more of the project. But before the city can hit the fundraising trail hard, it will have to establish a location and design, Marchione said.
The park is slated to be built downtown — the exact site yet to be determined — in close proximity to businesses that employ 4,000 people. In addition, the area could be home to as many as 2,000 new housing units by 2010.
This is a project that all Redmond residents should be a part of and support. Downtown is the heart and soul of a community and there’s no arguing that Redmond’s downtown district needs a jolt of change.
A big growth spurt is in the works for Redmond and an urban open space will be a perfect complement to the many mixed-use housing projects popping up in downtown Redmond. Redeveloping downtown has been a center of focus for Marchione, who said he envisions the park as “the jewel of the downtown area.”
“This will be our first urban park. It would provide green space and trees and will be used heavily, so separation of space has to (allow for) a lot of people in a small amount of space and still have it feel like a park,” Marchione said in a previous interview with the Reporter.
A big attraction to Redmond is its parks and open spaces. This city is loaded with 23 developed parks consisting of over 1,000 acres and 17 miles of developed trails, according to the city Web site.
An urban park would be a great addition to the rapid, uprising remake of downtown.
