Just behind Picolino’s at 65th & 32nd sits a little plot of land that the Sunset Hill Community Association is hoping will become the area’s newest park.
Back in November, a group of neighbors was awarded a nearly $15,000 grant from the Department of Neighborhoods to study the feasibility of turning the substation land into a public space. “Our idea is that this new park could have a serious array of photovoltaic modules, generating electricity and feeding it into the grid. We’re not talking about a demonstration project; we’re talking about a real, functioning part of the city’s energy infrastructure,” Robert Drucker, the president of the SHCA emailed us, “Below the modules we are proposing a park, and what that park will look like is the subject of Tuesday’s meeting.”
CAST Architecture from Fremont has been hired to help design the area. “They are a young and very creative firm, and they are coming on Tuesday to facilitate the workshop. After introductions and some technical sharing at 6:30pm, we’re going to break into small groups to design a park!” Drucker says.
The meeting will be held at the Sunset Hill Community Club (3003 NW 66th St) tonight from 6:30 to 8:30. “We’re serving refreshments as an added attraction,” Drucker adds. To keep up to date on the project, you can check out the new Sunset Substation blog.
The city can't afford to take care of the “parks” they have already.
If you want to build a solar power station, fine, build one of those someplace. But don't call it a “park”.
This tiny space, in a residential neighborhood and in a space that's not very visible will only attract bums. We already have enough of them, thank you.
Please take your “vision” to some other neighborhood and inflict it on the suckers there. Go away and leave us alone.
“Please take your “vision” to some other neighborhood and inflict it on the suckers there. Go away and leave us alone”
I doubt the 'Group of Neighbors' is going to go to any such thing in a neighborhood where they do not live.
A$15,000 grant from the Department of Neighborhoods to study the feasibility?
$15,000.00 for Feasibility?
No wonder this city is bankrupt.
The neighbors directly contiguous to this sort of project ought to have the most say. The ethic ought to be deontological — no making exceptions for yourself if you are next door, and if you aren't next door no proposing things you wouldn't if you were.
Yeah I'd like to see what ends up being billed. Things like refreshments and meeting space should be disallowed. Are they?
BS, anyone that pays for it should have a say.
of course darling but then again it is easy to say sure, build a bum magnet when you don't live w/in smelling distance …
We agree on one thing. It will be a bum magnet. And a mere $15K gets you a feasibilty study.
This project is the result of the valiant work of a neighborhood group that succeeded in saving the space from commercial development. If you don't live in the neighborhood, and aren't directly affected by land use issues therein, don't be so fast to rush to judgment.
There is plenty of backstory on this tiny- but important – land acquisition, and the end result will not only benefit the neighbors and quality of life in the neighborhood, but it will set a precedent for other neighborhoods in the city to stand up and fight greedy developers who are hell-bent on making a buck regardless of the impact their projects have on the surrounding community.
Love it or hate it, the 'urban village' initiative has changed the face of Ballard forever. Development creep has enveloped most available space from Market Street to 65th NW. While affordable housing is a laudable goal, that is hardly what the end result has been in most cases. Some citizens advocate moderation; high density development just isn't appropriate everywhere, for a variety of reasons. Kudos to those that stand up, organize and succeed in shaping the destiny of their neighborhoods.
Unless your ideal of Sunset Hill is large footprint, multistory commercial/residential construction projects, you have this hard-working group of neighbors to thank for saving the integrity of the block for future generations. I know that Lily, the original long-time owner of the 'Picolino's' property, is smiling down from heaven because despite a heavy-handed and frankly outrageous attempt to subvert her vision, there is a victory of sorts in the outcome.
I, for one, will be cheering with the rest of my neighbors when the ribbon is cut on dedication day.
I'm very happy to help pay for “your” park.