Bellevue staff unveil three concepts for Eastgate neighborhood park; community favors curvilinear plan

Parks Department staff presented three conceptual designs and community input for a new Eastgate neighborhood park on two recently acquired single‑family parcels at 140 Seventh Avenue Southeast and Southeast 30 Ninth Street, a combined site of about "a half an acre, total," Capital Projects Coordinator Zarian Smith said.

The project aims to fill a park‑access gap south of I‑90 in the Eastgate area and advance a neighborhood park that reflects local preferences. Staff emphasized that no formal Parks Board action was requested at the May meeting; the board heard the mid‑design update and asked questions to inform future design steps.

The parks team described an engagement program that began last summer with a block party and has included two community meetings, a project website with roughly 700 subscribers, neighborhood outreach and social media. The department’s landscape architecture consultant produced three concepts. Staff reported that 106 survey respondents participated and that about half selected Option 2, a plan with two curvilinear “ovals,” a medium‑sized lawn and a larger structured play area.

Zarian Smith, Capital Projects Coordinator, said the concepts were developed to reflect community priorities including flexible lawns for gatherings, a larger play structure, covered pavilion options and retaining existing trees and native plantings. "We are looking forward to keeping the trees and some of the plants that are already there," Smith said during the presentation.

Community preferences emphasized: flexible open lawn and gathering space; picnic tables and seating; a pavilion or fully covered shelter (survey choices separated large pavilion, medium picnic area and smaller slatted‑roof options); play equipment usable by the youngest children; and planting buffers between the park and adjacent homes. Staff said they will retain a planting buffer in all concepts in response to neighbor concerns.

Board members asked how final play equipment will be selected and whether amenities for adults should be considered. Cameron Parker, Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services, said detailed equipment choices will be made during design and that staff had heard requests to include equipment for very young children; he also noted the nearby community center offers adult facilities such as courts that influence neighborhood park programming.

Staff outlined next steps: continued outreach at an upcoming neighborhood block party at Newport Library, further design refinement, a naming process (roughly 70 name suggestions received so far), a final community meeting planned for late July at the South Bellevue Community Center and a return to the Parks Board and then City Council later in summer or fall with a preferred plan. No budget or construction decisions were made at the meeting.

The board and staff also discussed operational considerations raised by residents: park sight lines and seating placement so caregivers can both watch children and see the street, pedestrian safety where sidewalks are missing on nearby streets, and the limits of the site (about half an acre) when balancing play, lawn and shelter space.

Staff will post updated materials and full survey results online and continue public outreach before returning with a recommended design and a shortened name shortlist for board review.

Contact: Capital Projects Coordinator Zarian Smith, Parks and Community Services Department, for updates and full survey results.