Talking Points
Waterfront Park Guide No. 1
Welcome to Waterfront Park
With the highly anticipated opening of the 20-acre Waterfront Park in Spring 2025, Seattle is on the verge of a historic milestone. As the city finalizes construction on the final sections of the park, Friends of Waterfront Park (Friends) and our partners are preparing for an exciting year ahead. Our goal for Grand Opening is to create an unforgettable year of programming, events, and initiatives that will inspire pride in this new place, and create a strong sense of community belonging around Waterfront Park.
This is where you come in.
We need your help, as civic leaders, culture makers, business owners, and influencers, to help us spread the word and the excitement for the incredible things to come next year and beyond. In these guidebooks, you will learn about different parts and features of Waterfront Park, background on the project, and our work to create a safe and welcoming new place for people of all cultural backgrounds and abilities.
Photo by Sunny Martini
A Greener Seattle
Treating Stormwater
Waterfront Park treats 91% of stormwater runoff from new roadway surfaces along Alaskan (Dzidzilalich) and Elliott ways— an impressive 10.4 million gallons annually—preventing pollution from entering our waterways. The park uses bioretention planters and a buried pipe drainage system to filter pollutants and replenish groundwater.
Improving nearshore habitat
In partnership with the University of Washington, $410M was invested in the restoration of the Elliott Bay Seawall, completed in 2017. The design supports a healthy marine ecosystem, and monitoring has shown positive results, including increased algae species, bull kelp growth, invertebrates, and insects (salmon prey) on the beach. Multiple salmon species have also been observed in greater numbers under the light-penetrating surfaces.
A Greener Seattle
Designed for pedestrians and cyclists
A new Park Promenade and more than three miles of new protected bike lanes along the waterfront create a separated, safe space for people to walk, ride and roll.
4.3 acres of new plant space provides habitat for insects and birds
150,000 new plants and almost 1000 new trees will add to Seattle’s urban tree canopy and downtown ecosystem, reducing heat island effects and mitigating impacts of climate change. Those plants are divided between six distinct planting zones along the waterfront and the Overlook Walk. Each zone has a different palette of plants that relates to the history, culture, and ecology of that zone.
Image by Field Operations, courtesy of the City of Seattle
Public Safety
Friends, Seattle Center, and Evergreen Treatment Services –
REACH all collaborate to deliver a four-tiered approach to public safety at Waterfront Park.
In coordination with King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), the City of Seattle’s Unified Care Team (UCT), The Market Commons, Healthcare for the Homeless Network, and other resource providers, REACH connects with clients around a range of services from clothing and medical care to housing referrals. REACH is among the first responders to public safety issues at Waterfront Park, along with Friends of Waterfront Park staff and the Seattle Center Emergency Services Unit (ESU). The Seattle Police Department takes part only as a last resort. As Seattle’s downtown continues to recover from the pandemic, Friends is committed to collaborating with the City to ensure a safe Waterfront Park for all.
REACH Social Services
Tier 1 Outreach to assist visitors in need of resources provided by REACH, under contract to Friends.
Tier 2
Friends Park Ambassadors
Staff wearing Friends’ branded clothing provide information, directions, and verbal reminders of park rules. Staff report issues to enforcement and maintenance teams as needed.
Tier 3 City staff can enforce Waterfront Park Rules via Seattle Center. Seattle Center Staff
Tier 4 Seattle Police Department responds to criminal activity. Seattle Police Department (SPD) Criminal Enforcement
Public/Private Partnership
Friends was established in 2012 as City officials and civic leaders recognized that, like great public park spaces in major cities across the country, Waterfront Park would benefit from nonprofit leadership to ensure its lasting success. Friends is well-positioned to lead a new approach to public space.
• In its first 10 years of operations (2012-2022), Friends focused on R&D, non-traditional approaches to programming and community engagement, fundraising, and advocating for the Local Improvement District to ensure the project could be realized.
• Friends is creating a new model for urban park space, centering communities of color who have been historically underrepresented and excluded. Friends’ goal and practice is to create an inclusive, safe, and welcoming space for all.
• Friends serves as a convener, using Waterfront Park as a canvas to connect to one another, the community, and to the natural beauty of Seattle.
• Friends continues to exceed the performance standards of the Central Waterfront Oversight Committee.
Park Funding
PHILANTHROPY
$110,000,000
LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (LID)
$160,000,000
STATE FUNDING
$216,000,000
CITY FUNDING
$320,000,000
Campaign for Waterfront Park
Friends is working towards a $170 million comprehensive campaign goal, which includes the $110M for construction plus $60 million to support the first two decades of programming, operations, and public safety. The Campaign for Waterfront Park has raised $151 million as of September 2024; 93% of goal.
Partnership A New Kind of
Waterfront Park will be a world-class 20-acre public space, woven into the heart of our downtown shoreline.
To make this collective dream a reality, the City of Seattle, Seattle Center, and Friends of Waterfront Park work in ever-deepening partnership, ensuring everyone who visits feels a safe and welcome.
Friends of Waterfront Park Fundraising, Stewardship, Programming, and Activation
City of Seattle
Design and Construction
Seattle Center Operations and Maintenance
Waterfront Park By-the-Numbers
• 20 Acres of new public space
• 4.3 Acres of new plant space
• Over 150,000 new plants
• Almost 1,000 new trees
• Up to 7.5M gallons of stormwater treated through biofiltration annually
• 3 new and improved elevators
• 4 new curbless streets
• More than 3 miles of new bike lanes
• 3x as much foot traffic along Elliott Bay
• 2 new play spaces
• 1 new beach
• 2 newly rebuilt piers