Donors create parks for posterity

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Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Donors create parks for posterity
Neglected sites in Seattle are being transformed into places of beauty

By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
P-I REPORTER

Gary Glant has a keen eye for beauty, texture and craftsmanship, forged over decades as a Seattle-based textile designer. .

He knows a makeover when he sees one.


		Jim Bryant / P-I
	Gary Glant, one of those who have given money for new parks, stands in his donated park in the Mount Baker neighborhood.

Lucky for many of his neighbors -- and the public -- Glant not only was willing to lead an effort to transform a neglected Mount Baker neighborhood park with a striking view of Lake Washington, but also to pay for it.

Glant and his wife, Vicki, are among private donors whose money given to the Seattle Parks Foundation helps to carve out pockets of serenity from the city's increasingly dense and developed landscape. Giving to a relatively new foundation program called legacy parks, donors are creating open space for future generations and transforming sites into more publicly accessible places.

"A park will never be taken away; it lasts forever," said Karen Daubert, executive director of the foundation, the private-non-profit organization that handles private donations to public parks.

"Legacy parks are a win-win situation -- for the donor and for the public," Daubert said.

Lakewood Triangle Park, a quarter-acre Seattle park long cherished by the neighborhood, is the newest, dedicated June 14. The Glants gave $100,000 and design expertise to re-create it.

The half-acre Homer Harris Park in the Central Area became the first legacy park when it was dedicated in May 2005. The land was bought and became a city park after the Seattle Parks Foundation in 2002 received the largest sum -- $1.3 million -- ever donated by a private individual for a public park in Seattle. The donor asked to be anonymous.

The city's second legacy park, Lake People (Xacua'bs) Park in Rainier Valley, was created after developers Diane and Monte Powell and George Krusz decided to donate the land to the community for a park instead of developing it. The park, dedicated in June 2005, was named to honor the Duwamish, who once lived in the area.

The half-acre hillside park, on a cul-de-sac and previously so overgrown with blackberries it was nearly invisible, now offers a shady resting spot, views of downtown and the Cascades, and trail connectors to Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley. The park has already gained the support of local neighbors and Americorps volunteers, who have organized work parties to rip out invasive plants and keep it pristine.

A fourth park, recently named Counterbalance: An Urban Oasis, is being planned. It is at Queen Anne Avenue North and Roy Street on land bought in 2004 with $1.7 million in city Pro Parks Levy and King County Conservation Futures Tax monies. The park is being developed with a $225,000 legacy park gift from Raj Shah and his brother Akhil, longtime Queen Anne clothing business owners.

Residents said the money was critical in jump-starting a campaign to raise an estimated $1 million to develop the park.

"This park is our biggest accomplishment. ... I don't really think we could have done it without Raj's gift; he was the first to step up and he leveraged other giving," said Jean Sundborg, vice president of fundraising for the Uptown Alliance.

Sundborg, who has dreamed of turning the parcel into a park and community gathering hub for 10 years, said the gift also spurred excitement and ideas that may be incorporated into the final plan, such as craft fairs, a farmers market, seasonal celebrations, a lighting system and a platform for musical performances. Construction is expected to begin next year.

"My brother and I always felt that place should be a park, a little oasis," Raj Shah said. "I think people are excited and relieved that something wonderful is going to happen in what has been a sore corner in our community."

Glant acknowledged that while not everyone in his neighborhood agreed with the design of the Mount Baker park, the legacy program helped to create a refuge that would not otherwise exist. Glant learned in the process that the park was linked to the Olmsted brothers' plan for Lake Washington Boulevard, and worked with landscape architect John Barker on the design similar to what the Olmsteds wanted. That includes a rock wall, new benches, lighting and native plants, trees and a wheelchair-accessible pathway.

"There was a park there, but nobody really knew it," Glant said. "It had been neglected for decades. ... We tried to make it inviting and warm, yet flexible so it could be used for gatherings, weddings and picnics, moms could watch toddlers or kids could come and set up croquet or throw a ball."

What motivates donors, as Glant put it, is the chance to "create a beautiful park for future generations."

Daubert said donors' ideas must still fit with neighborhood values. The Homer Harris Park donor had two conditions: that he remain anonymous and that the park be named after Homer Harris, the Garfield High football star and Seattle physician whom the donor had long admired for "maintaining his sense of humor, priorities and confidence despite (racial) discrimination and hardship," Daubert said.

The neighborhood, which had already designated the site as a hoped-for park space, did not protest.

"We're really clear up front when we meet with any donor regarding a legacy gift that we see each and every park as public and that there's a public process involved," Daubert said. "Our policy is to not be dictated to by the donors. The neighbors would fight it."

Beth Jacoby, who lives near the new Lakewood Triangle Park, was one of those -- at first. She said many in the community helped raise $12,500 from neighbors who wanted to replace a children's aging play structure on the site, only to give the money back when it became clear that "some people strongly opposed the play equipment. We didn't have consensus."

"I was in shock that Gary was giving $100,000, and that it would cost that much," Jacoby said. "I don't really think there was much public process, but I told Gary at the dedication, 'This is not what I had in mind, but I like it better than what we would have had.'

"It's a beautiful park, it was done with great taste, and I'm very touched by Gary and Vicki's generosity," Jacoby said. "It's something we can look forward to enjoying for a lot of years."

In most cases, legacy parks create opportunities for community building -- both during development and after their completion, Daubert said.

Raj Shah said that's part of the legacy: "Seattle is a wonderful city, but wonderful cities don't just come about, it takes people who have leadership, vision and generosity. You have to continue to invest in your city and neighborhoods to keep them wonderful. It's a challenge in a world where there are so many different needs, but the moving point for my brother and I was that if you can keep your community beautiful and strong, you can influence people in a positive way."

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