Skyway Community Center Project

Project information

King County Parks is excited to share the latest progress in the planning and design of a new community center in Skyway-West Hill.

The project team is currently focused on the following:

• Review of proposed programming and activities.
• Assessing and identifying a location for the community center.
• Creating alternative designs.
• Identifying funding opportunities to build and operate the community center.

The draft Recreation Demand and Program Plan (PDF, 2.1MB) for this project is now available.

Public Meeting

A public meeting was held at Skyway Library on July 10, where King County Parks provided an update about the project and heard community feedback. View the presentation from the meeting (PDF, 8.3MB).

The next public meeting is planned for January 28, 2025 from 6 – 7:30 PM in the meeting room at the Skyway Public Library. More details will be released when they are available.

Community Survey

King County Parks asked for feedback on the potential location of the community center and the planned activities and spaces in the community center. The survey is now closed. Results from the community survey will be available in the coming months.

Project Schedule

King County Parks is working on proposed programming, site selection, potential designs, and securing full funding for the park. See our schedule below for more information.

Potential Site

King County Parks and the design team reviewed 10 potential sites for the community center, looking at availability, size, access to parks and transit, location in the community, and site characteristics. From this assessment, Parks and the design team are considering the Skyway Park as the most suitable site for the new Center. The site large, centrally located, and already owned by King County Parks. This location will be assessed to determine if its possible to have a community center at this location.

Project Background

Skyway-West Hill community members have contributed to advocacy and planning efforts for a future community center since 1994. King County is committed to including what we have learned from that input to this project as we move forward with development. The design team has created a summary of community input and project development work from previous studies, community center designs, and public surveys.

Documents that informed the summary include:

• West Hill Community Plan (1994).
• Community Vision for Revitalization (2009), Skyway Solutions.
• Community Center Conceptual design (2014), Skyway Solutions.
• Skyway-West Hill Action Plan (2016, not adopted), Skyway Solutions and community at large.
• Skyway’s 2022 Community Service Area Subarea Plan.
• 2022 Skyway-West Hill Priorities Survey.

King County Parks staff will continue to work with community members and organizations to gather and respond to feedback about this project.

Funding

The 2021-22 King County Budget designated $10 million for a future Skyway-West Hill community center. To meet the community’s growing needs, the Department of Local Services awarded the Renton Innovation Zone Partnership (RIZP) and King County Housing Authority (KCHA) $2 million of the $10 million in funding for the development of the Skyway Resource Center, set to open in October 2024. This resource center will serve as a HUD EnVision social services hub and provide place-based housing, health, and economic resources to the community.

The remainder of funding will be used for the planning, design and construction of the new Center.