City Council Says Yes to Seattle Center's Makeover

The horsemen of change are upon us! Yesterday the City Council approved a $567 million master plan to transform Seattle Center into more of an open, public park. That means the Fun Forest is out when their lease ends January 2010.

The master plan proposes to replace the pay-to-play carnival with a skating rink, sculptural jungle gym, and something called a splash fountain. Of course, no specific funding mechanisms have been established in okaying the master plan--that's one way to get a unanimous city council vote!--so how quickly this transformation will take place is up in the air.

The other major elements in the Center's miracle makeover are the Memorial Stadium and the Center House.

The Seattle Times reports that the city and Seattle Public Schools (the schools actually own the stadium) are negotiating an agreement for its renovation. For one thing, the city wants to revisit the stadium's concrete bunker ambiance by tearing down the concrete walls around it. For another, they want to add a 1,300-space parking garage underneath it, which means the parking garage on Mercer Street could be blown up and redeveloped.

The Center House, a former armory, also has a distinct concrete bunker feel. The plan is to add lots of glass. Several walls and the roof will be cut out and glassed in; also the roof will support a view terrace and restaurant. We're promised a new Bubbleator will get us up to the roof, but as we say, where the money is going to come from is a little hazy. Still, this all sounds like several steps in the right direction.