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(WSB photo, park addition site, last month)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Last month, as reported here, the Morgan Community Association and Morgan Junction All-Wheels Association sent a long list of questions to Seattle Parks. The questions were largely generated by an unsatisfying briefing at the quarterly MoCA meeting regarding the long-in-the-works Morgan Junction Park Addition project.
Backstory: After community sentiment swelled for adding a skatable “all-wheels” feature to the plan – aka a skatedot – the city said that could be done, and MJAWA formed to do what its community volunteers could to help make it happen. Then recently the city said it didn’t have money after all to include that in the project, so MJAWA would have to lead community fundraising to pay for it – and at a much higher price than skating infrastructure experts had said it would take. All this happened against the backdrop of interdepartmental trouble over finishing the process of cleaning up the site, which currently is pretty much a giant fenced-off hole.
So the questions had to do with clarity about the budget and the project status. The Morgan Community Association received a document today with at least some of the replies. Here’s the document; following are a few key points:
*Project budget: $7,560,000, including acquisition costs more than a decade ago. We were told at the time that the purchase price was just under $1.9 million, but the Parks document lists “acquisiion cost” as $2.7 million, without a breakdown.
*Spent so far: $5.7 million, including the aforementioned acquisition costs and $1.6 million described as “construction” though nothing’s been built at the site (Parks says cleanup work done so far is part of this).
*Remaining money: $1.8 million
*What they expect to need: The entire $1.8 million (more than half of that for t, bhe actual park construction – not including a skateable feature – $900,000 construction contract, $300,000 expenses such as sales tax and “escalation”)
But the most significant numbers differential is between what renowned skatepark builders at Grindline, who have worked with MJAWA on a design, believe it would cost, and what Parks says it would cost. In the new document, Parks says:
The cost estimate provided by Grindline varies from the cost estimate provided by SPR for the following reasons:
Grindline’s estimate EXCLUDES a number of critical items: Design/Design review support (geotech/structural/civil/larch, etc.), SPR Labor (inspections and PM), Contractor labor, escalation (estimate is from 2024), survey, demo/disposal, earthwork, drainage, supporting sitework outside the feature (concrete/plantings, etc.) contractor mobilization/markup, sales tax, and design/construction contingency. It also excludes the cost to address improvements associated with the skatedot but not within the footprint.
SPR numbers include estimates for these items at a schematic level and are comprehensive of the total project cost. These costs will be refined as we move forward and the design becomes more detailed.
Skatedot Cost Estimate Overview:
Grindline’s 2024 estimate: $160,000 (w/o tax)
Design team’s 2024 professional cost estimator for skatedot materials and labor
only: $300,000 (w/o tax)
SPR’s escalated hard cost estimate (incl tax, contingency, and anticipated
supporting site work): $700,000
Additional Design fees anticipated: $150,000
Total cost:~$850,000
Once again, this estimate will likely be reduced as the project moves through the design process and uncertainties are resolved. SPR is committed to working with MJAWA to refine the design, hone in on cost, and try to find a path forward that works best for the park and community.
More followups to come, but for those interested in the ongoing saga, we published the questions so wanted you to have the chance to read the first round of answers. (The document also has some information on what’s next and when, saying most of the project site should be ready for hydroseeding next month – once the hole is filled – to grow grass that would enable temporarily reopening the site to public use.)
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