Milestones

Seattle Parks Foundation was originally founded as a nonprofit partner to Seattle Parks and Recreation. Fueled by the energy of civic leaders who wanted the freedom to advocate and fundraise for projects beyond city budgets, Seattle Parks Foundation became an independent nonprofit in 1999.

Throughout our history, Seattle Parks Foundation has worked to support capital campaigns, large-scale community park planning, civic-scale parks, and public space advocacy initiatives. These are just a few of our milestones.

To learn about some of the projects that are currently underway:

Tab through our timeline to review a few of our milestones.

2026 - 2020

Seattle Parks Foundation’s 25th anniversary year continued with an Earth Day Panel at Town Hall Seattle, our Annual Partner Celebration, Pop-Up Concerts in the Park and more! Click here for more on all the ways we celebrated this milestone.
Puma Playfield at Concord International Elementary School opened, adding public play space to the historically underserved South Park neighborhood.
Cayton Corner Park opened.
The Cheasty North Loop, Seattle’s first forested mountain biking and pedestrian trail pilot project, opened.
Garfield Super Block broke ground.
The Tree Equity Network’s granting program funded five local projects.

Be’er Sheva Park celebrated its Grand Re-Opening, with updates including a 30-by-150-foot beach with boardwalk, family picnic areas, performance stage, walking paths, a lawn, safety lighting, and fishing and kayaking access.
Pathways Park opened, the first fully accessible nature-based play space in the region.
Cayton Corner Park broke ground.
Seattle Parks Foundation hosted the Love Parks Gala, kicking off our 25th anniversary year and surpassing our fundraising goal to raise over $389,000!

A new Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan are launched.
SPF facilitated public polling and mobilized our community to advocate for the renewal of the Metropolitan Park District, a $780M investment in our parks.
Duwamish River People’s Park and Shoreline Habitat opens, a span of 14 acres representing the largest environmental restoration project to have been undertaken on the Duwamish River in a generation.
Detective Cookie Chess Park opens, sixteen years after the Rainier Beach youth chess club was formed by Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin.

2019 - 2010

Completion of Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands redevelopment. Today the farm is a 10-acre community hub dedicated to organic food production and distribution, environmental education and wetlands restoration, co-operated by Friends of RBUFW and Tilth Alliance.
Published the Georgetown Open Space Vision Framework, which included outreach and engagement efforts throughout the community to assess existing public spaces, and the facilitation of community-led planning for a system of green, connected public spaces.

Ran the successful ballot initiative to establish the Metropolitan Park District, a sustainable funding source to repair, maintain, and grow our city’s parks, community centers and regional attractions.
Publication of the South Park Green Space Vision Plan, a collaborative effort to bring to light the challenges residents of the last remaining industrial neighborhood face, and a call for positive change through community-led planning and development.
Photo credit: Charlie Montes