A new park and elementary school are slated to pop up on Kent’s West Hill within the next two years on adjacent properties.
In fact, Kent city and Federal Way School District officials are discussing a proposal to design together the new West Hill Park and rebuilt Sunnycrest Elementary School.
Sunnycrest, 24629 42nd Ave. S., between Military Road and Kent Des Moines Road, sits in the Kent city limits, but is run by the Federal Way School District. School officials plan to finish the rebuilt school by 2011.
“They’re looking at a school within a park,” said Jeff Watling, city parks director, during a report Feb. 17 to the City Council on the district’s proposal to work with Kent. “A neighborhood park and a school have a synergy worth exploring.”
The city owns a 7.8-acre parcel at South 244th Street and Military Road that it wants to turn into a developed park. Proposals for the new park include a trail, restroom, large open space, picnic areas, parking spots and a half-basketball court.
City and school-district officials are intrigued by the potential to connect the park and the school.
“We met with them to explore opportunities to partner,” Watling said. “There are some significant questions and challenges with the ravine and the topography and how we link the upper site with the lower site.”
Federal Way officials want a letter of interest from the Kent City Council in March confirming the proposal for both entities to work on the project.
If the Council agrees to pursue the partnership, city and school officials will work on the design.
“There will be a followup meeting with city staff and our project managers to start to lay it out,” said Rod Leland, facilities director for the Federal Way schools. “We plan to conduct studies of the property to see how it could be used and to see the constraints.”
Tom Murphy, superintendent of the Federal Way schools, suggested in early February to contact city officials about designing a new park and school together, Leland said.
School-district officials plan to rebuild Sunnycrest on the same site and keep the school open during construction. Construction on the school is expected to be completed by 2011. The school was built in 1965 and last remodeled in 1992.
Federal Way School District voters approved a $149 million construction bond package in May 2007 to rebuild five schools and three district facilities. Sunnycrest will be the fifth school rebuilt with the bond money.
Any proposed design of the park and school will be up for public review.
“The district architect will come up with concepts of how the two properties could be used together,” Leland said. “We also will get public input on the possibilities and to hear their concerns.”
Watling told the Council he would have more details in March.
“There’s more to come as we pursue this,” Watling said.
Leland looks forward to working with city staff.
“Right now, we have nothing,” Leland said. “But it is an interesting idea. Over the next four to five weeks, we’ll flesh it out.”
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