Councilmen look at park as new home for summer concerts

Two City Council members asked Seattle parks officials Wednesday to consider the possibility of clearing space at South Lake Union Park to be the permanent home of the annual "Summer Nights" concert series.

The request came a day after promoter One Reel canceled the concert series, which had been planned for Gas Works Park, with hopes to start it anew there in 2007.

The request by councilmen Richard McIver and Nick Licata is preliminary and would have no bearing on One Reel's decision to suspend the concerts for this summer.

"We're going to respond to the council in writing, retrace the history of the project in that response and then the council will decide whether it wants to proceed or not," said Dewey Potter, spokeswoman for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

That history includes an ordinance the full council passed last October that gave the Seattle Parks Foundation the go-ahead to begin raising $10 million for the park based on a previously agreed-upon design. That design does not support events the size of "Summer Nights."

The design calls for a model-boat pond, fountain, boardwalk and a "great lawn" in the central part of the park.

Vulcan, the most active developer in the South Lake Union neighborhood, supports that design. Owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Vulcan is contributing $5 million toward the park and has agreed to add another $5 million after the Parks Foundation raises its share.

When asked whether the company plans to oppose the concert series moving to South Lake Union, a Vulcan spokeswoman said, "We really don't have an opinion."

Lyn Tangen, the company's director of government and community relations, said Vulcan has no control over what the city decides to do at the park.

The concerts took place on the shores of South Lake Union in 2005, but had to move to a different location because the new 12-acre makeover is about to be built there. The first phase of construction begins later this year.

The question of a possible redesign came up Wednesday after city parks officials asked the council budget committee for an additional $4.2 million of city money for the new park. The extra money is needed because parks officials discovered that bulkhead walls between the park and Lake Union are old and should be replaced.

At that meeting, McIver and Licata directed park officials to present alternate designs later this month, with one option to devote space for a permanent home for "Summer Nights."

Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com