Private rescue sought for Magnuson Park

Seattle's Magnuson Park could soon get a new tennis center, a Civic Light Opera auditorium and an Ivar's.

Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed having nonprofits and private developers rehabilitate old buildings in the park as part of a privately funded $68 million plan to turn the old naval base into a Seattle Center-style recreation campus.

The City Council will review proposals for the city's second-largest park, which boasts some of the longest stretches of public waterfront along Lake Washington.

The city would lease the buildings to nonprofits and developers, which would be expected to provide some kind of public benefit. The tennis center, for instance, would be required to charge court fees similar to the city-run Amy Yee Tennis Center.

"We know it would take $68 million and some other astronomical figure, or we could turn that to zero and find partners," said parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who led a tour of the dilapidated buildings on Thursday. "It's not selling off; it's finding resources in the community."

The council is considering these plans:

• The nonprofit Cascade Bicycle Club would raise money to transform the old Navy fire station into offices and meeting and training space.

• Civic Light Opera proposes a $5 million project to expand the stage and wings of the auditorium in Magnuson Community Center.

• Seattle Court Sports Unlimited would spend $1.8 million to build a tennis center with four outdoor and six indoor courts.

• Private developers would spend $8.6 million renovating Building 11, on the waterfront at the park's north end, to house a day-care center, water-sports organizations such as Sail Sand Point, and a food court to include an Ivar's.

The mayor is still negotiating with Arena Sports, a private company that wants to build indoor athletic fields in Building 27, a hangar.

In the fire station where Cascade Bicycle Club wants to move, most of the windows are broken, the paint is peeling, and the ceiling in a second-floor room has collapsed.

Many buildings require seismic upgrades, hazardous-waste removal and other changes to bring them into compliance with building codes.

The alternative to private redevelopment, Gallagher said, is to tear the buildings down or propose a new parks levy.

The Pro Parks Levy expires at the end of this year, and Nickels has said nothing about asking voters to renew the property tax. Some members of the City Council, however, have expressed interest in sending a parks proposal to the voters again.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com

This story, originally published March 21, 2008, was corrected April 14, 2008. Due to incorrect information provided by the Seattle parks department, the original story incorrectly stated that Seattle Court Sports Unlimited is a nonprofit. The company, which proposed building a tennis center at the park, is a for-profit entity.