Project Introduction

In 2018, the City of Olympia purchased this property from the Zahn family for a future community park. The Zahn family had owned the land for two generations, originally farming it themselves then leasing the fields to Spooner Berry Farm. A portion of the site consists of fields used for strawberry production, with a berry stand and gravel parking area located along Yelm Highway at the north end of the property. Much of the southern half of the site is forest and wetland. This master plan responds to the community's changing needs and growth and presents a design concept to guide future park development in a phased approach. The master plan incorporates active and passive recreational amenities, preservation and protection of critical areas, and public art integration. To meet a longstanding community need for dedicated rectangular fields in Olympia (see Parks, Arts & Recreation Plan, pp. 71-74), the first phase of this park will include rectangular fields. During the planning process, the Olympia School District (OSD) approached the Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation Department (OPARD) about colocating a secondary school on the site. Olympia City Council approved the proposal, which will allow OSD and OPARD to share the costs of development and provide additional amenities for the community. The design reflected in this master plan resulted from extensive community outreach by the design team and OPARD. The community truly shaped this project, and the design responds to their needs, hopes, dreams, and wishes. To the greatest extent possible, the design team incorporated the elements suggested by the community with the most support, as determined by public input. This report includes the public outreach process, with complete results in the appendix.