City Council votes on adding a pocket park in downtown Kent

The Community Development Committee of the Kent City Council voted to 8-0 to start plans for a pocket park between Bar145 and Landmark Building, framed by Erie Street and Lock Lane.

A pocket park is a very small park or outdoor area for public leisure, especially an urban plaza or courtyard with benches and fountains, according to dictionary.com.

The plans are still being finalized right now and should be done within four to eight weeks.

“The prominent features that have been proposed are: urban swings, a gaming area, benches, trees and a stage,” said Jim Bowling, superintendent of engineering for the city of Kent.

During a Community Development Committee meeting on Sept. 3, 2014, City Manager, Dave Ruller, said with the popularity of the downtown and area restaurants, it became obvious that open space was an opportunity to elevate the experience in downtown Kent with a park like setting.

“It creates a place for people to go without having to spend money to be there so they can enjoy downtown,” said Bowling. “For those who live in downtown Kent it’s almost like having a yard.”

The pocket park will be under the responsibility of the College Town Kent LLC because of the proximity it has to the properties that are already owned by their company.

A lot of what is going to go into the park will be determined from how much money we raise,” said Bowling. “The rest is coming from College Town Kent and some features may come from the city.”

In downtown Kent there are a large number of businesses and not a lot of green space open for people within the redevelopment area.

“One of the features of great cities is that they have great public spaces,” said Bowling. “We are looking to make this a great public space that we have downtown Kent.”

Coming to an agreement with College Town Kent LLC

College Town Kent LLC is a development company which includes the Davey Tree building, the Ametek building and the residential building the Landmark.

The two parcels of land are located behind Bar145 will be what makes up the pocket park. One parcel, the stoned walkway, is owned by the City of Kent and the College Town Kent LLC owns the green area right next to it.

“This is going to be a corporate agreement, where the city will be making improvements to some hard scape elements that are currently there,” said Gettens. “We as the College Town Kent LLC will be installing stone elements and a gaming area where kids would feel comfortable running around.”

The main focus of the pocket park is to create a space where people can gather all while being surrounded by the buildings in downtown Kent but also honor the legacy of the former Economic Development director of Kent, Dan Smith.

“It’s a place that Dan Smith’s efforts and his vision for downtown will be able to be acknowledged permanently the contributions that he made for so many years before his passing,” said Gettens.