Metro Parks Tacoma and the Foss Waterway Development Authority will host a public meeting this month to discuss the future of two new park spaces — Waterway Park & Rowing Center and Central Park – located along the downtown Tacoma waterfront.

One proposal for Waterway Park & Rowing Center, located at 2130 E. ‘D’ St., involves converting the existing Berg Scaffolding Building — or constructing a new facility — to serve as a public boathouse that would support human-powered watercraft, as well as building restrooms and picnic facilities, and creating parking upgrades, according to Metro Parks Tacoma staff. A proposal for Central Park, located at 1147 Dock St., could include the extension of the esplanade, picnic areas, and other improvements.

A public meeting to discuss the two park projects was held in December at Metro Parks Tacoma headquarters (see “Public meeting Dec. 15 to discuss Thea Foss Waterway park proposals,” Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 2, 2015). Another public meeting will be held on Thurs., Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. at the former Durobilt Building, located at 323 Puyallup Ave., in Tacoma’s Dome District.

In July, Metro Parks Tacoma published a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) in the Tacoma Daily Index inviting landscapers, architects, and engineers to interested in providing initial design services for the two park spaces (see “Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma Request for,” Tacoma Daily Index, July 17, 2015; and “Metro Parks Tacoma seeks contractors for 2 Foss Waterway park improvement projects,” Tacoma Daily Index, July 21, 2015). Seven contractors responded to the RFQ.

“We have just completed our interview process for [architectural and engineering] services and have selected Site Workshop Landscape Architects to be the lead along with SHKS Architects,” Metro Parks Tacoma Project Manager Doug Fraser told the Tacoma Daily Index in September (see “Design phase to begin soon for 2 Foss Waterway park improvement projects,” Tacoma Daily Index, Sept. 17, 2015).

The work is being completed and paid for through a partnership between Metro Parks Tacoma and the Foss Waterway Development Authority.