Seattle (July 25, 2016) – Today the Seattle City Council voted to approve Mayor Ed Murray’s proposal to accelerate rebuilding the southern half of Pier 62/63 on Seattle’s Central Waterfront. The pier – formerly the site of “Summer Nights at the Pier” concerts – is owned by Seattle Parks and Recreation. Public use has been limited for the past 12 years due to deterioration of the pier structure.
Construction is expected to begin in fall 2017. As part of the City’s Waterfront Seattle Program, the southern half of the pier (Pier 62) would be rebuilt with new pilings and decking, railings, lighting, utilities and a floating dock. The northern half (Pier 63) would remain in place.
“Rebuilding this treasured public pier park supports our growing downtown with open space, recreation, concerts and events,” said Mayor Murray. “It’s critical that we support a vibrant and livable city with quality parks and open spaces as we grow.”
The estimated project cost is $29 million. The non-profit Friends of Waterfront Seattle have committed to raise $8 million in philanthropic funding to support the project. The remaining funding sources include a reallocation of $4.4 million of Seattle Parks District funds currently slated for waterfront operations and maintenance in 2019 and 2020, but not needed until 2021. The remainder of the funding includes $12 million in real estate excise tax collections, $3 million in seawall bonds and $2 million from other sources.
Additional information and design renderings of the rebuilt pier are available at waterfrontseattle.org/featured-projects.
