Google and the city of Kirkland, along with Kirkland residents, celebrated the opening of a recreational space Monday along the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC) that city officials hope will be replicated elsewhere on the trail.
The recreation space, located near Google’s campus at 747 6th St South, includes a sand volleyball court, basketball court, Crossfit/TRX fitness section and zip line where the corridor runs between Google’s Kirkland campuses. It represents not just a $3 million investment by Google, but also its growing relationship with the city, which first started when Google moved to Kirkland in 2004.
Darcy Nothnagle, head of External Affairs for Google’s Northwest Region, said they were first inspired with the idea of a recreational space along the corridor while planning their expansion into the new building across the CKC in anticipation of new hires, though it has yet to open.
“We just jumped at the chance to make the corridor an exciting place,” she said. “Kirkland has been a great place for us.”
It isn’t the first investment Google has made in the city. During their anniversary celebration last October, VP Engineering Site Lead Chee Chew announced a $200,000 grant to provide free Wi-Fi at Everest Park and Houghton Beach Park.
Built by SRM Development, the recreation space is on city-owned property but will be maintained by Google. SRM, which constructed the new 180,000-square-foot, two-story building, has also worked to install crosswalks and lights near the new facility in order to provide a safer route for students attending the adjacent Lakeview Elementary.
SRM Development Manager Dave Tomson praised the recreation space as an example of a successful private-public partnership.
Nothnagle said the rec space’s based around the concept of families, fun, and fitness, enabling Kirkland residents to get the most use out of the CKC.
“We’re lucky to be here at the beginning of its use,” she said.
Mayor Amy Walen said she hopes the partnership will inspire similar ideas, not just on the CKC but in other sections of the Eastside corridor.
“I think they’ve even blown us away,” she said. “This is a perfect example of what people want us to do.”
The event also brought out other prominent representatives, including Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, Rep. Joan McBride and King County Councilwoman Jane Hague to see the new addition to Kirkland’s trail.
For city officials like City Manager Kurt Triplett, Google’s recreation space provides residents with added use of the CKC without requiring additional public funds, as well as vindicates the council’s decision to purchase the CKC from the Port of Seattle in April 2012. The tracks were eventually removed and the CKC Interim Trail opened earlier this year.
“It exceeded our expectations as Google always does,” he said. “Everything we hoped for has worked. Some of that is luck. Some of that are good partners like Google.”
Like Walen, Triplett said he hopes the recreation space will lead to other like-minded projects on the corridor.
“We really hope this is the model,” he said. “The corridor connects to everybody.”
Currently Sound Transit is considering the possibility of installing either a light rail or bus rapid transit line inside the Eastside Corridor, which would include the CKC. If either one were implemented, the recreation space would have to be moved or removed, though Triplett said the earliest they would see such change would be in 5-10 years if Sound Transit opted for a bus transit, and a light rail line would take 10-15 years to open.
