West Olympia Public Plaza

For almost two years now I have had the privilege of working on project that is near and dear to my heart right here in West Olympia. Having worked in West Olympia for the past five years as the Creative Arts Director at Evergreen Christian Community and as the Music Director of the Capital Philharmonic Orchestrait has been a delight to see this project take form and now begin to transform into a real initiative.

The West Olympia Public Plaza is a project that has been spear-headed by the West Olympia Community Visions Group (CVG), a conglomerate of local residents and business people who are interested in making sure that the growth of West Olympia in commercial and residential is matched by opportunities for community relationship and development opportunities such as parks and the like. For the past two years the board (of which I have had the wonderful pleasure to serve on) of the CVG has been creating a draft plan for a Public Plaza for not only West side residents to enjoy but all of Olympia and the surrounding areas. A little over a year ago a prime piece of property was discovered at a bargain price located on the corner of Cooper Point and Harrison road in the wooded area directly behind the Starbucks and across the street from the Safeway.

The CVG and the City of Olympia partnered together their resources to have a feasibility study performed on the property to see if there was usable acreage as the prevailing myth was that the entire property was wetlands. The study came back to show that the parcel of land contained a number of usable acres for the proposed Public Plaza project and so the board went to work with a grass-roots movement to inform the community about a hope and dream for this project to be realized.

Currently, the property is under contract by the CVG as we are hoping to raise the necessary $300,000 for thetwenty-seven acre parcel. In exciting news, an anonymous donor has graciously offered a matching grant of $25,000 toward this purchase. It is our desire to see a private-public partnership with the City of Olympia to finish the purchase of the property so we can begin fundraising for the actual Plaza project.

The Public Plaza hopes to include amenities such as an outdoor amphitheater seating at least 2,000people and featuring a summer concert series (with profits going towards the upkeep of the plaza), an environmental learning center featuring a library kiosk, walking and nature paths, bike trails and a dog park.

As you can see, this project is full of excitement and potential and it is my hope that you'll join us in support of this project. Here are a few ways to get involved:

1) Email councilmembers@ci.olympia.wa.us and let them know of your support for the West Olympia Public Plaza.

2) Join us and the Olympia City Council on Tuesday, July 13th at 6:30pm at the City Hall Council Chambers at Olympia City Hall, 900 Plum St. SE. (We will have some snacks for people as we need people to sign the support petition and stick around to vocalize your support to the council for the project.)

3) Check out the website for the project at www.westolycvg.com and consider donating to the project via our Paypal option. All donations are tax-deductible as the CVG is a 501c3 non-profit and your donations will be matched up to $25,000 through July 13th!

This is a great project to be involved with and one that will give heart and soul to West Olympia and serve as a crown jewel for the greater Olympia area.

SJW