January 18, 2018

Arch leads the way to Hing Hay Park

Photo by Benjamin Minnick [enlarge]

The arch is slated to be ready in time for Lunar New Year next month.

The crowning touch is going up at Hing Hay Park: a 20-foot-tall gateway arch that will span the southwest entrance to the expanded park at Sixth Avenue South and South King Street in Seattle's International District.

Crews started installing the park's final element earlier this week and will need about two weeks to complete the arch and then have it inspected. They are using a Gehl RS10-55 telescopic handler to position the six pieces that comprise the arch.

Melanie Davies of MIG|SvR, the project's prime landscape architect and civil engineering firm, said the goal is to have the arch ready by early February, in time for Lunar New Year.

Davies said the arch is an abstract tree pattern, with perforated red metal panels that will be backlit in similar fashion as the park's existing stair seating. Internal supports of the arch consist of round pipe sections that were welded together.

MIG|SvR worked with Turenscape of Beijing, Studio Fifty50 and the community on the arch design.

W.S. Contractors of Buckley is the general contractor. Other team members are Lund Opsahl, structural engineer; dark|light design, lighting design; Travis, Fitzmaurice & Associates, electrical engineer; C&N Consultants, cost estimator; and Eco-Compliance, soil remediation.

Davies said the $3 million park expansion involved Seattle Parks and Recreation, Associated Recreation Council, Friends of Hing Hay Park, Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area, and Interim Community Development Association.

The expansion opened last summer without the arch. It doubled the size of the original park that opened in 1974.

The city at one point wanted to have the expansion substantially complete in summer 2016, but that was delayed by unexpected contaminated soil, some design tweaks and deficient light poles that had to be changed out.

The city budgeted the expansion under the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy.

A section of the park has been fenced off during installation of the arch.