Worthy and Associates
Management: Steve Worthy, principal
Specialty: Design of community parks, recreation, environmental enhancement and transportation-related projects
Year founded: 1983
Current projects: Homer Harris Park, Seattle; Willis D. Tucker Community Park, Snohomish County; other parks projects for Seattle, Lake Forest Park, Federal Way and Kirkland; sports field lighting for the Seattle School District; transportation-related projects along state Route 99; and restoration of the Des Moines Marina
Steve Worthy is having a good time at his job.
“This is my 31st year of public design, and I’m sure I’m having a better time now than I’ve had at any point in my career,” Worthy said.
Since 1983, Worthy and Associates has worked on landscape design and environmental enhancement for community parks, recreation areas and transportation-related projects. Experience, Worthy said, has brought with it a greater joy in the application of design and learning new things.
“There’s much more productive involvement of communities, where they are energetically involved in participating in the design and completion of community projects,” Worthy said.
One example of community involvement is Worthy and Associates’ work with the Seattle School District to improve communications with neighbors regarding new lighting at Ingraham High School sports fields. The fields were completed more than a year ago, and now the proposal for field lighting is in community review.
“I think that’s something we’re proudest of — building communities through a strong interactive process of neighborhoods and citizen groups, whether it’s a park or a roadway, (to achieve) a sense of community pride,” Worthy said.
The six-member staff of Worthy and Associates is also taking pride in its design of Homer Harris Park, located off East Madison Street and 24th Avenue in east central Seattle. “It’s a tribute to one of Seattle’s favorite citizens,” he said.
Worthy has been able to talk with Harris, now in his late 80s, about the park’s design. “We’re completing design for construction this year for the park named in his honor.”