February 26, 2025

Kraken facility proposed for old park and ride site in Kirkland

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A new facility for the Seattle Kraken is proposed for a city-owned parcel at 6920 N.E. 70th Place in Kirkland.

The city of Kirkland is currently considering a deal with the Seattle Kraken Hockey Club to bring ice hockey activities to a brand-new building and is seeking qualifications from developers interested in constructing the new facility.

The project is proposed for a city-owned property at the former Houghton Park and Ride site located at 6920 N.E. 70th Place.

The vision is to build a new two-story building with two professional-quality ice hockey rinks and seating, a restaurant, and a new community center.

The selected developer, or development team, would design, construct and potentially manage the hockey facility. The community center would be operated by the city's parks and recreation department and would be at least 12,500 square feet.

The city anticipates negotiating and executing a ground lease for the site with the selected developer. The developer would then design and construct the facility at its sole cost and expense, and the city would lease back all or a portion (e.g., the community center) of the facility from the developer, with an option to purchase the completed facility at any point during the term of the ground lease.

Photo via city of Kirkland [enlarge]

The project site is pictured when it was a park and ride.

Ownership of the facility would revert to the city at the end of the ground lease term, unless the city has earlier exercised its purchase option.

The Kraken would lease the ice skating facilities and use them for visiting National Hockey League teams and perhaps other Kraken professional ice hockey purposes. The facilities would also be available for public uses, such as skating lessons and junior hockey league play. The Kraken would also lease the restaurant space.

The city says the new facility needs to achieve LEED certification, ideally LEED Gold.

An RFQ notice ran in the DJC on Monday. Qualifications from firms, or teams of firms, are due by 4 p.m. on March 28. The city is expecting to select the developer in April.

The Houghton Park and Ride site was purchased by the city of Kirkland in early 2024 and since then has been used as a temporary park. The site currently houses four temporary pickleball courts and community gardens.

The Kraken's home field is Climate Pledge Arena. The organization also has the Kraken Community Ice Plex in Northgate, which houses a practice facility and is the location of the team's headquarters.