Swap may be needed for park

SEATTLE – A city bid to return a 25-acre Navy housing site in Discovery Park to green space may require a swap that opens two other parcels of parkland to private development.

Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds said the city is considering such a proposal for the Capehart property, which includes apartments used by Navy personnel.

Park advocates had hoped Washington’s congressional delegation or city officials would prohibit private development in the 534-acre park – formerly an Army base called Fort Lawton.

“The citizens of Seattle should not be asked to crassly sacrifice even a small portion of the park,” said Phil Vogelzang, chairman of the Discovery Park Advisory Council, in a recent letter to city officials.

Bounds says that may not be possible because the military has been ordered to privatize housing under the 1996 Military Housing Privatization Initiative.

The Navy is prepared to abandon the Capehart property. Officials want to move the apartments closer to Naval Station Everett, where most of the residents work.

The Navy’s developer, Dallas-based American Eagle Communities, has proposed to give the city the Capehart parcel in exchange for land of comparable value.

The property has not been appraised, which has complicated negotiations. Other area sales suggest it could be worth as much as $30 million, too much for the cash-strapped city.

American Eagle has suggested a land swap involving two other parcels in the park.

One is the 13-acre Bay Terrace property in the northeast corner of the park, near private homes just outside the Discovery Park boundary. The site is already hooked up to water and sewer lines and roads, noted Kathryn Thompson, managing director for American Eagle, and consultant David Smith.

“Clearly you can make a rational argument that, if it was converted to single-family residences, it would be consistent with the adjacent neighborhood. I do think it’s a sensible alternative to discuss,” Smith said.

The other property contains 26 historic homes — now occupied by Navy officers — on a ridge overlooking Puget Sound. The Navy wants to shed those homes.

If the deal goes through, Bounds said American Eagle might renovate the homes for use as rental properties, and build additional housing nearby.

Those who oppose development in the park are focusing on city officials. The congressional delegation is stymied because efforts to protect the park would conflict with the law to privatize military housing.

“It’s their law and there’s a lot of support for that law,” said Navy spokesman Rick Huling.