Greg Cuoio Park

Category Overview

Local Parks grants help protect these symbols of vibrant communities, providing places for families to gather and play and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle in an era when people spend increasing amounts of their time inside. The WWRP is the largest source of local parks funding in Washington, helping communities fund the acquisition, development, and renovation of vital recreation areas and green spaces.

Project Highlights

The City of Lacey will use this grant to plan and develop Phase 1A (139 acres) to provide public access to the beautiful Greg Cuoio Park partially in the City of Lacey boundary and partially in Thurston County boundary, sitting between the intersections of Draham and Carpenter Roads NE to the South and Hawks Prairie and Carpenter Roads NE to the North. This project will provide safe entry off a busy County road, 50 parking stalls, approx 2 miles of hard and natural surface trails, 18 holes of disc golf, a park shelter and Phase 1 (5,000 SF) of a large all access playground. This project will also include signage, sitting and open play areas to accommodate a multitude of all age and ability users, a sani-can enclosure and maintenance access that can also be used by emergency medical agencies. The overall goal for the project is to provide public access to outdoor recreation space with a focus on passive use and protecting the wetlands, sensitive habitat areas, tributaries and creeks. The primary recreation opportunities provided by this project are non-motorized trail use, disc golf, and family gathering and play. This project is important to the Lacey community because it provides environmental, wellness, economic and social benefits. This park helps meet the level of service need in the area once it is open for public access per the 2017 Parks & Rec Comp Plan. A recent Lacey Cares survey shows Lacey Parks are often cited as the #1 reason people choose to live in Lacey.

Quick Facts

WWRP Applicant: Lacey City of Category: Local Parks WWRP Grant: $500,000.00 Applicant Match: $5,029,819.00 Project Type: Development County: Thurston Legislative District: 22 Status: Active RCO Project # 22-1298

Location Details

Take Sleater Kinney Rd exit 108 off I-5 and head North. Turn right (East) onto 15th Avenue, it becomes Draham Rd. Turn left (North) onto Carpenter Road, and Greg Cuoio Park is to the West after .5 miles. The worksite land characteristics are best described as agricultural farmland, rolling hills, and open meadows with a 20 acre Protected Water Rights area along Woodland Creek. There is a moderately dense wooded area to the north which has a large wetland in the middle. The wetland will be protected by buffers.

What is the WWRP

The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) is a state grant program that creates and conserves local and state parks, wildlife habitat and working farms. The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office administers WWRP grants, and the legislature funds the program.