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 Olympia will use this grant to develop Phase 1 park improvements at Yelm Highway Community Park. This 60-acre park is located in Olympia’s Urban Growth Area. Phase 1 park improvements will include: 1 synthetic, lit rectangular field, 1 playground, 2 full-size basketball courts, 6 pickleball courts, 1.25 miles of walking paths, a restroom, a picnic shelter and 176-stall parking area. This first phase of park development will coincide with the Olympia School District’s construction of a lit, synthetic rectangular field and track on an abutting future school property. These two rectangular fields will lay the groundwork for the future addition of two more rectangular fields on the park property to fully build out a soccer complex as envisioned in the Yelm Highway Community Park Master Plan and the many prior years of Olympia park plans and community park studies. These will be Olympia’s first dedicated rectangular fields in its park system. Soccer players have long requested dedicated, quality fields in Olympia. Additionally, players of other rectangular field sports are on the rise, such as lacrosse, rugby, football and ultimate frisbee, and need field space. These fields will serve a variety of park users year-round.The other planned Phase 1 improvements will complement the rectangular fields and expand this community parks use to serve a number of the most popular and fastest growing recreational uses.