New north Bellingham park gets a name. Here’s what makes it different
Bellingham is getting a new neighborhood park in the Cordata area as housing and commercial development continues on the city’s growing north side.
It will be called Northern Lights Park, keeping with a theme from nearby streets such as Arctic Avenue and Snowfield Drive.
Northern Lights Park will be tucked among a development of townhomes north of Costco called Cornerstone at Aurora Court, parks development manager Laine Potter told the City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee during a presentation Monday.
It will be built by a developer with direction from Parks and Recreation Department officials and then be dedicated to the city, Potter said. The park will essentially be the front yards of facing townhomes, according to a City Council committee presentation.
“It’s really different from any parks that we’ve designed in the sense that there will be residential units each having access and visual eyes on the park,” she said.
In addition to standard playground equipment for young children, there will be a “parkour bamboo jungle” for older kids, in addition to a boulder feature for climbing, Potter said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that our parks maybe don’t quite include enough for that older young adult, teenage demographic, so we’re trying to start including some of those features in our parks,” she said.
City Council members approved the new name unanimously as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Board members chose from names recommended by residents in an online survey, including Costco Park, Kirkland Signature Recreation Area, Parky McParkface and the Park of Subdued Excitement.
The submission of Shawn Sellers Park, honoring a local welder and musician, got more than 50 votes.
This story was originally published February 2, 2024 at 4:00 PM.
