VINCE RICHARDSON . Skagit Valley Herald
Aug 20, 2025
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Olmsted Park continues to take shape as what was once an empty field is being transformed into a highly-anticipated recreation destination.
The city’s newest park, at 1451 North Fruitdale Road, encompasses about 14.8 acres and was formerly a portion of the Northern State Hospital complex that includes Thompson Pond.
“We hope to have all the structures done by Christmas and the project (Phase I) completed by January,” Assistant Engineer Kyle Anderson said. “But these things are chaos theory in motion, so we’ll see what happens and roll with it.”
The property was acquired by the city in 2017, an official groundbreaking was held a year ago, and construction began in May.
The current phase of the project includes construction of restrooms, a caretaker’s house (two bedroom, one bath), a storage structure, two ADA accessible 22-by-22-foot pavilions and two 11-by-16-foot shelters. The two pavilions are plumbed for water and sewer.
An ADA accessible path of hot-mix asphalt will lead to the shelters.
Currently, the caretaker’s house has been framed and awaits the installation of trusses.
Concrete masonry blocks form the walls of the restroom, storage facility and garbage bin structure as well as the corners of the pavilions and shelters.
Those masonry blocks will eventually be covered with a stucco finish.
“We expect to have all the buildings weathered-in by the middle of September,” Anderson said. “We don’t expect the roofs to take too long, however, it is taking a little longer than expected.”
The roofs will be of a red, Spanish tile variety like those seen atop one of the historic buildings found a stones throw away at the SWIFT Center.
“It may take a little longer, but it will be worth it,” Anderson said of the tile. “That’s kind of fun to do and it’s really going to fit in.”
Work continues on the park’s drainage in preparation for the parking lot.
“The parking lot will have two long rows of parking stalls,” Anderson said.
The second phase of construction will include a small dog park, two pickleball courts and a playground. However, construction of those are dependent on grants that have yet to be secured.
Anderson is optimistic about securing grants, and is working on strategies to do so.
“The dog park will be a small, fenced area to start,” Public Works Director Bill Bullock said. “And the pickleball courts, they will be built in such a manner where they could be repurposed if needed in the future.”
Eventually, a figure-eight-like trail of crushed limestone will loop through the park, a dock will jut out into Thompson Pond and a trail will run around the pond’s perimeter.
“We will build a path to the pond, however, we won’t be putting in a dock at this time,” Anderson said. “The Skagit Trail Builders will build a path around it, but there’s still some logistical problems to be worked out.”
The park will boast three entrances, one being the gated main entrance.
“We’re excited,” Anderson said of the project. “We can’t wait to see people out here enjoying this park once it’s finished.”
Read the original article at GoSkagit.com
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