After beginning the project in the 1980s, the city of Bellevue is hoping to “close the circle” at Bellevue Downtown Park by next summer.

The “circle” of paved paths and water features has remained three-quarters completed since 1997, but will finally be finished before next year’s Fourth of July celebration, city officials said.

Ken Kroeger, the Complete the Circle project manager, said the ambitious timeline was going to put a lot of work in the next year.

“We’re going to complete the little bit of the circle that’s left, add a promenade, walkway, a grand entrance, a water feature and terraced seating,” he said.

The current parking that exists in the southeast portion of the park will be taken out, and new parking will be added to the lot near the Boys and Girls Club. There will not be a parking garage for the park.

“We’re trying to complete the vision of the original design team,” Kroeger said. “The council has always supported the project, but the city just didn’t have enough money to complete it.”

With a $17.9 million contract for both the circle completion and the Inspiration Playground through Ohno Construction, the city is hoping to finally finish what some council members see as the crown jewel of Bellevue.

Bellevue purchased the 21 acres where Bellevue Downtown Park sits from the Bellevue School District in the early 1980s, and a plan was selected in 1984 for the park from a design competition. In 1997, that plan was updated and in 2008, Bellevue voters passed the Parks and Natural Area Levy that included funding to complete the park.

“There’s a considerable amount of capital going into this park,” Kroeger said. “We finally have the money to complete this.”

Ohno Construction has built parks and athletic fields all over the west since 1966.

Kroeger said the south part of the park will be closed during construction, and that crews will be following noise and neighborhood restrictions to minimize impact as much as possible.

“There’s not going to be trucks queued up around the block,” he said. “There will be some trucks going in and out, but it will be reasonable.”

Bellevue Rotary reached out to the city when looking for a fundraising project for its 50th anniversary. From that, the Inspiration Playground (which will be located outside the southwest portion of the circle) took root. That playground is designed for children and adults of all different abilities and will be completed with the circle next July.

For Kroeger personally, the project has been a long-time coming.

“The design team that was part of the original plan has been in touch, and they have been champing at the bit to get this underway,” he said. “We all would have loved to have done it years ago. For me, it’s getting to do something really cool that’s going to have an impact on the city.”

Construction is set to begin July 11 and will finish early July 2017. The northern half of the park will also be closed intermittently as upgrades are made to lighting and the promenade.