Although Bellevue Airfield Park’s Master Plan originally passed in 2012, City of Bellevue staff are undertaking a new Master Plan update due to the possibility of locating a new aquatic center on the site.

SPLASHForward, a nonprofit that works towards aquatic activity accessibility, will be engaged throughout the city’s community input process, with the first meeting to take place over Zoom on July 26 at 6:30 p.m. The organization will also create awareness and promote conversations around the benefits of a new aquatic center for the community, as well as usage scenarios at Bellevue Airfield Park, said SPLASHForward co-founder and president, Susan Pappalardo.

The Master Plan update will offer an opportunity to address the growing aquatic needs in the City of Bellevue. Bellevue Aquatic Center, which acts as the city’s only public aquatic facility, was built in 1970 and served Bellevue’s residents for more than 50 years.

According to the City of Bellevue, the Bellevue Aquatic Center is reaching the end of its life, and its age, capacity and inability to provide the full range of aquatic programming make it inadequate for meeting current and future demands for swimming facilities in Bellevue.

Bellevue Airfield Park is currently the only undeveloped, city-owned site large enough to accommodate the recommended Aquatic Facility Concept Plan, or 10-11 acres. Currently, Bellevue Airfield Park is comprised of three parcels which total 27.5 acres.

Additional elements that make Bellevue Airfield Park a recommended aquatic facility site include easy accessibility from I-90; complementary outdoor recreation and open space development; site size that could allow for a park and aquatic center; and previous community input– from 2008 to 2012– which identified the preference for an aquatic facility at this site.

The Master Plan update process will include community outreach to inform development, a Master Plan recommendation from the Parks & Community Services Board and a State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) review.

The Master Plan update effort will be led by Parks & Community Services staff, with the assistance of an architecture and engineering team led by Walker | Macy. The Master Plan update for Bellevue Airfield Park is expected to be completed by fall of 2023.

The city invites Bellevue residents to participate in the community engagement process.