Submitted by: The City of Bellingham
The community’s long-awaited access to the downtown waterfront is now open to the public. Bellingham’s newest park was partially opened earlier this summer while contractors remained on site completing minor items of work. The park is now complete and the city invites everyone to come on down and enjoy this new space. An official grand opening event is planned for later this summer.

Located off Roeder Avenue and adjacent to Whatcom Waterway, the one-acre park includes a play area, walking paths, native plants, open lawn, beach access and the city’s newest art piece, “Waypoint,” which is also the park’s namesake.
Waypoint, formerly known as the “acid ball,” is a 30-foot diameter globe that was used as a relief system to draw liquid and gas from digester tanks (sometimes referred to as the “rocket ships”) to maintain a constant pressure while wood chips were being cooked in acid at high temperatures and pressures. As the main art feature for the park, it was embellished with glass beads and transformed into “Waypoint” by Mutuus Studio of Burien, Washington to help celebrate the industrial heritage of Bellingham’s downtown waterfront. The glass beads reflect light back to the source the same way traffic signs and pavement markings reflect back to occupants of a car. Bring your flashlights or use the flash on your phone to check out this phenomenon in person!

The park also includes the newly renovated Central Avenue pier, which was converted from a street to a pedestrian and bicycle promenade and is the main entrance to the park. Enjoy scenic views of Whatcom Waterway and Lummi Island from this newly renovated waterfront structure.
Next to the park and connecting to Central Avenue pier is the historic Granary Building. Work is underway by a private developer to remodel the Granary, and it is projected for completion later in 2018. The building will accommodate shops, restaurants and upper-story offices.
Other improvements to the waterfront include the addition of Granary Street and Laurel Street Avenue, which will connect Roeder to Cornwall with an arterial street, including a dedicated cycle track. Construction of these streets is anticipated to be complete in 2019.

This project is funded by Greenway 3 Levy funds, State of Washington Department of Commerce Brownfield Grant, real estate excise taxes and park impact fees. Construction of the park and pier are expected to cost about $3.8 million.
This project is just the first of the 33 acres of parks planned for the former industrial site.
For more information, visit cob.org.