October 27, 2023
Central public greenspace opens next week at Redmond’s Esterra Park
- The park’s official opening marks the completion of the 28-acre Esterra Park TOD.
A/E Editor
The new privately-owned public space spans 2.67-acres.
Nov. 1 will mark the official opening of Esterra Park, a new 2.67-acre privately-owned public space (POPs) in Redmond’s Overlake neighborhood.
The park, located at 2808 Calder Ave. N.E., is the first major POPs to open in the city. These developments add more public spaces to the city’s park system for community enjoyment, but are managed and maintained by private owners, which in the case of Esterra Park is Capstone Partners.
The park is the centerpiece and namesake of Capstone’s larger Esterra Park project; a 28-acre master-planned transit-oriented community located at the former Group Health campus in Redmond.
Planning for the Esterra Park development dates to 2009 when Capstone and partner Lionstone Investments purchased the land for the project from Group Health.
The opening of the namesake park marks the completion of the 2.8 million-square-foot TOD which comprises 2,600 residential units that serve a mix of incomes across several multifamily buildings; two hotels with 283 rooms combined; 25,000 square feet of retail; and 250,000 square feet of office space.
The last development to be completed at Esterra Park was Verde, which opened towards the end of last year. Verde is a 636-unit multifamily building that abuts the new central park.
In a press release, the city of Redmond said the new park was created by leveraging developer incentives written in Redmond’s Zoning Code, with the goal to benefit the entire community and was a joint project between the city, Capstone Partners, and JLL.
Capstone oversaw both the design and construction of the new park and tapped landscape architect Brumbaugh & Associates to design the new community amenity which was built by Exxel Pacific. The recently completed greenspace includes public art, a plaza, an elevator to ensure the park is accessible to all, tree groves, a meadow, an amphitheater, and integrates a hill climb to the north of the park that provides easy access to the nearby Overlake light rail station (now set to open in 2024).
The park also features a restaurant pavilion occupied by Pizza Poggio which opened this summer. That business is an extension/sister space to the nearby Jack Sprat café which is located at Verde. Runberg Architecture Group designed both the pavilion structure and Verde.
“Creating spaces like Esterra Park, plays a vital role in building connection in our communities and helps support equal access to recreational opportunities, cultural experiences, and social interactions, as well as promotes inclusivity,” Redmond Mayor, Angela Birney, shared in a news release. “We’re grateful for our partners who invested in Esterra Park and provided this beautiful new place for our vibrant community.”
The completed Esterra Park TOD was made possible through many partnerships, beginning with Group Health, when it sold the property to Capstone and Lionstone. Additional partners, multifamily developers and building owners at Esterra Park include Inland Group, PGIM Real Estate, AvalonBay, Imagine Housing, Acacia Capital and Lincoln Property Co.
Community members are invited to attend a ribbon cutting celebration for the new central park at 3 p.m. on Nov. 1.
Emma Hinchliffe can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.
Copyright 2023 Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce