Waterfront Park model at the former Waterfront Space in 2019. Photo by Nicole Dansereau.
2022 Gratitude Report: Ten years of connecting Seattle to its downtown waterfront
From our early days of facilitating public engagement around the design of Waterfront Park to our historic fundraising effort with the Campaign for Waterfront Park and our development of public safety strategies centered in compassion, Friends of Waterfront Seattle has been a key partner of the City of Seattle and communities across the city in an unprecedented effort to build an extraordinary new public space.
Hot Spot event on the old Pier 58 in 2016.
Performers at "Waterfront Awakenings" event in 2019.
Programming, Operations & Community Engagement
Friends has been piloting programs and operations along the waterfront since 2013. Early “Hot Spots” programs were held on the old Pier 58, where we welcomed over 20,000 guests for performances, classes, and cultural events. Since the new Pier 62 opened in the fall of 2020, we have continually expanded programming and operations there, deepening partnerships with program partners from across the city through a co-design model. These programs have enabled us to provide inclusive waterfront experiences for people of many cultural backgrounds, centering historically excluded communities like Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and ensuring that Waterfront Park is a park for all.
Waterfront Space was a place for constant public engagement, where folks of all ages and demographics could come in and share their thoughts and hopes for the new Waterfront Park.
Advocacy and Public Awareness
We advocated for the Waterfront Local Improvement District, which passed in 2019 after years of community feedback and arbitration, providing the park with $160 million in construction funding. Between 2014 and 2018, We operated Waterfront Space, a showroom housing a scale model of the future park, as well as vision boards and comment areas that allowed the public to share their hopes and dreams for the new park. We held 400 community meetings, public presentations, and events, inviting thousands of people from all backgrounds to engage in the space.
The Evergreen Treatment Services REACH team provides homeless support outreach—part of how we and our partners are redefining public safety along the downtown waterfront corridor.
Public Safety
Over the past 10 years, we have invested over $2 million in a humane and compassionate approach to public safety and providing a positive park experience for everyone who visits. In 2016, we spearheaded Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), a program supported by a coalition of law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community groups working together to redirect low-level offenders to community-based services rather than jail and prosecution. By 2019, LEAD engagement had contributed to a 30% decrease in arrests and citations and a 40% increase in attendance at events. With the opening of Pier 62 during the pandemic, we invested heavily in a tiered public safety and social services plan and laid the groundwork for an operational partnership with Seattle Center beginning in 2023 to support public safety. Friends will contribute $5.54 million to match the city’s $5.4 million in funding to support Seattle Center and city staffing costs.
Friends board chair Maggie Walker (foreground) and former Seattle mayor Charlie Royer speaking at the Pier 62 groundbreaking event at Waterfront Space in 2017.
Fundraising
In 2016, we launched the $200 million comprehensive Campaign for Waterfront Park, with the goal of raising $110 million in capital support for the city and $90 million to invest in the work of our organization. To date, we have raised $100 million, giving the city confidence in our financial commitments and underwriting $25 million in pilot programs, activations, operations, and fundraising and community engagement efforts.
Friends staff at a staff retreat in 2023.
StartUp and Staffing
From office space to hiring, we have made significant changes as an organization to meet the growing needs of programming, operations, fundraising, and public safety over the years. We went from one staff member in 2013 to a team of 27 full-time employees by the end of 2022.
