A new playground will soon be coming to the Renton Highlands neighborhood.
The city of Renton recently executed a contract agreement with Northwest Playground Equipment Inc. for the replacement of playground equipment at Highlands Park. Renton Capital Project Manager Betsy Severtsen said the current playground is more than 20 years old and showing its age. The park is located at 800 Edmonds Ave. NE.
“It had a little connector bridge on it that was great, but was kind of a maintenance problem,” Severtsen said. “It had lots of little connectors on it. Maintenance would work on fixing it often, but even the little kids would notice.”
The city started this project late last year and began getting feedback from the community. Severtsen said the after-school program, STREAM Team, met at the community center at the park and provided valuable insight on the needs of the kids using the park.
“They are little experts because in addition to the Highlands playground itself, part of their after-school curriculum, they’ll go to some other park in Renton or nearby to check out the parks and playgrounds,” Severtsen said, referencing a popular urban sport. “We heard some very interesting things. They were very into parkour elements. They wanted bright colors.”
Severtsen said Northwest Playground’s design was chosen by online voting and a ballot box in the community center.
“They produced a very beautiful design,” Severtsen said. “Very bright playground and nice colors.”
The new park will have a nest swing, a highly requested piece of equipment for the Maplewood playground that the city was unable to add to that park because of limited space. A large slide for multiple users and a large pyramid rope spinner are two other features the park will have that aren’t as common in other Renton parks.
“I think in general it’s going to provide a nice amount of challenge, especially for older kids,” Severtsen said. “One of the things we heard when we talked to the kids at the start of this project is that they really like rope climbers and there’s lots of rope climbing opportunities in this design.”
The project will expand the play area to provide for a wider variety of equipment and to provide separate areas for different age and ability groups. The contractor will also be building ADA-accessible pathways to more areas of the park.
The contract for the new playground is for $379,889.97. The total estimated project cost is $439,873.46, which includes an estimated $3,000 for material testing and inspection services, and a 15% construction contingency.
Severtsen said they hope to begin construction in March, after the wet season, and open the playground in the spring of 2026. Demolition of the current playground will occur in early 2026.
