The city of Renton is now entering for the design and environmental permitting process for an 18.5-acre park on the north end of the East Plateau neighborhood.

The Renton City Council recently approved a $500,207 professional services agreement with Anchor QEA for design and environmental permitting for the Northeast Renton Park project. The project is aimed at creating a park that borders May Creek Greenway to the north, Duvall Avenue to the southwest, and residential neighborhoods to the south and east. According to the master plan for the project, the total cost will range from $6,820,000 to $8,130,000 for the park.

Renton Capital Projects Manager Betsy Severtsen said this is an area of Renton with limited park access.

“Generally we like folks to be able to access a park within a half-mile or even a quarter-mile from their residence and this East Plateau portion of the city does not have that at this point,” Severtsen said.

Severtsen said based on the community engagement the city received, the main focus of the park will be a network of trails through forested areas, some paved and some consisting of boardwalks over wetland features. The alternative to boardwalks involves putting in a lot of fill into the wetland.

“The biggest thing that we always hear on these projects is trails. People just love walking and running, particularly on loop trails and access to larger trail networks,” Severtsen said. “I keep on waiting to have a park project where people are like ‘Ah no, there’s plenty of trails on this site,’ but I just keep on hearing that need.”

The project is a part of a larger May Creek greenway vision that will connect Lake Washington to Issaquah with trails. She said access to nearby nature was also a theme they have seen in community feedback.

“As we develop more, have more housing and more people moving into the region, this nearby nature is really important for people’s mental and physical well-being,” Severtsen said. “I feel like park projects like this can remind people to get out into nature because it really is good for us.”

Severtsen said they are also proposing a large playground with a “nature” theme with many natural elements to work with the character of the forested site. There are also plans to include a picnic shelter, a restroom feature and open lawn areas. The city is also looking to acquire a neighboring parcel to include a tennis and pickleball court and an off-leash dog park for the park.

The city completed and adopted the master plan in the fall 2024, and the project is now transitioning from park planning’s hands to the capital projects group to move into more detailed design and permitting of the future park. This process includes doing more detailed site assessments.

Severtsen said the federal environmental permitting process can take as long as a year to get through, but she hopes to be done with this level of design and permitting, and to seek additional grant funding in the spring of 2026. The city also anticipates reaching out to the community in the future for feedback on playground design. The master plan for the park is available for viewing on the city of Renton’s Northeast Renton Park webpage.