A new waterfront park at the former RG Haley and Cornwall Avenue Landfill sites along Bellingham Bay is on track to open by 2027.
Familiar white tarps mark the site of the old Cornwall landfill. But in a few years, that site at 400 Cornwall Ave. will be part of a 17-acre Salish Landing Park. Work has been underway for over a decade now, but cleanups of contaminated soil and sediment at the sites are on track to begin in 2025, city staff said at a Monday, March 11 Bellingham City Council meeting.
Developing the site into a beach park is part of a larger-scale effort to enhance waterfront areas of the city. Phase one of the park construction will happen alongside cleanup efforts. When phase one is complete, the new park will include beach access to the waterfront, trails, plants and parking.
“It’s a great opportunity for the city to turn a cleanup site into a public park,” said Mike Wilson, assistant director of engineering at the city’s public works department. “It will be a nice asset for the city.”
The cleanups aren’t cheap: the RG Haley cleanup is anticipated to cost $28.3 million, while the Cornwall Landfill site cleanup will cost $17 million. However, Craig Mueller, a project engineer in the public works department, said the city anticipates a 50% state match on the cleanup costs through the Model Toxic Control Act, and the city is developing a funding plan to work out the local share of the remediation.
Phase one of the Salish Landing Park is anticipated to cost $2.4 million, with funding coming from park impact fees, greenways fees and REET. According to a staff memo, development of phase two of the park will likely cost $13 million.
Mueller said at the meeting that the city anticipates permits for cleanups and phase one will be issued this year. Once those are received, the city will complete bid documents in late 2024. If that happens, construction will begin in 2025 and phase one of the park will open in 2027.
The first phase will include building 27 parking spots and trails, installing utilities, developing South Beach and putting in a rock breakwater, Mueller said.
Phase two of the project has not yet been finalized but could include restrooms, concessions, additional parking and other park amenities, according to a memo to the city council.
Local advocacy group Walk and Roll Bellingham urged followers to contact the city to oppose the park’s proposed 213 total parking spaces in a public comment period as part of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review of the shoreline permit in late February. At Monday’s meeting, council member Michael Lilliquist noted that only 27 will be built in the first phase and asked about future opportunities to discuss the final plans for the park.
Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Oliver said they’re currently only seeking permits to build phase one. The final plan for the 200 parking spaces is based on a 2014 master plan, adopted by the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Bellingham City Council.
“It’s going to be a considerable number of years before we come back and complete this park and there is going to be ample opportunity to refine and think about that master plan,” she said, in regards to concerns about the parking spaces.
History of the cleanup sites
The Cornwall Avenue Landfill was used for sawmill operations from 1888 to 1946 before it was closed and covered with a layer of soil, according to the Department of Ecology. The site was used as the city’s municipal landfill from 1954 to 1965, according to a city of Bellingham staff memo. From 1971 to 2005, the site was used for log storage and warehousing operations. The cleanup plan for this site was finalized in 2014.
The RG Haley site was used from the mid-1800s through to the mid-1900s for lumber, coal and wharf operations. RG Haley International Corporation used the site as a wood treatment facility until 1985, leaving harmful chemicals in the soil, groundwater and sediment. The cleanup plan for this site was finalized in 2018.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
