BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — A $1.1 million grant from the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation has funded a 9-acre addition to Strawberry Hill Park.
The grant funds acquisition of the former Comcast property on High School Road by the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District.
The lightly wooded property is adjacent to Strawberry Hill Park along its east boundary, making it a natural acquisition to expand the park. A concept planning process for the newly expanded park is now underway.
The Comcast property expands Strawberry Hill Park to 38 acres, following the acquisition of another adjacent 10-acre parcel, the former Hayashida property northwest of the park, in 2022. That property was acquired for the planned Strawberry Hill Bike Park and an expanded dog park.
Strawberry Hill Park has now more than doubled in size, from its original 17 acres, in two years. Both property additions were acquired thanks to single, private gifts to the nonprofit Parks & Trails Foundation, gifts made specifically to fund the land purchases.
“We’re honored to play an essential role in expanding and enhancing Strawberry Hill, one of the community’s most beloved parks and so central to Bainbridge Island,” said Mary Meier, Parks & Trails Foundation executive director. “Our donors make it possible to act on these opportunities as they come up, and islanders will benefit from this acquisition for generations to come.”
Strawberry Hill is one of the island’s oldest parks, established in 1966 on the former site of a Nike missile installation and before that, a historic agricultural district of Japanese American and Filipino American farmers. Current amenities include a recently expanded dog park, tennis courts, youth ball fields, a skate bowl, and indoor facilities.
For more information:
Mary Meier, Executive Director, Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, 206.842.4971