Luther Burbank Park Sport Courts Renovation

Major progress has been achieved since the last project update for the Luther Burbank Park Sport Courts Renovation. This post provides an overview of work that has been completed and highlights what's next for this project.

Outcomes of Lighting Exploration

In November, consultants from Stantec Engineering evaluated opportunities to install lighting at the courts and developed a base electrical plan that includes conduit and junction boxes. The base electrical plan is included in the permit submittal and will be installed as part of the court renovations this spring/summer. Additionally, Stantec is developing a full lighting design, which staff anticipate completing later this year. If the City Council directs staff to move forward with constructing the lights, that project will be completed as a second phase. More details about that process will be shared later this year after the full lighting design is drafted.

Design for Construction Access

Associated Earth Sciences Inc. (AESI) completed a geotechnical assessment of the hill area south of the existing sport courts, which needs to be partially excavated to create construction access from the parking lot to the courts. LPD Engineering, the sub-consultant engaged to assist with civil engineering and permitting needs, used the report recommendations to design the construction access path. At the end of construction, this access will be formalized into an accessible concrete path that leads from the parking lot to the existing south court entrance.

Permitting & Construction Timeline

Additional design work for the electrical and construction plans was completed earlier this month, and staff submitted for permits on March 11, 2024. DA Hogan is finalizing pricing and the construction timeline with Beynon Sports, the contractor the City is working with through the King County Directors Association (KCDA) purchasing cooperative. Historically, the City has used KCDA to purchase commodities and allied services for products ranging from garbage cans to the Island Crest Park synthetic turf field. Recent parks projects constructed through a purchasing cooperative include the Mercerdale Park Playground (2022), the Bike Skills Area (2023), and the north infield turf replacement at Island Crest Park (2024).

Purchasing through KCDA is an efficient means of procurement when much of the project is commodities with predictable installation needs. Since the competitive bidding process is already completed through KCDA, using KCDA is a faster process than the phased design/bid/construct process typical with other types of public works’ projects. Staff and the consultant reviewed KCDA’s vendor list for sport/athletic court projects and preliminarily selected Beynon Sports, who designs and builds tennis and pickleball facilities throughout the Northwest.

The renovated courts are on track to open this summer, and the courts will remain available for pickleball play until construction begins. Additional play options are available at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. See the schedule here.

After the preferred pickleball court configuration was approved on July 18, staff have been working to finalize the design and construction timeline for the sport courts renovation at Luther Burbank Park.

Engineering consultants have visited the site to assess opportunities for installing lighting at the courts. Staff are awaiting the results of this assessment to determine whether to add the construction of lighting infrastructure (conduits and junction boxes) into the project.

Additionally, staff confirmed permitting needs for this project. A significant design question has been how to provide construction access to the site, as the project requires delivering heavy equipment and hot mix asphalt (HMA) onto the courts. To overcome the site’s access challenges, the design team proposed cutting a construction road into the hill at the south end of the facility. This construction road would then be returned to a seeded gravel path, which would create a new access path from the Luther Burbank parking lot to the courts’ existing southern gate.

Building the proposed construction road requires significant grading, and the design team has learned that this work requires additional geotechnical assessment before submitting for permits. Staff are coordinating that work now, while also exploring alternatives for construction access.

What does this mean for construction?

The sport courts renovation is budgeted in the 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), with design slated for 2023 and construction scheduled for 2024. Knowing this project is important to the community, staff tried to accelerate the process by constructing in two phases, starting with asphalt paving this fall. The additional permitting requirements and the fact that asphalt paving requires dry weather (rain and HMA do not mix!) means that construction will begin in 2024 as originally planned in the CIP.

The renovated courts are on track to open by next summer, and the courts will remain open for pickleball play until construction begins. Additional play options are available at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. See the schedule here.

Another update will be shared on Let’s Talk when permit applications have been submitted. In the meantime, leave your questions here, or reach out to staff directly with needs. Thanks for following along with this process!

On July 18, the City Council approved the preferred court configuration for pickleball courts at Luther Burbank Park (AB 6309). Now the City is finalizing the design and preparing to submit for permits.

Additionally, Stantec has been engaged to study the feasibility of installing lighting at the courts. The engineering firm begins their evaluation this month, which includes assessing opportunities for electrical connection and identifying possible lighting layouts. Findings from this feasibility study will be used to determine whether to install electrical conduit as part of the construction of this sport court renovation.

More updates, including construction timelines, will be shared on Let's Talk soon.

Questions about this project in the meantime? Contact Sarah Bluvas, CIP Project Manager, at sarah.bluvas@mercerisland.gov.

Mercer Island's Parks & Recreation Commission (PRC) will review and discuss the preferred pickleball court configuration for the Luther Burbank Park Sport Courts Renovation project at their upcoming meeting on Thursday, July 6, at 5:00pm. Agenda materials will be available here by June 30, 2023.

The preferred pickleball court configuration (pictured below) features striping for eight dedicated pickleball courts and a north/south orientation. The layout follows court dimensions outlined in the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook and was developed over three months with input from City staff and members of the Mercer Island pickleball community. (Note that the layout is presented in grayscale; court colors will be selected as the design is finalized and prepared for construction.)

At the PRC meeting, staff will provide more details about the preferred court configuration and seek the PRC's recommendation to move forward with the proposed configuration. Details for attending the meeting are available below.

Register to Speak: Individuals wishing to speak live during Appearances must register their request with the staff liaison at 206.275.7861 or email to raven.gillis@mercerisland.gov before 4pm on the day of the PRC meeting. Please reference "Appearances" in your correspondence and state if you would like to speak either in person at the Mercer Island Community & Event Center or remotely using Zoom. Each speaker will be allowed three (3) minutes to speak.

Join by Telephone at 5:00pm: To listen to the meeting via telephone, please call 253.215.8782 and enter Webinar ID 825 9108 6996, Password 896196 when prompted.

Join by Internet at 5:00pm: To watch the meeting over the internet via your computer, follow these steps:

1. Click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82591086996?pwd=OWUrR0xEbHoxZkNGSmR4dnpjN0VVUT09#success(External link)
2. If the Zoom app is not installed on your computer, you will be prompted to download it.
3. If prompted, enter Webinar ID 825 9108 6996, Password 896196

Join In-Person at the Mercer Island Community & Event Center at 5:00pm: The meeting will be available for you to watch live remotely from the Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street.

The meeting will be recorded and uploaded to the City's YouTube channel. We will update this post when the video recording is available to view.

Luther Burbank Park features three sport courts that have hosted summer tennis camps and first-come, first-served open play by community members and off-Island visitors. The courts were constructed in 1972 below grade on top of dense soil. The subgrade has settled over the last 50 years; the courts have endured tree root intrusion and become wavy, impacting recreational tennis play and general useability. In summer 2018, the City closed the courts to repair extensive cracking and closed them again in 2020 to prevent players from congregating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, pickleball players played indoors during drop-in hours at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. The Community Center closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic, and indoor pickleball play did not resume until the facility reopened with limited hours and use in 2021. While the Community Center was closed, residents worked with the City to temporarily stripe the Luther Burbank Park courts for dual-use pickleball and tennis play. Pickleball players voluntarily coordinate playtime using two online platforms, and pickleball play has consistently been the primary use on the courts since the temporary striping was installed.

The 2022 PROS Plan found that access to pickleball courts and access to tennis courts were of equal importance to survey respondents (34% very important/somewhat important to 36% very important/somewhat important, respectively). However, Mercer Island currently has fourteen dedicated, outdoor public tennis courts but zero dedicated, outdoor pickleball courts (an additional six tennis courts are available to the public at the Mercer Island High School when school activities are not in session). The PROS Plan also states that the City should “plan for a grouping of new, dedicated pickleball courts” and identifies Luther Burbank Park as a preferred site for converting tennis courts to pickleball.

On March 2, 2023, the Parks & Recreation Commission (PRC) supported restriping the renovated facility for pickleball as the primary use; once completed, the courts would remain available for other sport court uses but will be permanently striped for pickleball. The City Council will receive this recommendation at an upcoming meeting. Details for providing comments will be shared on Let's Talk when available.