For the past 15 years, Robert Rose has dedicated his life to disabled children in the mountain nation of Nepal. Soon, his impact will be felt much closer to home.
Rose and the Rotary Club of Bellevue have partnered with the city of Bellevue to overhaul the playground at the Bellevue’s Downtown Park, creating an sensory experience for children with and without developmental and physical disabilities. Colorado-based Design Concepts, a landscape architecture firm that specializes in “destination parks,” is set to handle the construction, which comes with an estimated $1.5 to $2.5 million price tag.
“My experience in Nepal has taught me when you get people with and without disabilities together, that is where the shift in perception really occurs,” Rose said. “I wanted to do something that would engage and encourage our local community to have that interaction.”
Rose said the idea came to him on a bike ride to Woodinville, when he happened across a city park that listed the local Rotary Club as a sponsor. After speaking with the board of directors at his own club, Rose met with city of Bellevue Parks Department officials to decide on a redesign that would offer functional and entertaining elements for all children.
The result is a collection of play-toys, games and interactive features unlike anything currently within the parks system. Tactile sculptures encourage active touching and climbing, an interactive music plaza allows a chance to create and respond to sound and a hands-on water feature encourages exploration with different textures, a critical aspect for children with autism.
“We try to address all the senses,” Design Concepts Principal Carol Henry said. “We want to make all the areas of the playground really engaging so that regardless of ability level, there is something everyone can do that is a step above.”
Building a community resource that is ahead of the curve is nothing new for Rose, who has been to Nepal over a dozen times in the past 15 years with a variety of humanitarian efforts.
In 2005, he founded The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) and has partnered with Rotary groups around the world to build infrastructure in health, education, empowerment and literacy.
In the seven years since, TRIFC has constructed a handful of schools for deaf and blind students, centers for youngsters with developmental and physical disabilities and established sponsorships and funds for people burdened by an inability to work or study without assistance.
“I’ve always wanted to do something in my own community that would enhance and improve life experiences for people with disabilities,” he said.
Improvements to the Downtown Park playground, which was last renovated in 2003, were already on the docket for the Parks Department before Rose approached them with the proposal.
The Bellevue Rotary will hold fundraising events, including its annual benefit auction (May 11 at Meydenbauer Center), and also will seek government grants, corporate donors and other private funding, while the city will kick in $350,000 to $450,000 to cover soft costs such as permits and design fees.
Park and Planning Development Manager Glenn Kost said the group plans to present a formal memorandum of understanding, complete with a more firm cost estimate and timeline, to the Bellevue City Council during the fall and hopes to have the project complete in around three years.
Rose eagerly awaits the day when the work is finished and youngsters of all ages and ability levels have an opportunity to interact.
“Knowing that we pulled together all these supporters from the community, it is going to be a great day,” he said.
