Attendees of a Jan. 16 meeting with the city of Bellevue to form a downtown residents association received the latest update on a number of projects that the group eventually will be scrutinizing – many for years to come.

Downtown Park

Funded through a 2008 parks and natural areas levy, the Downtown Park is in design to lose its Pac-Man image and “complete the circle,” said Glenn Kost, parks and community services planning manager.

This will involve placing a major entryway at 102nd Avenue Northeast, including a cascading water feature smaller than the waterfall structure already in the park. The parking lot also will be expanded on 100th Avenue Northeast to accommodate more visitors. Construction is slated for July 2015 with spring 2016 for completion.

The Bellevue Rotary Club has raised $800,000 toward its commitment for Inspiration Playground to be constructed at the park, said Kost, adding he’s hopeful for a fall start. The club has set a $4.3 million goal.

“We are going to, obviously, do this in phases,” he said. “Until they can raise $1.5 million, that’s the threshold for Phase One.”

Meydenbauer Bay Park

Phase One for the ambitious Meydenbauer Bay Park project is set to start in 2017 starting west of 99th Avenue Southeast and past what is now Meydenbauer Beach Park. Kost said the city is in the process of retaining a design team to realize the vision for the park laid out in the adopted master plan.

The city will continue to work toward acquiring and demolishing properties within the park area, including four homes slated to be torn down on Lake Washington Boulevard this summer. Beginning in spring, the city also will replace a failing water main running along Meydenbauer Bay.

Fourteen new moorage slips have been completed at Pier 3 and will open in the spring.