Everett’s Walter E. Hall Park playground to get $1.25M overhaul

Published 1:30 am Friday, October 9, 2026

EVERETT — Walter E. Hall Park is set to get a major upgrade after the Everett City Council voted Wednesday to approve a $1.25 million rework of the park’s playground area.

The south Everett park, located on Casino Road, will see its playground more than double in size due to the improvements. The 17-year-old playground, currently about 3,500 square feet, will expand to approximately 8,347 square feet. Along with the new playground equipment, the city will make improvements to the playground’s drainage system.

“It’s a very big investment, but for a community that we really feel has become so dense and so active and very much in need of some new play features at this park,” city parks director Kimberly Moore said at a Sept. 30 council meeting.

The Casino Road area, including parts of the Westmont and Holly neighborhoods, is one of the densest and most diverse areas of the city. Walter E. Hall Park recently got another addition through a paved pathway that added a new connection between the south and east sides of the park and the neighborhoods surrounding it.

“We in District 4, we are super excited and super happy to have a new park,” said council member Luis Burbano before voting Wednesday. Burbano represents the neighborhood where the park is located.

To get ideas for the design of the playground, the city conducted surveys, met with neighborhood groups and local nonprofits. Staff also made a trip to nearby Horizon Elementary School, where over 300 elementary students shared their ideas on what should be included in the new playground.

Renderings of the park show that the expanded playground will include two play towers with slides, two ziplines and about a half dozen swings, along with a number of other play structures.

Moore said that the design reflects the what the kids were most interested in having in their playground.

“Obviously, the No. 1 things the kids really want are the swings and the zip lines,” Moore said. “So we made sure that was included.”

The city got the funding for the project via a mix of capital improvement dollars and park impact fees, money that Everett collects from property developers that don’t construct onsite recreation for residents. Revenues from those impact fees are restricted to paying for new or enhanced park facilities.

City officials do not yet have a firm date as to when construction will start on the project, spokesperson Simone Tarver wrote in an email Thursday, but plan to share it publicly to make sure park users are aware. Construction is expected to be complete by late 2027, she wrote.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.