La Conner’s Boardwalk Becomes a Reality!
For nearly 30 years, La Conner residents and guests alike have dreamed of a way to enjoy more of the waterside ambiance of our Swinomish Channel. To not only sit along the channel at specific spots, or dine on restaurant decks … but to really be able to enjoy the channel by walking along it.
Well, we are SO EXCITED to announce that a boardwalk – a real, wonderful, along-the-channel boardwalk is being built for all of us to enjoy!
There are several phases, and each phase will have accompanying costs (expected to add up to approximately $4 million … which means lots of money has to be raised, found, budgeted, etc.) … but we’ve started on Phase I and it’s going to be very cool.
The initial phase will run from Gilkey Square (our ‘town square’) south to the Benton Street public access.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were recently held, with accompanying hearty “Thank You’s” to many folks who have worked tirelessly to see the boardwalk project finally get off the ground. The Town of La Conner, the Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Skagit, the Skagit Council of Governments and state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen were all instrumental in getting Phase I funded and approved.
Ultimately, the boardwalk will run north and south along the channel, and eventually include a pavilion, observation deck, picnic area with outdoor cooking facilities, and a drop-off spot for charter buss access at the north end of 1st Street near the La Conner Marina.
Construction will start soon (Fall, 2012), with a projected completion date of late Spring 2013.
We’ll see you on ‘The Boardwalk’!
From the Town of La Conner’s website, here are several links that provide the conceptual designs:
Overlay of boardwalk looking north toward Calhoun St. public access
Existing area north toward Calhoun public access
Overlay of boardwalk looking north from Benton St. public access
Existing area north of Benton public access
Overlay of Jordan/Kirsch pavilion looking west from N. First Street
Existing Jordan/Kirsch public access area looking west
Overlay of Jordan/Kirsch pavilion from waterside looking east
Existing Jordan/Kirsch public access area from waterside looking east
Overlay of Gilkey Square looking south from Morris St.
Existing Gilkey Square public access area looking south from Morris St.
Photo showing the proposed waterfront boardwalk area
Thank you Janet! The boardwalk project is scheduled to be complete by early 2015 and will go all the way South to Calico Cupboard.
We love to visit La Conner. The board walk is wonderful and we can’t wait to see it finished. Thanks for a fantastic place to shop and play.