Meydenbauer Bay Park, established by King County in the 1930s and incorporated into the City of Bellevue in 1953, is one of the community’s oldest parks. This park provides public waterfront access to Lake Washington and offers leased and free moorage to boat owners and visitors. Information about the marina is available at Bellevue Marina.
For decades, the City of Bellevue envisioned expanding the small Meydenbauer Beach Park into a park connecting downtown to the waterfront. In 2010, the City Council adopted a Park and Land Use Plan for development of Meydenbauer Bay Park. After a first phase of construction, the expanded park opened in 2019 with a new large beach, curved pier and beach house with restrooms and showers.
In Phase 2, the park will continue to grow, providing new viewing areas, connections between downtown and the waterfront, enhanced lake ecology and green space, and expanded recreation amenities.
For the most updated plans and proposal for the Phase 2 Expansion, explore the Meydenbauer Bay Park Phasing Report and the Phasing Report Appendices.
Phase 1: Development of the Existing Park
The first phase of development replaced the old park, improving eight acres of the park west of 99th Avenue and the Marina. This first phase provided public water access and a range of new amenities including:
- Curvilinear pedestrian pier and hand-carry boat launch
- Natural ravine
- 99th Avenue parking lot and marina entrance improvements
- Walking paths, picnic areas, pedestrian promenade and children's play area
Future Phases: Development of the Park Expansion
As part of planning for the expansion of Meydenbauer Bay Park, the City of Bellevue engaged with the community to understand current priorities. The project team held three surveys and participated in 14 events with the community between Summer 2023 and Winter 2024. You can learn about the design and its reflection of community feedback in the Meydenbauer Bay Park Phasing Report. Additionally, we encourage you to watch the Community Webinar and Q&A session to learn more about the project.
The park expansion includes multiple areas to be developed: Meydenbauer Gateway, Bay Connector, Park Lane, parcel East of 100th Ave SE, Gateway Intersection, Lake Washington Blvd NE, Sunset Terraces, Lakeside Promenade, Shoreline Edge and the Marina. As is typical of park development of this scale, multiple phases will be needed to complete the full park vision. To identify phasing, the City of Bellevue studied each potential expanded park area by their unique program needs, parcel lines, permitting realities and implementation strategy. See the design and sequence in the phasing report to learn more.
The City of Bellevue will build the park improvements in phases. Construction plans and schedule are yet to be determined. Based on community feedback and available funding, the next phase will focus on some elements of the Meydenbauer Gateway and include an interim pedestrian connection to the existing park via the Lakeside Promenade before it gets further developed. The planned design elements of Meydenbauer Gateway and Lakeside Promenade once completed are listed below.
Meydenbauer Gateway
Beginning at Lake Washington Blvd NE and 100th Ave SE, park goers will experience an exciting new connection between the city and the bay.
Once fully completed, Meydenbauer Gateway improvements include:
- An iconic pavilion at Main Street and 100th Ave SE. This is the major art element identified by the Grand Connection, providing covered space and views of Meydenbauer Bay and the Olympic Mountains
- A community plaza that complements the vibrancy of Old Bellevue and Main Street, and includes places to sit, rest and gather
- An accessible walkway that connects to 100th Ave SE and Bellevue Place, parking levels, and the shore with new seating, native plants and trees integrated into the pedestrian experience
- New parking, concealed by the landscape and design
- Traffic calming measures and pedestrian improvements on 100th Ave SE and Lake Washington Blvd NE
Lakeside Promenade
The shoreline experience keeps the priorities of the 2010 Master Plan alive by focusing on pedestrian connections, improved non-motorized watercraft access, enhancing ecology and emphasizing the beautiful surroundings.
Once fully completed, Lakeside Promenade improvements include:
- A pedestrian experience connecting Meydenbauer Gateway, the shore and future Bay Connector (pictured in the rendering), and the existing park
- Seating and gathering areas
- Restoration of nearshore fish and other wildlife habitat
- A new plaza space, Whaler Plaza, better connecting the Whaling Building, re-imagined Ice House and Beach House
- A shade canopy added to the roof of the Beach House
An interim condition focused on creating a pedestrian connection between Meydenbauer Gateway and the existing park will be implemented in the next phase of construction before further development.
