The Park We've All Been Waiting For Just Got a Little More Real
After years of plans, surveys, and community input, $100,000 in state funding has arrived — and the Port says residents will start seeing actual changes along Lake River before the end of 2026.
If you've lived in Ridgefield for any length of time, you've probably heard about the waterfront park. It's come up in community surveys, planning meetings, and more than a few conversations at the farmer's market. For years it has existed as a shared vision — something everyone wants but that has felt perpetually "coming soon."
This week, that changed a little. The Washington State Legislature passed the 2025–2027 Supplemental Capital Budget — Senate Bill 6003 — and tucked inside it was a $100,000 earmark specifically for the Port of Ridgefield Waterfront Park. It is not a transformational sum on its own, but it is real, committed state money, and the Port says they are already planning how to put it to work before 2026 is over.
Port of Ridgefield Executive Director Ethan Perry confirmed that residents view the park as a top priority for the waterfront's development, and that the port expects to begin physical improvements on the site this year using these funds.
"Residents view the 9-acre park along Lake River as a top priority for the waterfront's development."
— Ethan Perry, Executive Director, Port of Ridgefield (via The Columbian, April 11, 2026)What the Park Actually Looks Like
The Waterfront Park Master Plan — adopted jointly by the City of Ridgefield and the Port in late 2024 — covers roughly 8 acres and stretches across 1,500 feet of shoreline along Lake River. That is Ridgefield's only public shoreline, which makes this project particularly significant for a city that has grown as fast as ours has.
The Master Plan was built from genuine community input: three open houses, three online surveys, and direct engagement at events like Big Paddle. Three guiding principles came out of that process — respect and enhance the natural setting, support recreation, and reflect Ridgefield culture, art and history. The plan calls for green spaces, native plantings, expanded trail connections, picnic areas, accessible overlooks, an art walk, and eventually a flexible event space and dedicated play area.
One thing the Port has been deliberate about from the start: the design is intentionally flexible. As the adjacent 41-acre mixed-use development (shops, restaurants, housing, makerspace) takes shape around it, the park is meant to evolve alongside — not be locked into a design that no longer fits the neighborhood around it.
What the Master Plan Includes
- Native plantings and naturalized green spaces along Lake River
- Expanded multi-use trail connections
- Picnic facilities and accessible overlooks
- An art walk that reflects Ridgefield's culture and history
- A flexible event lawn and dedicated inclusive play area
- Improved kayak and non-motorized watercraft access
- Additional day-dock facilities for motorized and non-motorized boats
Who Made This Happen in Olympia
State Reps. Peter Abbarno (R-Chehalis) and Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) — both representing the 20th Legislative District, which includes Ridgefield — secured the waterfront park earmark as part of a broader package of 20th District investments in Senate Bill 6003. Abbarno specifically called out the park funding in his announcement of the supplemental capital budget's final passage.
"These projects reflect real needs in our communities and will make a difference for the people who live here," Abbarno said, listing the waterfront park alongside school modernization funding, fairgrounds improvements, and other 20th District allocations.
The broader waterfront project also has a long-term financial backbone: the Port approved a Tax Increment Financing measure in 2024 that took effect in January 2025 and could generate over $43 million across 25 years as the surrounding development builds out. The $100,000 in state funds is best understood as seed money for early site improvements — the kind of visible, tangible changes that signal to a community that a project has real momentum.
The Bigger Picture: Palindrome and the 41-Acre Redevelopment
The waterfront park does not exist in isolation. It sits at the heart of a much larger transformation of the former Pacific Wood Treating site — the same industrial property that was contaminated with pentachlorophenol and creosote, cleaned up over decades at a cost of roughly $90 million in public investment, and finally declared restored by the Washington Department of Ecology in 2015.
The Port's preferred developer for the 41-acre surrounding site is Palindrome Properties Group, a Portland-based firm with mixed-use projects across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Their preliminary plan includes apartments, a hotel, retail and dining, light-industrial makerspace buildings, and office space — with the 8-acre waterfront park as the centerpiece that the rest of the development is oriented around.
Port officials have indicated the first major construction phase of the broader waterfront development is anticipated to begin in 2027. The $100,000 in state funds — and the Port's commitment to begin site improvements this year — sets the stage for that larger buildout by getting some landscaping, trail work, and early park features in place first.
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2022–2023
Port conducts community surveys and engagement; over 1,300 residents respond. Waterfront park identified as the top community priority. Business plan finalized.
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Late 2023
Port and City of Ridgefield formalize their partnership to co-design a Waterfront Park Master Plan. Palindrome Properties Group selected as preferred waterfront developer.
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Late 2024
City and Port jointly adopt the Waterfront Park Master Plan. Tax Increment Financing approved; takes effect January 2025 and could yield $43M+ over 25 years.
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April 2026
Washington Legislature approves $100,000 for the park via Senate Bill 6003. Port announces it will begin physical site improvements before year's end.
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2027 (anticipated)
First major phase of the broader 41-acre waterfront redevelopment expected to begin construction.
Why This Funding Milestone Matters
$100,000 does not build a park. But it does start one. When residents walk along Lake River later this year and see native plants going in, trails being improved, and the site taking shape — that is the signal that this project has crossed from planning into doing. For a community that has waited a long time for its waterfront, that is not a small thing.
Want to Stay in the Loop?
If you want to hear directly from Port staff and commissioners about how the state funds are being deployed and what comes next, the Spring Commission Coffee on April 21 is the place to be. It is an informal drop-in — no agenda, no presentations — just Port staff and commissioners available to talk. That is a genuinely good opportunity to ask where exactly that $100,000 is going first.
The project's community planning page is at RidgefieldRoundtable.org/waterfront-park, and the Port's broader waterfront hub is at RidgefieldWaterfront.com. Both are worth bookmarking if you want to follow the progress as it unfolds.
Know something about the waterfront project we should cover? Spotted early site work along Lake River? Drop us a note — local eyes make local news better.
