Mayor Greg Nickels says the city has acquired a 37,000 square foot piece of property in east Ballard for a new public park, the largest piece of land secured for open space here since Ballard Commons Park, which opened in 2005.

The lot between Northwest 70th and 73rd on 9th Avenue Northwest is a little less than one acre and will be purchased for $3 million from the Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund and some grants from King County. Nickels said the city had been trying to find another space to purchase in east Ballard, an area lacking a large green footprint.

"We had to stretch just a little bit to get that," the mayor said. "Indeed, this was an area that was lightly colored in terms of park density. But we are making some progress."

The Seattle City Council is expected to approve the sale by the end of April.

The news, which received a big cheer from the audience of about 75 community members, was made public at Groundswell NW's annual meeting at the Loyal Heights Community Center.

Andrea Faste, vice-president of Groundswell, a group that has helped secure more than a dozen parks and open space areas in Ballard, said the next challenge is to raise funds for the design and construction of a new park.

"Now we have to come up with the will to build a park there, but this is a great piece of remaining open space," Faste said. "I just hope there are others in the neighborhood who are eager to get involved."

The city had to act fast to buy the property, said Donald Harris, property and acquisition services manager for Seattle Parks and Recreation.

It was being marketed privately by the owners, 7th Elect Church of Israel, and was nearly sold to developers who wanted to build up to 10 "skinny" houses there. Harris said the land could have been sold for more but the owners were interested in seeing a park developed.

Parks department spokesperson Dewey Potter said the city and the community "owe a debt of gratitude" to the church.

Jim Jensen, past president of Groundswell NW, said it's "truly amazing" the parks department was able to make the deal so quickly.

"This is a huge get for Ballard," he said. "People have been watching this site and wanting to capture it for public use."

The Ballard community had requested in the early 1990s that at least three larger parks be developed and evenly dispersed throughout the community to address the area's green space deficit. Much of the funding allocated for this has gone toward the purchase of the new Ballard Corners Park, planned at 7th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 62nd.

The 7th Elect property has been on the city's radar since the 1989 open-space bond, said Harris.

"We were hoping to buy another property out here," he said.

The 1989 open-space bond produced less than an acre of open space in Ballard prior to 2002. Since voters approved the $200 million Pro Parks Levy in 2000, almost 6 acres of parks have been acquired here.

But that includes two areas owned by the Seattle School District that still need to be secured. The district wants to sell its properties that include a planned park at the old Crown Hill Elementary School and Webster Playground at the site of the Nordic Heritage Museum.

The city leases the Webster Park property from the district. Harris said there are about 17 more years left on the lease but the district has indicated they might try to cancel it.

The mayor addressed various issues regarding growth and green space during his talk in Ballard. He said he would consider another large fund for open space in a future levy, but probably not in the upcoming "legacy levy," involving renovations to the Seattle Center and the Pike Place Market.

Nickels said he wants to focus on improvements to the Pike Place Market, Seattle's No. 1 tourist attraction and "crown jewel."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at 783-1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com.