Fenced-off a decade later, Seven Hills Park debuted in 2015 (Image: Mithun)
Banners mocking the Seven Hills closure briefly went up behind the fences in October
The city will begin a public planning process next week to reshape two Capitol Hill parks where officials say concerns over homeless encampments, drug use, and “bouts of negative park activity” call for new approaches to Seattle public space.
Seattle Parks and Recreation is holding meetings next week to discuss priorities and identify “community activation partners and new potential users” for three District 3 parks where complaints over camping and crime have sparked the planned overhauls. One of the parks — Capitol Hill’s Seven Hills Park — has been fenced-off and closed since September over the issues. The other — Broadway Hill Park — remains open but has been a center of complaints and Seattle Police Department activity, officials say.
“This community-centered initiative invites residents, businesses, and organizations on Capitol Hill to come together to enhance the safety, vitality, and inclusivity of these neighborhood parks,” the parks department announced about Wednesday’s planned session. “This activation strategy seeks to address ongoing challenges such as safety concerns, accessibility barriers, and park misuse by fostering open dialogue and transparent partnerships.”
Thursday night, parks officials will hold a separate meeting to discuss similar issues at the Central District’s Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park.
CHS reported in September on the surprise closure of Seven Hills after District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth reportedly met with neighbors and the city made an attempt to sweep the park of campers in August.
The city said the shutdown was needed “in order for Seattle Parks and Recreation to assess possible amenity changes and/or upgrades.”
The public space is adjacent the Sanctuary condos developed inside the former First Church of Christ Scientist just north of the lawn area, BBQ pits, eight benches, three picnic tables, and trees that make up the small park just off 15th Ave E.
Officials have not announced a reopening date.
The closure comes on the fifteenth anniversary of Seven Hills Park. The project debuted in September 2010 around its central art element depicting the “original” seven hills of Seattle. The city acquired the property with funding from the 2000 Pro Parks Levy and King County Conservation Futures tax revenues.
It has faced encampment challenges before. In the winter of 2022, CHS reported on the aftermath of a major sweep that cleared the park of campers as Seven Hills became a flashpoint in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s efforts to step up clearance and shelter outreach work in the city. One immediate outcome of that sweep was the growth of nearby encampments in other nearby parks.
Broadway Hill Park as it first took shape in 2016. The kids playing on the grass? Perhaps a bit staged (Image: SiteWorkshop)
Broadway Hill Park, meanwhile, opened with 12,000 square feet of grass, benches, community gardening space, and a BBQ grill in 2016 after the city acquired the land at the corner for Federal and Republican in 2010 for $2 million when a townhome project slated for the property fell through.
A decade later, the challenges for both spaces have piled up. Other smaller area parks may also bring action including concerns at Boylston Ave’s Tashkent Park.
Capitol Hill’s core parkland has also been the center of public safety and activation efforts. Hollingsworth says she is backing multiple efforts to address crime, drug use, and homelessness around the Broadway and Pike/Pine core including investments “reinvigorating” Cal Anderson Park.
The city is also struggling with its court-ordered response to public safety complaints around the Denny Blaine Park nude beach.
Meanwhile, the city is moving cautiously forward on developing a new park on 1.6 acres of land and a 70-year-old landmark home on the northwest slopes of Capitol Hill in the prestigious Harvard-Belmont Landmark District left to the city after the death of philanthropist Kay Bullitt. Seattle Parks has said it will not have funding to develop the park until 2029 at the earliest.
In the Seattle City Council’s ongoing 2026 budget process, Hollingsworth has requested an additional $50,000 in Seattle Parks spending to the overhaul Seven Hills. Additional parks funding — and potential partnerships — could also be in play as the city sets out to reshape Seven Hills and Broadway Hill.
In next week’s public meeting, Seattle Parks says it hopes to gather feedback on how best to “support the community, activate the spaces through recreational and community activities, and enhance public safety” and said officials will “discuss future potential permanent fencing and useful park infrastructure” at Seven Hills and Broadway Hill.
- On Wednesday, November 19, 2025 from 5:30 to 7 PM at Garfield Community Center, 2323 E. Cherry St., we will collaborate on the future of South Capitol Hill Parks — Broadway Hill, Tashkent and Seven Hills Park. Seven Hills Park is currently closed and SPR will extend the closure until December 27, 2025.
- On Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 6 to 7:45 PM at Garfield Community Center, 2323 E. Cherry St., we will collaborate on the future of Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park Shelter Area. The shelter area is currently closed and SPR will extend the closure until December 27, 2025.
“We recognize that these parks have been impacted by activities incompatible with their intended use,” the parks department statement reads. “We are working to ensure that all parks are clean, safe, and welcoming.”
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