Public Meeting on Future of Tacoma's SERA Campus

The 75+ acre SERA (South End Recreation & Adventure) Campus in Tacoma is home to Gray Middle School, the Boys & Girls Club's Topping Hope Center, and the Metro Parks sports complex. 

In the past, plans and SEPAs were done for individual projects like the STAR Center and the SERA Spray & Play. Metro Parks is now beginning work on a master plan to cover the whole campus.

Work is just getting started on the outdoor playground and sprayground areas.

The sprayground will replace the wading pool recently removed at Manitou Park while the playground is an extension of the interior playgrounds that are part of the STAR Center to provide a free community component. In addition, a 2 acre event lawn will be developed to support large community events and the local farmer's market. A future phase will include the construction of a multi-purpose shelter building. The goal of this project is to contribute to keeping the community healthy and active, to give children a safe place to access play and, with state funding through the jobs bill, to provide economic opportunities to the region. Construction is expected to begin in August 2013 with anticipated opening in summer 2014.

Artist renderings show the current vision for the property, with a "nature and adventure theme" expressed through natural rock elements, including some that will contain water features for the spray area, and slides in the play area built into an earth-formed hill. Learn more about the properties from Metro Parks.

Metro Parks will host a public meeting on November 13 to get input on a Master Plan for the campus. A second public meeting is scheduled for December 11. Do you have opinions? Now's your chance to be heard. So, what would you want to see?