Renovations will close popular beach at Point Defiance Park for a year
Visitors will have to find another place to explore as a popular beach in Point Defiance Park prepares to close for a year.
Owen Beach will close to the public in mid-February for renovations.
The $4 million project will replace aging facilities, including a new restroom building, picnic pavilion, a kayak launch and children’s play area.
The improvements will reposition the lawn and parking lot further inland in response to projections for sea-level rise, which could damage current facilities.
“Most of the facilities at Owen Beach were originally developed a half-century ago,” Marty Stump, Metro Parks Tacoma’s chief of planning and development, said in a recent news release. “It just makes sense to give thoughtful consideration to the latest research and to do all we can to protect the updated amenities we are building. Our goal is to make sure the investments we make today continue serving our community 50 years from now and beyond.”
The project was supposed to start over the summer but was delayed after the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Owen Beach was established by Metro Parks in 1957 and makes up 1,000 feet of Point Defiance Park’s three miles of shoreline, making it a popular spot for beach-goers.
During the renovations, Owen Beach’s promenade will move 18 feet inland, according to previous reports from The News Tribune. The lawn will move 34 feet inland, and the parking lot will move 57 feet.
All access points to Owen Beach, including roads, stairs, parking, beaches and the access point at the north end of the promenade, will be closed to the public during construction, according to Metro Parks.
A re-grand opening is projected for mid-2022.
For more information, visit DestinationPointDefiance.org.
