Three years ago this month, Kirkland voters turned down a property tax increase that would have paid to run a community recreation center on the old Houghton Park-and-Ride. This fall, crews are pouring the foundation for a community recreation center on the old Houghton Park-and-Ride.
The building going up at 6920 NE 70th Place differs from the one on the 2023 ballot. It has two NHL-regulation ice rinks in place of lap pools, and the Seattle Kraken name is on it instead of the City's. Still, much of what the City wanted from that site is coming anyway: program rooms, fitness space, a place for classes and events, and long-term public ownership. The real change is who pays for it and when the City gets the keys.
What voters turned down in 2023
The November 7, 2023 ballot carried Kirkland Proposition No. 1, the "Levy Lid Lift for Expanded Aquatics, Recreation, and Parks Facilities, Operations, and Programs." King County Elections' summary lists the ask as an ongoing increase of $0.28054 per $1,000 of assessed value. That works out to about $10.8 million in 2024, or roughly $280 a year on a $1 million home.
The plan behind it was large. When the City Council put the measure on the ballot, it described an 86,000-square-foot aquatic and recreation center at Houghton. The building would have had indoor lap and warm-water pools, spray and play features, fitness rooms, gymnasiums, classrooms and multipurpose space. Construction was estimated at $108.5 million and would have been paid separately from the General Fund. The levy was meant to cover operations and programs.
The City's certified results show 40.55% in favor and 59.45% against. Kirkland bought the site from the state in early 2024 for recreational use anyway.
City Manager Kurt Triplett described the community's message after the vote to KUOW in October: "A lot of our community said, 'Find a way to create recreational opportunities without general taxation.' Seek out partners and also create a sense of community." KUOW reported that the Kraken then came to the City proposing an iceplex modeled on the team's practice facility in Northgate.
Same site, different bill
Comparing the two proposals shows what Kirkland gave up and what it kept.
| 2023 ballot plan | 2025 Kraken partnership | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 86,000 sq ft | About 80,000 sq ft |
| Centerpiece | Lap and warm-water pools | Two NHL-regulation ice rinks |
| City recreation space | Gyms, fitness rooms, classrooms, multipurpose rooms | City-operated community center with program rooms and fitness space |
| Construction cost | Estimated $108.5 million, General Fund | Reported $60 million, privately financed |
| New tax | $0.28054 per $1,000 of assessed value, for operations | None |
| Also on site | Spray and play features | Full-service restaurant, team store, event space |
The Seattle Times reported the project as a privately financed $60 million facility. The pools are out of the plan, but the classroom, fitness and program space carried over. On the City's project page, the community center portion is described as what "would become Kirkland's largest community center."
Who owns what, and for how long
A deal with no new taxes still has terms, and in this one the City trades time for money. The December 2025 Council memo assigns financing, design, permitting, construction and development risk to the Kraken side, Seattle Hockey Partners. The Kraken also pays construction costs and the related permits and fees.
According to the lease agreements in the same Council packet, here is what Kirkland gets in return:
- A 34-year ground lease at $1 a year in rent during construction, continuing until the City exercises its purchase option.
- An option to buy the finished building. If the City buys it, the Kraken would lease back the rinks and restaurant. If the City never buys it, the building reverts to City ownership when the lease ends.
- A capped City contribution. The City's pre-closing site preparation work is limited to $350,000.
- Parking rules. The City won't start charging for parking in the adjacent City lot until after hockey season ends in spring 2029. After that, the hourly rate can't be higher than the most the City charges at any Kirkland waterfront park, which was $1 an hour in 2025. At least 25 spaces are reserved mainly for staff, and both parties have to coordinate parking and traffic for large events.
The City builds the parking in the north lot, and the developer builds the connecting path, sidewalk and required ADA improvements.
The deal came together slowly. The Kraken first approached the City in late 2023. The Council adopted Resolution R-5645 setting a negotiating framework in September 2024, chose the Kraken as developer on May 6, 2025, and authorized the agreements on December 9, 2025. They were signed December 31, 2025.
The City is still on the hook for running its share of the building. Kirkland's 2027–2028 preliminary budget, released October 22, lists Iceplex and Community Center operations as a high-priority new program for the next two years.
What the City's half of the building holds
Most of the City's side of the project is about recreation programs that already have waiting lists. Triplett told KUOW that the City-run space will have "an opportunity for dance programs, Pilates, kids programming." He also said it will be big enough for events, weddings or lectures, and called it space for programs "we need and have identified as having a large backlog and wait list for."
The ice side also has guaranteed public access. Kirkland residents will be eligible for up to two hours of free open skate each month. The One Roof Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, will offer discounted programming for low-income and vulnerable residents. The Council memo adds that the agreements require public skate sessions, youth and adult hockey, and figure skating programs.
The Kraken see plenty of demand for that ice. Krista Leesment, VP of business operations at the Kraken Community Iceplex, told KUOW that the Seattle area has about 13 ice rinks. She said the Northgate facility had six youth teams when it opened five years ago and has 42 today. "We're just busting at the seams," she said.
The building also brings a full-service restaurant to a part of Houghton that the City's project page describes as "an area with few dining options." The City lists the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL as a "potential home" tenant. In April, KOMO reported the Kraken were "in discussions with the Torrent" and that the Kraken would keep training and keep staff headquarters at Northgate. This season, the Torrent's 13 home games are at Climate Pledge Arena.
The pickleball courts went first
Before any of this, the site had a temporary use that people relied on. Houghton Park and Play opened with a ribbon-cutting on August 8, 2024, with community gardens, pickleball courts, a modular skate park, a modular pump track and a bicycle play garden. The courts were first-come, first-served from 8 a.m. to dusk. It closed May 4, 2026.
The trees came down next. The City's June 26 status update warned that many trees on the property would be removed. Under City rules, the Kraken pay fee-in-lieu for some of the larger trees, and that money goes to tree canopy restoration elsewhere in Kirkland. The same update listed demolition, drilling for temporary support walls and excavation for underground stormwater vaults as the next steps. By late September, according to the City's fall issue of The Kirklander, crews were laying the foundation.
Openings will come in stages. The City expects the iceplex to open in late 2027 and the Kirkland Community Center inside it in early 2028. Kirkland is also adding recreation space elsewhere. The same Kirklander issue covers the City's purchase of a former church at 13220 NE 132nd Street in Kingsgate, which it plans to turn into another community center over the long term.
Skating before the Houghton rinks open
That leaves at least one full winter before the Houghton rinks open. These are the nearest options this season:
- Sno-King Ice Arena Kirkland, 14326 124th Ave NE. Public skating runs year-round, sessions last 60 to 120 minutes, and the schedule changes, so check the Sno-King public skating page before you go.
- Bellevue Downtown Ice Rink, 100 100th Ave NE. Its 2026–27 season opens Friday, November 13, and runs through January 18, 2027. Hours vary through the season.
- Kraken Community Iceplex, 10601 5th Ave NE in Northgate. It has public skating over lunch hours, on weekends and in the evenings, and the live drop-in calendar has the current schedule.
Highland Ice Arena in Shoreline is no longer an option. It closed in October 2022, and My Edmonds News reported the building was demolished in September 2023. Last winter's seasonal rink at Lee Johnson Field, 202 3rd St, stayed open through January 11, 2026.
Big projects like Houghton tend to change how people use the streets and blocks around them, and for those of us who live and work here, that is part of understanding Kirkland. If you're curious how the new iceplex and community center might affect your corner of town, Nick Loveless Real Estate is happy to talk through what's planned near you. Work With Nick.
