Visitors to the Si View Community Center in North Bend can reap the benefits of a six-month, $837,000 renovation to the entrance to the facility with the completion of a new parking area and plaza next month.

Work is on schedule for the 71-stall plaza, which will provide safe access to all patrons using the park, community center and pool, according to center director Travis Stombaugh.

It is the largest single renovation to date at the center.

“In the past, parking was head-in with no sidewalk or lighting,” Stombaugh told the Record. “Patrons would have to walk down the street in traffic and behind cars to access any part of the park or community center.”

The new addition allows patrons to safely access the building, he said.

“If you park and walk to the building, you have immediate access to a safe, lighted sidewalk out of traffic,” Stombaugh said. “We’ve also added pathways in front of the building that are wider and stroller and wheelchair friendly.”

Two lighted flagpoles front Orchard Drive.

The plaza is meant to accommodate special events such as cultural fairs or 3-on-3 basketball tournaments. Rain gardens and permeable paving allow water to infiltrate back into the water table, instead of the river.

Plaza asphalt is being stamped and stained to mitigate any heat island effect, allowing the use of native plants in the landscape design.

“We are trying to provide a facility that is equal in quality to the patrons that use it,” Stombaugh said. The renovations of the past three years, he said, helps Si View Metro Parks District achieve goals in preserving and enhancing the historic center and pool.