Mercer Island Commuter Park

Combining the natural with the utilitarian to transform a brownfield site into a critical connection for regional transit.


Location    Mercer Island, WashingtonClientCity of Mercer IslandLinksLet’s Talk Mercer IslandProjectCommuter Facilities, Public Parking, Public Space


The Mercer Island Commuter Park is designed as a modest but purposeful piece of civic infrastructure, reshaping an underused and environmentally burdened site into a clear, accessible point of arrival and exchange. Set within the Sunset Highway right-of-way and on a city-owned parcel of land, the project introduces a compact field of parking stalls, including accessible spaces and provisions for future electric vehicle charging, organized around an adjacent pedestrian and public space network. The design removes an existing cul-de-sac and stitches the site back into its surroundings with a restrained, driveway-scaled connection to SE 27th Street—calibrated to serve daily commuter use.

The ground plane is redesigned to balance utility with openness. Impervious surfaces are minimized in favor of a more porous and planted landscape that positions the project as an extension of the adjacent public park. Materials are deployed with clarity—durable where vehicles circulate, with more refined patternmaking along pedestrian paths that widen and align with city sidewalk standards. Pedestrian routes link parking, sidewalks, and regional trails across gentle grades. Bike facilities, walkways, and landscaped areas are integrated into a cohesive whole, supporting a range of daily commuter activities.

Beneath this restrained surface, the project resolves the practical demands of infrastructure and site history. Stormwater is collected and treated through verdant swales and modular wetlands. The legacy of contamination from the site’s past as a gas station is addressed through a strategy of containment—capping and covering to allow safe use while acknowledging longer-term remediation. In this way, the project operates as both an immediate solution to commuter transit needs and a measured step in the site’s ongoing transformation, aligning civic utility with incremental environmental repair.



Project Team


Northwest Studio
Aaron Young, David Cutler, Brian Nguy
Landscape ArchitectureBerger PartnershipCivil Engineering   KPG/PsomasCost EstimatingDCW Cost ManagmentValue AnalysisMENG AnalysisPhotographyNorthwest Drone Works

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