Construction of a new public restroom adjacent to Hing Hay Park will begin in May or early summer. The restroom will be built in the Bush Hotel building and accessible from the park. It will be managed by Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) staff.
“The goal is to have the restroom open seven days a week while there’s a concierge,” said Karen O’Connor, a Parks and Recreation spokesperson. The concierge is likely to be employed by the city.
Oak Hills Construction has bought construction rights, and should take no more than a few months to build the restroom, according to Jaime Lee, co-executive director of Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda).
SCIDpda also managed the historic Bush Hotel, where the new bathroom will operate out of. The space is currently used by the park’s concierges, who will help monitor the bathroom once it is running. While Parks and Recreation staff will run the bathroom, SCIDpda will provide the utilities needed.
SCIDpda had been in conversation with Seattle Parks and Recreation about building the restroom in 2019, and an agreement was reached in early 2020, according to Lee — but COVID-19 delayed that process.
Now, with Seattle hosting six matches for FIFA World Cup 2026, the goal is to have the bathroom done by next spring, according to both SCIDpda and SPR.
But there was also a community demand for more public restrooms in the CID, according to O’Connor.
“We did quite a bit of outreach with the community in 2019,” O’Connor said. “We appeared at a Seattle Chinatown International District Community Forum in May of 2019 and then we held a public meeting in the park during the Dragon Festival and gathered community input.”
SCIDpda also hopes installing a bathroom will help keep the park clean.
“We’re really excited that it’s moving forward,” O’Connor said. “It’s been great to work with SCIDpda and the whole community to move this project forward.
