Partners for Parks MISSION is to leverage our 501c3 status to be a resource and assist in the improvement of Lakewood area parks.
Partners for Parks VISION is for a public-private partnership with the City of Lakerwood to preserve, restore and renovate the H-Barn Complex at Fort Steilacoom Park into a multi-use facility for the benefit of the greater community.
Be a Partner in History
We are happy to share our community has come together and raised $1,588,904 million dollars of our $3.5 million dollar goal for private sector support of the H-Barn Project. We want to express our gratitude to those who have made this progress possible.
LAKEWOOD — Feb. 23, 2024 — Partners for Parks lost Honorary Co-Chair, Retired Army Lieutenant General (LTG) William “Bill” Harrison last weekend and joins The City of Lakewood recognizing the passing of this great leader. Harrison was a driving force behind the City of Lakewood’s incorporation and served as first mayor from 1995 through 2003, completing his service on the City Council in 2005.
LAKEWOOD — Aug. 10, 2023 — Partners for Parks is building awareness and making its case for support through a series of small group gatherings with community leaders, neighbors and park enthusiasts interested in the H-Barn restoration project at Fort Steilacoom Park.
LAKEWOOD — June 20, 2023 — Partners for Parks is pleased to announce its campaign leaders for the H-Barn project, a public-private partnership with the City of Lakewood to preserve and renovate a 120-year-old barn complex at Fort Steilacoom Park. These individuals were selected based upon the belief that the motivating force behind any successful appeal is leadership by persons recognized as being influential and successful community leaders. [read more]
LAKEWOOD — May 15, 2023 — Partners for Parks is pleased to announce a $1 million project grant from the Names Family Foundation in support of the H-Barn restoration project at Fort Steilacoom Park, a 350+ acre historic area in Lakewood, WA. The H-Barn Project is an innovative public-private partnership between the City of Lakewood and Partners for Parks, a 501c3 nonprofit organization committed to improving Lakewood area parks. This public-private partnership seeks to raise a total of $7.5 million by 2025. Partners for Parks is leading a $3.5 million fundraising effort within the private sector that will, in turn, support a $4 million public investment from the City of Lakewood. [read more]
LAKEWOOD — March 8, 2023 — One of Lakewood’s most historic buildings, the H-Barn at Fort Steilacoom Park, is preparing to undergo a major restoration designed to benefit the entire Lakewood community and beyond. Partners for Parks, a nonprofit focused on enhancing the quality of life for Lakewood residents, is launching a fundraising project to support a $7.5 million public-private partnership. The nonprofit is passionate about parks and will be leading a $3.5 million private sector fundraising effort that will make possible a $4 million public investment from the City of Lakewood. Multiple fundraising strategies will be used to encourage private financial support from individuals, foundations, organizations and businesses in a major gift campaign carried out in two phases through 2023 and 2024 and concluding in the spring of 2025. [read more]
"Restoring the H-Barn is the perfect blend of preserving Lakewood’s rich history and creating a great public space for the surrounding community." Alan Billingsley, H-Barn Leadership Awareness Chair, and Partners for Parks Board of Directors
HISTORIC FACTS snapshot Fort Steilacoom Park has a long history as a working farm tracing back to the Hudson Bay Company in 1841 supporting settlers until Fort Steilacoom was decommissioned in 1868. The land was then purchased and donated by the Federal Government for use as a regional hospital site in 1874. Much of the crops and livestock raised were to support hospital staff and patients between 1930 and 1950. Prior to colonial settlement this site was stewarded for thousands of years by Coast Salish tribes, including the Nisqually Tribe. Their cultural traditions, including gathering food are closely tied to the remnant oak prairie which remains at Fort Steilacoom Park.
Historic preservation of the H-Barn complex will honor the distinct historical function of the building, while being renovated into a modern multi-functional event space. And although the interior of the barn will require extensive remodeling, a “Preserved Historic Area” will be created at the Northeast entrance. For example: the iconic barn doors will be rebuilt so that they remain in an open position, thus honoring and highlighting the distinct historical function of the building as a barn, while the silos, originally numbered with specifications written upon them will have stencils made to copy and reapply this information onto the silos, celebrating their past. A monument will stand in front of the H-Barn on the East side, explaining a brief history of the barn and its significance to the development of Fort Steilacoom and Western State Hospital.
Partners for Parks is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization