The Friends of Fremont Peak Park will soon enjoy the fruits of their labor when construction begins this spring on a park they have worked to create for more than four years.

It all started with the vision of a man named Jack Tomkinson, a Fremont resident and neighbor to a piece of land in upper Fremont that will be the site of new Fremont Peak Park.

Tomkinson, a development director for the Cascade Bicycle Club, was always aware of the unique property with 180-degree views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

But the privately owned land where three houses stood never seemed accessible, until one day he saw it was for sale.

Friends say Tomkinson immediately sprang into action. He attended the next Fremont Neighborhood Council meeting where he informed them of his idea to preserve this distinctive land for the public.

"He was always aware of the property," said Noelle Powers, who has been an active volunteer with the project for the last three years. "He was very passionate that the property shouldn't become another high density development project and that it should be preserved for the whole community."

A few days later Tomkinson attended the Fremont Chamber of Commerce meeting where he again announced his intent to conserve the land and there he made known he was "seeking an angel" to buy the property to hold while he worked on writing grants and gathering community support and funds.

At that very meeting, Suzie Burke, treasurer for the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, offered to sign a loan from the local NorthStar Bank and pay the interest until Tomkinson could figure out how to turn the property into a community park.

"Without the local bank and Tomkinson it wouldn't have happened," said Burke. "But I believe the community played the biggest hand in this project. They just worked so hard to implement the project."

The property was expected to go fast, so Tomkinson and Burke knew something had to be done fast in order to save the property from commercial development, said Burke.

Burke, owner of the Fremont Dock Co., is known for her community activism in Fremont and owns a lot of property in the Fremont and Ballard areas.

"She has done a wonderful thing for the community," said Powers.

What followed was a year of writing grants, lobbying for Seattle Pro Parks Levy dollars as well as Neighborhood Matching Funds grants, local fundraising and community support on the part of Tomkinson and other community supporters.

Through the many community meetings and planning, the Friends of Fremont Peak Park was created and today the group consists of more than 300 community members and neighbors.

Marcia Reed, Fremont resident and member of the Friends steering committee, became a part of the group three years ago and has seen the project grow with both community and city support.

"It's such a lovely area with a very small open meadow and a great view of the Olympic Mountains," she said. The space also features mature conifer trees, views of Mt. Rainier, Magnolia, Ballard, the Ship Canal, and Puget Sound, all planned to be highlights of the park.

With the help of a City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund grant, the Friends hired the Landscape Architecture firm, GGLO and artist, Laura Haddad, to work with the community to create the schematic design.

"The time the volunteers have spent on this project equates to hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Powers who is a Project Manager in her professional career and has helped coordinate many of the group's events. "The Friends of Fremont Peak Park have just been so great at corralling volunteers."

Burke said many local businesses like Hales Ales Brewery in Fremont and Fred Meyer have helped out with donations.

But it is Burke, Tomkinson, the Friends of Freemont Peak Park and Ellen Sass, president of NorthStar Bank that are dubbed the real pioneers of the project.

"Part of it is just realizing that wonderful things like this have to be done with a community and not just individuals," said Burke. "Fremont is a real walking community and I think this park will get a tremendous amount of use."

Burke said that because the community came together largely as a whole to plan and develop the scheme of the park, it will be maintained and cared for because they all have invested in it in some way.

"Everyone has to get involved when you want these truly wonderful things to happen," she said.

In mid-July the three houses on the property were demolished and the land was graded to prepare for construction of the park, scheduled to start this spring.

In the meantime, the Friends of Fremont Peak Park are hosting a Naturescaping event and workshop Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park. It's free and will feature presentations about use of native plants in park and backyard garden design, invasive plant removal and much more. The design for the park will also be on display at the event.

For more information and background on this project visit www.fremontpeakpark.org or call 706-3137. The park site is at 4351 Palatine Ave. N. (upper Fremont, limited parking is available.