South Everett families along Casino Road could gain playgrounds, soccer fields, affordable housing, and a community center.
The tradeoff is removing 18 holes of golf, under a city-commissioned plan that envisions transforming Walter E. Hall Golf Course into a neighborhood park built around Sound Transit's coming light rail line.
The Urban Land Institute Northwest study, released in July, recommends the city prepare to convert roughly 46 acres of the 160-acre Walter E. Hall Park into housing and community space. The panel estimates up to 500 housing units of mixed types could eventually be built on the site.
Sound Transit is studying whether to use about 30 acres on the western side of the golf course for wetland mitigation tied to its Everett Link maintenance facility planned for southwest Everett, as Snoho.com first reported. If the agency proceeds, six of the course's 18 holes would be displaced.
No final decision has been made.
Sound Transit spokeswoman Amy Enbysk told Snoho.com on July 28 that the agency discussed the wetland concept with city representatives but did not direct the park study. "Potential mitigation needs are not yet fully known, and no decisions have been made at this time," Enbysk said.
Sound Transit expects to determine station locations and the maintenance facility site in 2027, according to its Everett Link fact sheet. Construction from Lynnwood to Everett could begin in 2030, with the maintenance facility targeted to open in 2034 and a station near Airport Road and West Casino Road by 2037.
What residents said
The ULI panel conducted community interviews in February. Residents near the golf course told the panel the 18-hole layout is largely "irrelevant to their daily lives" and that most of them do not play golf.
Their bigger concern: being priced out of the neighborhood once light rail arrives.
The course still draws players. More than 50,000 rounds are played at Walter E. Hall each year, and Everett's two public courses together return about $170,000 in annual net profit to the parks department, according to the city's 2026 budget.
Council signals support
Everett City Councilman Luis Burbano, whose district includes the park, wrote in a July 28 email reported by Snoho.com that the golf course "does not meet the evolving needs of our local community."
He called the redevelopment an opportunity for affordable housing, safe playgrounds, a community center, and a community garden.
The ULI panel's phased recommendations call on the city to fast-track affordable housing measures in South Everett within two years, allow community groups to use the golf course grounds for non-golf activities on some evenings, and shift the course's model from fee revenue to community use within five years.
By 2031, the panel envisions converting course land to playgrounds, open lawns, soccer fields, and a trail system connecting Casino Road residents to light rail stations and Kasch Park.
A separate 2024 study by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation reached a similar conclusion, urging Everett to preserve the Casino Road community ahead of light rail and suggesting Walter E. Hall Park as a redevelopment candidate.
What's next
The key date is 2027, when Sound Transit plans to finalize where the maintenance facility and stations will go. No City Council vote or public hearing on the ULI recommendations has been scheduled. Residents who want to weigh in can contact Councilman Burbano's office or attend future council meetings when the plan reaches the agenda.
