The Ballard Pickleball Club is on track to open this fall in the former Joann Fabrics building, according to project lead Pat Gilbrough.
Gilbrough, the former owner of Ballard Health Club, told My Ballard that he has signed the lease for the building at 2217 NW 57th St and that the project is now “full steam ahead.”
The update comes about four months after Gilbrough first announced plans to convert the vacant retail building into an indoor pickleball facility. At the time, the proposal was still in the early stages while the team worked through the city’s permitting process to determine whether the building could be converted from retail to recreational use.
One part of the project is already complete: the building’s underground parking garage has reopened after being boarded up since 1999, when Joann Fabrics occupied the building.
According to Gilbrough, the 32-stall garage is currently open for members of the Ballard Health Club across the street. Once the Ballard Pickleball Club opens, it will also be available for club members and visitors. Gilbrough said he also plans to make the garage available for public parking, primarily on weekends during the Ballard Farmers Market.
The reopening marks the first visible change to the property since plans for the pickleball club were announced. For more than two decades, the garage entrance along NW 56th Street remained boarded up, leaving many passersby unaware that the building included underground parking.
When My Ballard first reported on the proposal in March, Gilbrough said restoring the parking garage was a key part of the project. The garage was built with 32 parking stalls using the wider dimensions common in the 1990s, with most spaces measuring about 11 feet wide.
The pickleball club will occupy the former Joann Fabrics space, which has been vacant since Joann closed last year. As previously reported by My Ballard, plans call for five indoor pickleball courts, a second-story mezzanine overlooking the courts, and a small practice area near the back of the building.
Earlier this year, Gilbrough said he hoped to create an affordable, community-oriented facility modeled after the approach he took with the nearby Ballard Health Club. The project entered the city’s permitting process this spring as the team evaluated the feasibility of converting the building from retail to recreational use.
With the lease now signed and the parking garage back in service, Gilbrough said the project is moving ahead to open this fall.
Photos: Google Image Capture