One more big update for a Bainbridge Island park is on its way in the new year.

As 2024 winds down, parks projects around BI continue to steadily progress, but the BI Japanese American Exclusion Memorial is ready to join the pack in the new year with the installation of a water main for its retrofitted visitor center.

The BI Metro Parks and Recreation District recently confirmed that the memorial will receive a $630,500 grant from the state Department of Commerce, which completes the nonprofit’s $4.5 million fundraising goal and then some.

“As we celebrate these milestones, we are reminded that none of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our community,” wrote BIJAEM association president Val Tollefson. “Together, we are creating a space for remembrance, reflection and education.”

The water main will be built along Eagle Harbor Drive and will provide the new visitor center with facilities for a restroom and tap water. Most of the grant will be used in adding the water main, parks senior planner Matthew Keough said, while the remaining will go toward construction of the new building.

Other parks capital projects, including Ray Williamson Pool renovations, construction of tennis courts at Sakai Park and batting cages at Strawberry Hill Park are ready to make big progress in early 2025, Keough added.

Finishing touches on Phase 1 of the renovations to the pool will close that facility starting Feb. 14, until the building is safely usable. Phase 2 will include interior architectural updates, “at which point the pool will look like a renovated facility,” parks superintendent David Harry said.

Meanwhile, the tennis courts and batting cages are in a waiting period. Sakai park workers need the entry road to be restored before they can finish the tennis courts, and parks officials need to select a planning firm for the batting cages, which they expect to do by January.