GreenWorks Honors Vets on Veteran’s Day

GreenWorks would like to acknowledge and thank all of our nation’s veterans. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

City of Gresham Springwater Trail Spur

Construction is complete on a new trail connecting the Springwater Trail through Gresham Main City Park to downtown Gresham. The approximately 1000 foot long multi-use trail improves pedestrian and bicycle connections through the park on an attractive, ADA accessible 15 foot wide promenade. The trail promenade is a key design element of the Main City Park Master Plan which GreenWorks developed with the City in 2008. The trail also features a distinctive gateway structure and plaza at the south end at the connection to the Springwater trail as well as rain gardens that treat stormwater run-off. Funding sponsors on the project included Metro, Oregon Parks and Recreation, Urban Trails Funding and Parks System Development Fees. The design team on the project was comprised of GreenWorks as the prime, KPFF Consulting Engineers (civil engineering), Kittelson & Associates, Inc. (lighting and electrical engineering), and Pacific Geotechnical, Inc.

For more information about the project click here.

Public Art installed at Gresham Center for the Arts Plaza

Four sculptures, by Seattle based artist Claudia Fitch, were installed at the Gresham Center for the Arts Plaza on Thursday Oct. 21^st. The quartet of forms range in height from 18 to 27 feet in height, and serve as colorful beacons at the plaza’s door step.  The work, which Claudia has named FineTunedTule, is based upon the theme of the four arts – visual art, music, literature and dance and is directly inspired by four formal tools/instruments representative of the arts respectively: the paintbrush, the trumpet, the fountain pen and the tutu.

Claudia writes about the work, “I am fascinated by the finely contoured shapes of all these tools (the tulle construction of the tutu being no less precisely delineated). And, like in the verbal pun of the working title, I saw an opportunity in these tool forms to play with their elegant sculptural shapes in a kind of cross referential way, switching functionality with humor, and punning on their visual similarities and differences.”

A public dedication of the public art sculptures will be held Saturday, October 23^rd, 2010 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, with formal presentations to begin at 12 noon. All are invited to attend. The plaza is located at 401 NE 2^nd Street, Downtown Gresham.

Construction of this project, designed by GreenWorks, was completed in June of 2009 and serves as the City of Gresham’s living room, where many public events and performances have already been held. The plaza is the first step in realizing a vision for an arts district centered on the plaza.

Pendleton Riverfront Plaza Construction Well Underway

Construction continues on Pendleton's new Riverfront Plaza designed by GreenWorks.  The Plaza is expected to be complete this September to celebrate the 100th annual Pendleton Round-Up.

The goal of this project was to replace residential properties along the Umatilla River Greenway Trail that had been purchased by the City to produce a park connection from Court Avenue to the Greenway Trail.

GreenWorks’ design for this park focused on providing a strong connection from Court Avenue and the neighborhood to the River Parkway trail located on an elevated levee on the northern edge of the park; and developing an urban park facing Court Avenue that provided for passive recreation uses and festival activities.

Park elements included trees, native landscaping adjacent to the Greenway, paved courtyard area, ramps and stair connections to the Greenway trail and decorative  native stone walls that were also utilized at Westgate Intersection Gateway to the Court Avenue improvements together.

This project was done in partnership with the City of Pendleton staff and required coordination with ODOT and USA COE.

Pendleton’s Let’er Buck Statue Unveiled

The City of Pendleton gathered last month to unveil the new Let'er Buck Statue designed by Austin Barton.  The statue is in the heart of the new Pendleton Centennial Plaza which GreenWorks designed.  GreenWorks worked with City Staff and the Pendleton Round-Up Association to design major improvements to the Plaza on a short time-frame to enable completed construction by the 2010 Pendleton Round-Up.  Let'er Buck commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Pendleton Round-Up.  The City hosted a parade, unveiling ceremony, and activities at the Round-Up Grounds and nearby Roy Raley Park to celebrate the new statue.  GreenWorks' Principal Mike Faha was in Pendleton to catch the unveiling and share the celebration with the Pendleton community.

Russellville Gets More Ink

A short blurb from the DJC on Sept. 3rd on the Russellville Phase III project. See here for more on the project grand opening.

"Phase III of the Russellville Commons residential and assisted-living project in Southeast Portland is completed. The Russellville Park West assisted-living and Alzheimer’s facility has 140 units in the four-story building at the corner of East Burnside and 103rd Avenue. One of the building’s prominent features is the interior courtyard with its tree-covered dining space, sculptural walls and small private meeting spaces for families and friends. The central element of the courtyard is a circular vegetated swale that handles rainwater runoff. The project was built by general contractor Yorke & Curtis Inc. from a design by MCM Architects. The courtyard and streetscape improvements were designed by GreenWorks PC and constructed by Landscape Management."

Russellville Commons Grand Opening

The grand opening celebration occurred last week for Phase III of the Russellville Commons. The project is a three- to four-story assisted living facility with group care units for Alzheimer patients, built atop an underground parking garage. It is one of the first multi-family developments of Portland’s Gateway District as part of the 1996 Outer Southeast Community Plan’s densification initiative, and is located adjacent to the TriMet MAX stop at E Burnside and SE 102nd Avenue. Speakers at the event included Metro President David Bragdon and Metro District 6 Councilor Robert Liberty

Working with MCM Architects, GreenWorks was responsible for designing streetscape improvements for Phase III, as well as an interior courtyard space that includes a memory care courtyard and a fountain feature. Significant streetscape elements include flow through planters that manage the building’s roof runoff along E Burnside and SE Ankeny Streets, and an entry plaza with special paving along and across SE 103rd Avenue extending to Phase II. The interior courtyard space includes sculptural walls that provide a variety of spaces for individuals and for group interaction, as well as a tree-covered outdoor dining area. A circular vegetated swale handles courtyard runoff and provides a central landscape feature that echoes notions of healing and tranquility.

See below for some additional images of the central courtyard stormwater feature, and the remaining portions of the courtyard, including the Alzheimer's area, wine bar, and the exterior green streets.

Gresham CFTA Plaza Opens Tomorrow

Updated pics of the GCFTA Plaza with plantings... as the grand opening gets near.

Just a reminder about the Grand-opening festivities for the Gresham Center for the Arts Plaza, to be held tomorrow on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., followed by musical performances and family-fun activities from 1 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information on the project, visit http://www.gcfta.org/.

Plaza Celebration - Gresham Outlook

Arts enthusiasts ready for plaza celebration

By Mara Stine

The Gresham Outlook, Jun 3, 2009

"Local patrons of the arts will be kicking up their heels this weekend in celebration of the city’s new Center for the Arts Plaza.

A grand opening for the plaza, located between Northeast Second and Third streets and Hood and Kelly avenues, starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6. Free musical performances and family activities are scheduled throughout the day and into the evening.

For a complete line up and history of the plaza, see the special section dedicated to the project inserted in this issue of The Outlook.

Funded through a partnership between the Center for the Arts Foundation and Gresham, the $2.3 million plaza is designed to showcase local performers and provide East County residents a central gathering space.

“The plaza is a unique opportunity for our citizens and visitors to not only enjoy art and cultural events, but also have community gatherings and picnics while enjoying this beautiful outdoor ‘living room’ in the heart of Gresham,” said Gresham City Councilor Carol Nielsen-Hood.

The Center for the Arts Plaza is on a 2-acre parcel donated to the city by the Fourier-Larson family. It’s centrally located in historic downtown Gresham, just a few blocks east of Main Avenue.

A privately funded Center for the Arts also is planned for the site. The Center for the Arts Foundation is still raising money for the project.

Plaza events will be scheduled year round, and the space is available for private event rental such as weddings."