New Park Coming to the Cully Neighborhood

The Werbin Property is a 2.4 acre site located on NE 52^nd Ave between Alberta and Wygant Streets just a few blocks North of Rigler Elementary School in Portland. Over 60 enthusiastic community members contributed by showing up and voicing their opinions at an Open House for the next developed park in the Cully Neighborhood. As a consultant to Portland Parks & Recreation, GreenWorks put together three distinct design options that demonstrate different approaches to how the park could be developed and used. These drawings were presented at a recent Open House. Feedback received from the Open House and online surveys will inform the final design later this summer. More information about the park can be found here.

ASLA and AIA Oregon EP Greenroof Tour

Greenworker Claire Maulhardt, along with other ASLA and AIA Oregon Emerging Professional (EP) members, organized a great educational event on June 13^th, Local Innovation in Greenroofs.  The sold out event was a green roof tour of three Portland buildings, followed by a lecture/discussion lead by Tim Nash of Columbia Green hosted at the Center for Architecture. Speakers on the green roof tour also included Casey Cunningham, City of Portland’s Sustainable Stormwater Division, and Trent Thelen, landscape designer of The Indigo Building green roof. The speakers talked about the plants, wildlife and technology of greenroofs.  The event met ASLA Oregon EP committee’s goal of encouraging professional enhancement.  Participants were given a unique opportunity to further their education and connect with fellow landscape designers and landscape architects. Greenworkers Danae Davison, Derek Sergison, and Azad Sadjadi were among the 25 participants. This tour was ASLA Oregon’s Summer 2012 EP 101 Series event and was sponsored by Willamette Graystone and Columbia Green.

Special THANKS to Christopher Olin, Desirae Williams, and Emily Hull all their efforts in making the event a success! AND to the other EP Committee members for helping us staff the event.

Grant High School Community Garden Construction Complete!

Northeast Portland Community Gardeners are happily planting, watering, weeding and harvesting food from their plots at the Grant High School Community Garden. The Environmental Club at the High School teamed up with Portland Community Gardens to transform a 7,700 square foot piece of lawn in the front of the school to a garden for the surrounding community. GreenWorks provided the garden design to maximize plot size, provide clear circulation, and create an aesthetically pleasing space that fits the context of the historic architecture of the school and neighborhood.

Lane Community College Health and Wellness Facility

A few GreenWorks employees recently visited the Lane Community College Health and Wellness Facility at Lane Community College in Eugene to see how the completed project is progressing. The facility functions as the northwestern gateway to the main campus integrating the new facility and existing campus. Clear circulation and a sense of arrival accentuate the overall design, which incorporates stormwater treatment solutions. Exterior spaces are active and engaging areas that translate health and wellness to the landscape.

Tanner Springs Park Project 1 of 5 finalists for Urban Land Institute Urban Open Space Award

Atelier Dreiseit and GreenWorks PC recently submitted their Tanner Springs Park project for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Urban Open Space Award.  The competition recognizes an outstanding example of a well-used public open space that has spurred regeneration and the transformation of its surrounding community. The Atelier Dreiseit and GreenWorks submittal was one of the five finalists selected.

Other finalists include:

• The High Line in New York, N.Y.
• Pier 25 at Tribeca Section of Hudson River Park in New York, N.Y.
• Railroad Park in Birmingham, Alabama
• RiverWalk Urban Waterfront in Calgary, Alberta.

The winner will be announced at ULI’s Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo, set for October 16 - 19, 2012 in Denver.

Click here for more about the ULI and Award Program.

Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project Enters Full Construction Phase

On Tuesday May 22, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) authorized the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project, committing half of the project’s approximately $1.5 billion construction budget. FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff, US Representative Suzanne Bonamici, Mayors Sam Adams (Portland) and Jeremy Ferguson (Milwaukie) and other local officials were on hand in Southeast Portland to sign the funding agreement, advancing the project into its full construction phase. GreenWorks teamed with DEA, Mayer/Reed, and Waterleaf Architects, and provided the project with planting and irrigation design services for the east segment of this 7.3-mile light rail project. The completed project will include 10 new MAX stations and extend from the terminus of the MAX Green and Yellow lines at Portland State University in downtown Portland to the South Waterfront, Southeast Portland, downtown Milwaukie, and Park Avenue in north Clackamas County. A new first-of-its-kind multi-modal bridge over the Willamette River is currently under construction and will accommodate light rail, buses, bicyclists, pedestrians and a future streetcar extension, but no private vehicles. The project is scheduled to open in September 2015.

Project partners include TriMet, Metro, City of Portland, City of Milwaukie, Clackamas County, and Oregon Department of Transportation.

Project route information and station area renderings and plans can be viewed on the TriMet website here.