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June 2005 Newsletter |
A PARK TAKES ROOT ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE
In Portland, everyone looks forward to summertime. Warm, breezy air. Blue skies. Fresh flowers. Cool glasses of lemonade. Yes, good times are just around the corner.
THE PRESENT: This seemingly abandoned lot was once a holly tree orchard.
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But, in Southwest Portland, we know a group of kids who are already looking forward to next summer. That's because next August, Holly Farm Park is scheduled to open on Capitol Highway, ironically becoming the first park in the West
Portland Park neighborhood.
For the kids growing up nearby, that means a brand new skate spot and a safe, shiny new playground. For the rest of the neighborhood, it means there'll be a new place to enjoy the gorgeous Oregon summers, or meet for informal get-togethers
in the park's comfortable talking circle.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER ON BEHALF OF PORTLAND
At the Portland Parks Foundation, we're just as eagerly anticipating the summer of 2006. For as much as we like blue skies and lemonade, we've got even more reason to be excited.
You see, the opening of Holly Farm Park will be the culmination of a pioneering game-plan the Portland Parks Foundation put together with partners from both the public and private sectors.
It began with the dream of the neighborhood, which had long been seeking a park and, in 1995, zeroed in on a 1.7-acre plot of land. But in a time of dwindling municipal resources,
it seemed daunting that to acquire the land to make this dream come true would require funding to the tune of $1.16 million.
Pulling together all the money took time, creativity and some innovative partnerships. But the Portland Parks Foundation ─ working in tandem with
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), the
Trust for Public Land, the West Portland Park Neighborhood Association, and the
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department ─ helped seal a deal for the City of Portland to purchase the land in 2003.
And earlier this year, design work for the new park was completed, thanks in great part to a generous donation of time, labor and ingenuity by the landscape architectural firm of
Walker Macy.
So, pardon our pride. But at the Portland Parks Foundation, we see this as our mission: We're here to put partnerships together that can make Portland's remarkable parks system even better for everyone.
BUT WAIT … THERE'S MORE (TO DO)
THE FUTURE: Holly Farm Park will be built
around a large, open meadow.
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With the land acquired and the planning complete, all that remains is to get the park built so the kids in the West Portland Park neighborhood can finally have their playground.
The estimated construction budget is about $1 million. Once again, the Portland Parks Foundation will be teaming with partners ─ both public and private ─ in order to get the job done.
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The Portland Department of Transportation has already agreed to spend over $200,000 on right-of-way changes that will allow improved street access when Holly Farm Park opens.
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Just as in the design phase, we are already seeking construction industry partners who might wish to contribute their skills and resources to the project on a pro-bono basis.
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In addition, the Portland Parks Foundation has committed to raise significant private contributions in order to complete the project.
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We're confident we can do it. Because thanks to the generosity of hundreds of Portlanders, we've already collected over $660,000 in private gifts for all phases of the Holly Farm Park Project. Donations have come in all shapes and sizes,
ranging from a generous, six-figure gift from Portlanders Joyce and Bill Furman to the contributions made by residents of the local neighborhood, who have raised over $2,600 in $10 pledges.
True, there's still a long way to go. But with the land purchased and the design work done, you could say that the lemonade glass is already more than half full.
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To learn more about the Portland Parks Foundation, visit our web site at
www.portlandparksfoundation.org, or call us at 503.802.5757.
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SPREADING THE WORD |
As part of the planning and design process for the Holly Farm project, the Portland Parks Foundation – working with PP&R, the local neighborhood association and the landscape architectural firm of Walker Macy – took part in a series of
neighborhood meetings that let residents of the area talk about what they wanted in their new park.
That information led to the creation of a park plan that includes a playground, seven picnic tables, a "talking circle" created for outdoor gatherings and a small skate spot. In other words, something for just about everyone.
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We also got some good advice from the students at Markham Elementary School, located near the park site. As you might expect, they were full of enthusiasm and ideas:
As one fifth grader at Markham wrote to us, "I think you should build the park because more parents work now and kids don't have much of anywhere to go. I think this would give kids somewhere to go."
Think she's excited? Then listen to another Markham student, this one a fourth-grader: "I would put in swings. I would put in monkey bars. Some benches. A merry-go-round for little kids. Well, of course, bigger kids, too. A tire swing!
That would be real fun ... Now I told you what I would put in the park. So make up your mind. Do it now! Say yes for a good choice!"
For kids, for parents and for the Portland Parks Foundation, the summer of 2006 just can't come soon enough.
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