Case Study
West Portland Park
Creating new parks for diverse neighborhoods.
Objective: Despite the area's name, West Portland Park had no neighborhood park. This is a culturally and economically diverse community with Christian-based charities, a mosque, and an Islamic school. There are multiple low-medium income housing options, including single family houses and extensive apartment complexes. The goal was to establish the first park in West Portland Park neighborhood. While doing so, we also wanted to advance the Portland Parks Foundation.
Challenge: There were limited parcels of suitable size in the neighborhood. Setting parameters for the park's location with the City of Portland was required. There were no known willing sellers at the time. The City of Portland did not have adequate funding to buy park property and to improve it for park use. The Portland Parks Foundation was newly minted and untried in fundraising for park land acquisition.
Solution: As Director of TPL Oregon, I worked with the Foundation executive director and City planners to set the siting criteria for a park in this Portland neighborhood. The most promising strategy was to situate the park as centrally as possible and adjacent to existing public amenities. There happened to be a centrally located public library with an adjacent elementary school. One of the properties large enough for a neighborhood park was across a lightly traveled street from the library and became the target for purchase. I led the landowner contact. A multi-generational negotiation, involving an agreement to relocate a vintage 1920's Portland bungalow to a new location about a half mile away, resulted in a purchase option on the land that allowed the time needed to raise money, move a house, and design a park with community involvement. With the Foundation moving aggressively on fundraising, I had TPL help by positioning the City of Portland to compete successfully for a grant from the State of Oregon. The Foundation was successful in raising acquisition funds and the City helped. The Holly Farm Park would become public land held by the City of Portland. The Foundation would achieve its fundraising goals for new parks in underserved neighborhoods and would support acquisition, design, and construction. The Park Foundation would go on to raise funds to support a partnership between the City of Portland and service providers in the Muslim community to provide culturally specific summer programming in the park.
Results:
■ The West Portland Park neighborhood has a well-loved neighborhood park that thrives today.
■ Landowners became partners with TPL in the establishment of Holly Farm Park and were among the most excited to celebrate its grand opening.
■ The Portland Parks Foundation was able to focus on fundraising and park design and to avoid borrowing funds to buy land. The project became part of the Foundation's founding story.
■ An outstanding partnership resulted in the City of Portland owning and operating a neighborhood park that meets critical needs in an underserved part of the community.
Results:
■ The West Portland Park neighborhood has a well-loved neighborhood park that thrives today.
■ Landowners became partners with TPL in the establishment of Holly Farm Park and were among the most excited to celebrate its grand opening.
■ The Portland Parks Foundation was able to focus on fundraising and park design and to avoid borrowing funds to buy land. The project became part of the Foundation's founding story.
■ An outstanding partnership resulted in the City of Portland owning and operating a neighborhood park that meets critical needs in an underserved part of the community.