A hidden treasure sits in East Portland: 38 acres of unused, partially wooded land in a part of our region that needs open, green space for recreation. After years of grassroots support and partnerships with local, regional, and state governments, as well as the private and non-profit sectors, we have the opportunity to transform this asset into Gateway Green, a multi-use off road bike park that enhances this exciting, vibrant part of the city.
Help reclaim this public land for the public!
Coca-Cola Challenge
Friends of Gateway Green, Portland Parks Foundation and Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) joined forces with Coca-Cola to help build Gateway Green through a $25,000 challenge.
For each donation made starting October 1 towards building Gateway Green, Coca-Cola provided a two-to-one match, up to a total of $25,000. Thanks for your support on this project, Coca-Cola!
Where is Gateway Green?
Gateway Green is located between I-205 (to the west) and I-84 (to the east) in East Portland's Gateway area (NE Halsey Street is at the southern edge). If you've ever taken the MAX from the airport towards downtown Portland, you've passed right by this area. Or if you've ever gone rock climbing on Rocky Butte, it's just across the highway to the east. It was once part of Multnomah County's Rocky Butte Jail property and now lies fallow and unused.
What We Need
We asked you what features you wanted to see in the park this summer through Oregon's Kitchen Table and now we need to fund the final phase of the design work - turning the existing master plan into the schematic designs needed to obtain building permits and construction financing. We'll be using local Portland landscape and bike park designers, all of whom are donating some of their time to this project. This work will require $100,000, so we're turning to you to help get us through this next stage of the project.
Gateway Green Will Be a Dream Come True
“Gateway Green is about a vision of a community place for people of all ages to come together to enjoy nature, to play, and to meet their neighbors. Gateway Green is about hope, love, and place." - Rex Burkholder, former Metro Councilor and co-convener of the Gateway Green Oregon Solutions project
The design and use of Gateway Green is intended to provide much-needed open space in a part of Portland documented to be very park deficient. We also believe this park will aid in developing a strong sense of place and identity for East Portland and help spur economic development in the area. The neighborhoods surrounding Gateway Green are some of the most diverse in the region (over 65 languages are spoken in the local school district) and the fastest growing, with little space left to develop a large park like Gateway Green. Gateway Green would provide this dynamic part of the region much needed green space for a variety of recreational activities.
"It's a unique feature for the Portland area- we have parks, and we have bicyclists, but this combines the two in a very interesting and fun way." - Portland area resident during our Oregon's Kitchen Table public consultation
Portland is known as a bicycling hub, but we're missing a major component of that designation: an outdoor area for off-road bicycling. Unlike other cities known for biking, you have to drive an hour or more to get to an area for off-road biking. Gateway Green aims to fill that hole, providing a variety of features for biking and skill building; in fact, some of the most talented bike park designers in the country happen to live in Portland and have already donated some of their time to this project! Thanks to the International Mountain Bicycling Association for sharing this example of what the bike park elements of Gateway Green might look like (and providing renderings for the video).
Here's what a feature like a children's natural play area could look like from Greenworks, a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in Portland, which is part of the Gateway Green design team:
Early concept plans for Gateway Green
Perks
Some amazing people and organizations have contributed rewards for this crowdfunding campaign: Mike Klay (you can see his awesome work at Powerslide Design Co), Columbia Sportswear, the Lumberyard (go visit them at 2700 NE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97220), and the Friends of Gateway Green who contributed to the "25 Greats from Gateway Green".