Future of Waterfront Park

[downtownpdx]

Makeover planned for downtown Portland's Waterfront Park bowl


waterfront-park-bowl by Ryan Miller, on Flickr

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...x_testVariant=cx_38&cx_artPos=5#cxrecs_s

The Waterfront Blues Fest venue is poised to get a makeover after Metro Council granted Portland Parks & Recreation $750,000 for its redevelopment.

The project will redevelop the bowl area of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park located between RiverPlace and the Marina, just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. Aside from some pathway improvements made in 2024 to address ADA barriers, the bowl has not been renovated since its original construction.

The area is known for hosting the Waterfront Blues Festival and The Big Float beach party each summer.

A news release from the city parks department said it will partner with Metro to develop the project’s final scope and enter an intergovernmental agreement for the project.

“We are thrilled to kickstart the creation of a new Portland landmark,” Metro Council President Lynn Peterson said in a news release. “This is precisely the type of project Metro is here to support: spaces that bring people together, promote community and culture, foster connection to the environment, and make all of us proud of our region.”

The redevelopment project is part of the 2003 Waterfront Park Master Plan that moved the Saturday Market to the waterfront in 2009. However, many of the suggested improvements in the plan have not been implemented, according to parks spokesperson Mark Ross.

The preferred park design will incorporate inclusive design and extensive ADA accessibility and create public and swim access to the river, including a Willamette River beach and shoreline. The design is also expected to have an outdoor stage for events and a connection between downtown Portland and the river.

Nonprofit group Human Access Project has been one of the biggest supporters of redeveloping the area and has been working for over 15 years to create public access to the Willamette River. Willie Levenson of the project hopes to bring "a world class 'toe's in the river' water edge park that facilitates robust activation."

His group is also looking to activate the Audrey McCall Beach, directly across from where the McCall Bowl project sits. (continues - paywall)