PROJECT OVERVIEW
Design and construct a new neighborhood park in northwest Portland.

Project Partners
Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland Development Commission, Pearl District Neighborhood Association

Project Advisory Committee (PAC)
Keith Thomajan, Patricia Gardner, Lisa Hamilton, Anita Kissee-Wilder, Catherine Levi, Steve Pinger, Linda Salinsky, Jillian Smith, Steve Young

PROJECT SCHEDULE
March 2012-May 2013
Construction

May 6, 2013
Park opening to the public

May 17, 2013
Opening Celebration

PROJECT BACKGROUND
This is the third park that was outlined in the Portland River District Park System Urban Design Framework Study (January 2001). The study included planning and design concepts for four parks within the Urban renewal Area (URA) located between NW 10 and 11 Avenues, beginning at NW Johnson. The four parks include Jamison Square (completed 2002), Tanner Springs (completed 2005), The Fields (opening May 6, 2013), and a potential Riverfront Park. The Fields is situated within the Hoyt Street Yards portion of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association (PDNA).

In the early 1900s, the Pearl District was a major industrial and transportation hub of Portland, with extensive rail yards, warehousing, and manufacturing facilities. In the 1950s, many industrial activities were relocated as transportation patterns shifted from water and rail to surface transit on interstate highways and air. The low rents that soon followed created spaces for artists and small businesses.

The Pearl District of today began in the early 1980s with extensive planning efforts to convert warehouses and rail yards into mixed use development. Pearl District redevelopment gained momentum in the 1990s which resulted in urban mixed use with multi-family residential buildings, offices, and a broad range of retail shops and services.