The Fields Park(ed)?

The Fields, the third and largest in a chain of parks planned for the River District, is as highly anticipated as it is delayed.

This we know for sure: the park is intended to offer open space for play such as football, catch, or soccer. It will have a children's area, and a fenced off leash dog area. But the process has been on hold about 2 years now.

The original delay was due to the nearby Centennial Mills redevelopment project, and the placement of a pedestrian bridge to connect the park to Centennial Mills. The next delay was due to the dedication of an additional acre of land owned by Hoyt Street Properties. Hoyt held on the land as a bargaining chip to ensure that Portland Bureau of Transportation submitted the application for the train quiet zone. The quiet zone is now moving ahead as planned.

Which brings us to latest delay. Portland Parks and Recreation is in the process of doing soil testing on the property to determine what kind of environmental remediation needs to be done during construction.

In September, the Citizens Advisory Committee will reconvene, including participation from landscape design firm Office of Cheryl Barton. They will go over where they are, and decide what to do next. It's likely that additional focus groups will be conducted to help determine details for the dog and children areas.

The concept for the kid's area is to be something different than a regular set of playground equipment, and looks to create an environment with creative play features. The dog area, too, will go beyond a fenced lawn or dirt area. It will be surfaced with a material that can handle heavy rains and be accessible year-round.

"Focus groups and use of schematics will help define the specifics of each area," says Portland Parks & Recreation project manager George Lozovoy. Construction documents will be created from December until March after which permitting and competitive bidding will begin. Construction could begin mid-June 2010 with completion/park opening in early summer 2011.

"A couple of things are contributing to the delay including finalizing environmental remediation and property dedication of Blocks 22 and 25," says Lozovoy.

"As far as the dedication, this is held up with the City," says Hoyt's Tiffany Sweitzer. "The Parks Bureau decided that additional environmental testing needs to be done before they will take ownership of the additional acre. While I wanted to make sure that the application for the Quiet Zone was submitted by PDOT before dedication of the land, this has now happened."

Field of Dreams

Current uses illustrate neighbors' hopes for park design

The sunny open range that will become The Fields Park has taken on a personality and a life of its own. 

People are drawn to this scruffy and hot open space for many reasons. Mostly they come here because they can let their dogs run free, socialize with other canines, and chase tennis balls until they collapse, exhausted and happy.

Kaija Cornett and Alex Patton live downtown with their dog, Muddy. This is the best spot they've found where they can unleash him, so they stop here on their way to and from work, or between the classes that Kaija attends at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

People are generally good about picking up after their dogs, they say.

"They should keep it open," Patton says when asked about the future park plans. Cornett hopes that the dog area won't be fenced, but understands that mixing dogs and children in one space will be tricky.

Rue Lindgren and her 9 1/2 year-old daughter, Kasia, come here as many as three times a day with their dogs, Bear and Bosco. The family lives in the Wyatt, a place they chose because they wanted to be close to a dog-friendly space. Kasia, who jumps lightly on and off a lone park bench as her dogs play, is looking forward to the playground equipment planned for here.

"People in the neighborhood are anxious to get the park progress moving forward," says Hoyt St. Properties representative Jillian Smith. "With the Street of Dreams this past month we have been able to educate numerous people living outside the neighborhood about it."

With Hoyt's planned dedication of another acre of land, the park will be three acres at completion. Environmental testing should be wrapped up in a month or so, Smith says.

Shaded by Developers, Small Green Thumbs Emerge

In the southwest corner of the lot the scent of tomato plants fills the air and leafy salad greens have flourished inside a fenced vegetable garden. Earlier this year, families in Central Portland asked Doug Shapiro of Hoyt St. Properties if he could help them create a garden on the vacant land. Hoyt St. Properties ran with the idea and exceeded the families' wildest dreams, donating the soil, building six raised beds, and supplying a water source.

Nancy Davis, an advocate for downtown families and the organizer of Isobel's Clubhouse, mobilized families and the mini organic garden took off. A watering schedule was created, and young caretakers have lovingly tended to its growth, harvesting food and donating some of it to a nearby food bank.

Kim Sordyl and her two boys, age 2 and 4, look forward to their weekly watering and harvesting at what's been named Isobel's Garden. She echoes the appreciation many of downtown families feel.

"It is such a thrill for the kids to pull a radish out of the soil, rinse it down with the hose, and take a bite. We're grateful for the whole experience."