The Gateway Green project in Portland’s eastside Gateway neighborhood was an outgrowth of several planning studies and the collective grassroots efforts of a number of community stakeholders.
The project area consisted of highly visible but underutilized open space surrounded by the confluence of I-84 and I-205 (35 acres) and the adjoining publicly-owned, but practically inaccessible, open spaces on the eastern flanks of Rocky Butte (totaling an additional 95 acres). The Gateway Green Vision Plan is the result of several planning efforts. The project team worked together to implement components of this plan, including plans to develop, operate, and maintain these open space areas for the benefit of local and regional users.
In the summer and fall of 2013 this project became a pilot project for a civic crowdfunding effort. A partnership between the Friends of Gateway Green, Oregon Solutions, and Oregon’s Kitchen Table resulted in 512 Oregonians weighing in with their dreams and aspirations for this unused parcel of land through an Oregon’s Kitchen Table consultation. Then, in Oregon’s first major civic crowdfunding effort, 756 people contributed to the project, raising nearly $124,000 (toward a goal of $100,000). Literally hundreds of people gave time, money, and good ideas to a project that benefits the whole community. The campaign’s success attracted the attention of elected officials around the region and major funders like Kaiser Permanente and Coca-Cola, with each providing large grants. Now, Gateway Green is up and running.
Objectives
- Transform approximately 30 acres of underutilized public land at the confluence of I-84, I-205, the I-205 multi-use path and the Gateway MAX light rail station into a regional asset that serves as an important active transportation link for bicycle and pedestrian mobility and provides open space and recreational opportunities while also demonstrating Portland’s and Oregon’s commitment to sustainability.
- Make environmentally sensitive connections to the more than eighty acres of publicly-owned property on the flanks of Rocky Butte that will enable residents and visitors to enjoy and help preserve the natural features of this unique property.
- Become a key active transportation link and destination that provides iconic, synergistic, and economic development benefits to the Gateway area, East Portland, and the entire region.