Historic Kenton Main Street to Get Makeover

On Tuesday, August 25th a crowd braved a spot of summer rain to attend a  news conference to kick off Kenton business district streetscape project.  Portland Mayor Sam Adams and representatives of the Portland Development Commission, Multnomah County Libraries, N. Denver Avenue businesses, and the Kenton Neighborhood Association were all in attendance.  Some info from the PDC media advisory:

"Lots of new changes are coming to a historic part of town as a full range of streetscape improvements begin construction on N. Denver Avenue, the main street in the Kenton neighborhood. Construction is expected to begin in early September to renovate the 4.5-block stretch of N. Denver Avenue (Interstate Avenue south to Watts Street).  Improvements include wider sidewalks, new street trees, stormwater planters, pedestrian lighting, concrete street resurfacing, a granite public art sculpture and seven carved stone benches. The $2.85 million N. Denver Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project is funded by PDC in coordination with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The city has been working with local businesses, community representatives, and technical experts since 2006 to plan the right mix of attractive, functional improvements.

The N. Denver Avenue project exemplifies the vision of 20-minute neighborhoods called out as a key element of the city’s new economic development strategy. Related revitalization projects include Multnomah County’s remodeling of 8226 N. Denver for a new North Portland library branch;  renovation of the iconic Paul Bunyan statue at the intersection of N. Denver and Interstate Avenue; and the opening of new businesses in the district. "

Images © GreenWorks PC.  For more information about this project check out our website.  Also see these recent articles in the Portland Business Journal and the Portland Tribune.

Russellville Commons Grand Opening

The grand opening celebration occurred last week for Phase III of the Russellville Commons. The project is a three- to four-story assisted living facility with group care units for Alzheimer patients, built atop an underground parking garage. It is one of the first multi-family developments of Portland’s Gateway District as part of the 1996 Outer Southeast Community Plan’s densification initiative, and is located adjacent to the TriMet MAX stop at E Burnside and SE 102nd Avenue. Speakers at the event included Metro President David Bragdon and Metro District 6 Councilor Robert Liberty

Working with MCM Architects, GreenWorks was responsible for designing streetscape improvements for Phase III, as well as an interior courtyard space that includes a memory care courtyard and a fountain feature. Significant streetscape elements include flow through planters that manage the building’s roof runoff along E Burnside and SE Ankeny Streets, and an entry plaza with special paving along and across SE 103rd Avenue extending to Phase II. The interior courtyard space includes sculptural walls that provide a variety of spaces for individuals and for group interaction, as well as a tree-covered outdoor dining area. A circular vegetated swale handles courtyard runoff and provides a central landscape feature that echoes notions of healing and tranquility.

See below for some additional images of the central courtyard stormwater feature, and the remaining portions of the courtyard, including the Alzheimer's area, wine bar, and the exterior green streets.

Restoring Clara Vista Swales

Phase I of the work on the swale rehabilitation has been completed, and the following pics offer some views of the completed installation. For this grant-funded project, GreenWorks offers 50% of their time as a pro-bono service, working closely with Hacienda Community Development and our fabulous non-profit partner Verde to restore these stormwater facilities to their former lush and functional self.

The project, funded in part from Metro's Nature-in-Neighborhoods program, included educational aspects, where residents of all ages living in Hacienda properties were included in design decisions such as plantings, materials, and types of spaces that would be included. The result is truly community driven.

One issue with the original design was that there was an uninterrupted linear swale with meant that any diversion from the pathway would damage the hydrology of the site. In addition to the installation of new swale cells, the intermediate places in between were piped subsurface to allow for greater play and amenity area for residents. These are seen below, newly backfilled, and Phase II will import additional soil and re-seed these worn out areas with an ecolawn mix, as soon as the weather cools down.

Check out these pics of the before condition, where the majority of vegetation had been trampled, flow-dissipating rocks had been strewn above, and the water was ponding due to compaction of the soils. Quite a change.

Green Streets on ASLA Website

A recent article authored by Jason King and Shawn Kummer appeared in the ASLA Urban Design Professional Practice Network - discussing some recent work on green street projects and their role in shaping urban form.

"Green streets, like many other green infrastructure strategies, offer the same or better functional contributions as gray streets, as well as a range of added benefits. For example, green storm water design contributes to communities well beyond treating 90% of roadway pollutants, replenishing groundwater, sequestering carbon, and improving air quality. More expansive community benefits include improved neighborhood aesthetics, green connections, pedestrian and bicycle safety, traffic calming, and building community consensus around what is a good infrastructure investment. This transfer of investment from single-purpose gray infrastructure such as cartridge storm filters to multi-purpose green infrastructure investment allows for greater benefit to communities—both financially and environmentally—making every dollar invested pay back abundantly. The economics are simple: green storm water infrastructure provides more green in our communities, costs less, works better, is easily scalable, and is more resilient and adaptable than standard pipe systems. While the techniques to improve the control and treatment of storm water runoff are still evolving, green stormwater designs, like many other green infrastructure techniques, are proving to be flexible, offering solutions at a variety of scales rather than just at the end of the pipe. "

Read the entire article here.

Meet Columbia EcoVillage

This past Saturday, June 20th, the residents of the Columbia Ecovillage celebrated the grand opening of their sustainable community in Northeast Portland. The event featured "...brief presentations from the development team, architecture and contracting firms involved in the green renovation, as well as a community celebration and tours of the property and the two remaining homes."

GreenWorks provided permitting, site planning, and landscape architecture services, working with the great community members, to provide landscaping based on sustainable permaculture principles, as well as stormwater management for new buildings.

All images copyright 2009 - GreenWorks

Presenting Green Streets

 GreenWorks has been running around the state presenting on innovative green street projects, including City of Eugene, Lane County, the Oregon APWA, and Willamette Valley Chapter of the Oregon APWA, amongst others.  Stay tuned for more educational opportunities around this green infrastructure solution throughout the region.

Mike Faha is a landscape architect and Principal of GreenWorks in Portland, Oregon. Over his career, Mike has been instrumental in developing and integrating innovative stormwater management strategies throughout Oregon and Washington for many public agencies and private developers. Jason King is a Senior Associate at GreenWorks, focusing on public and private landscape architecture projects that integrate sustainable stormwater seamlessly into the urban fabric.

The presentation will consist of a short introduction of green streets for stormwater management, including a number of lessons learned from around the Pacific Northwest. Using case studies ranging from a variety of street projects, Mike and Jason will show the regulatory drivers behind green streets, and the widespread applicability throughout communities. The presentation will include technical and design details, stormwater function, optimal configuration, maintenance, and potential regional funding opportunities.

Denver Avenue Streetscape Approved

Latest News on the Denver Avenue Streetscape Project in Portland's Kenton Neighborhood. Project team includes GreenWorks and SERA Architects. Text from the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC), April 27, 2009 by Tyler Graf...

Spruced-up streets planned for Kenton Neighborhood

The city says 42 construction jobs will be created as part of the Denver Streetscape Project inside the Kenton Neighborhood. Thanks to an ordinance passed last week at City Council, the $2 million project will move forward this summer. The project will feature the installation of trees, sidewalk improvements, curb extensions, storm water planters, art, ornamental streetlights and pedestrian crossings and will cover North Denver Avenue from North Interstate Avenue to North Watts.

According to the Portland Developent Commission, design and engineering will be completed this spring. The project will be put out to bid shortly with the bid opening anticipated for May. Contracts will be awarded in June, with construction expected to finish by the end of the year.

Ecoroof Vendor Fair

GreenWorks participated in the Ecoroof Vendor Fair on Saturday, April 25th. The Portland Ecoroof Vendors Fair provided designers, developers, homeowners and building owners, with information and technical assistance about ecoroofs. Featured ecoroof vendors will include architects, consultants, contractors, landscape architects, manufacturers, nurseries, structural engineers, suppliers, research, and non-profit and community organizations.

The event offered GreenWorks a chance to show off some of the latest green projects, including the Encore Condominiums (LEED Silver), First+Main Office Tower (pending LEED Platinum), and Independence Station (pending LEED Platinum).

Walking the Walk - Earth Day Style

Crew pitches in to clean up school’s bio-swale

Volunteers from Portland landscape architecture and environmental design firm work on Earth Day

Volunteers from GreenWorks, a Portland landscape architecture and environmental design firm, spent their Earth Day morning sprucing up Rosa Parks Elementary School in North Portland. The crew did some weeding, pruning and trash pickup in the large bio-swale in front of the elementary school in the Portsmouth neighborhood.

“These days are a chance for us to get out of the office and do some needed work in the community that ties in with the mission of our company,” said Greenworks principal Mike Faha, who volunteered. “We have been working with schools on projects like this for several years and always feel good about our efforts after we are finished and see the results.”

(source: Daily Journal of Commerce, April 24 2009)

Plants at Work: Greywater Wetlands

The last issue of Plants at Work, a supplement created by the regional group Sprout, and periodically attached to the Sustainable Industries Journal, provided some information on the up-and-coming issue related to greywater wetlands - in particular the potential use of these facilities to treat and make available, water for reuse in buildings.  The potential for greywater reuse to expand the ability to provide water conservation to sustainable landscapes is vital for our local climate, which is marked by long periods of drought in summer months.  Greywater, with minimal treatment, can be repurposed for use in irrigation of green roofs or other landscaping, as well as provide a beautiful site amenity.  The article 'Building Wetlands: Legalizing greywater reuse opens new markets for wetland plants', is written by Libby Tucker, who is also a frequent contributor to the DJC.

The article featured a number of GreenWorks projects.  There are no small scale examples of building wetlands for greywater at this time, but simple modifications can be made to other forms of constructed wetlands to provide this additional benefit.  Once the laws are changed, this will open up new potential for sustainable sites and water management - expanding the realm of design from sustainable to regenerative.   Projects include the Synopsis Headquarters in Hillsboro, 4800 Meadows in Lake Oswego, Rock Creek Greenway Wetlands, NRS Headquarters in Salem, and Tanner Springs Park in Portland. 

Downloads of the magazine are available here.  (definitely check out the article on Floating Wetlands as well... good stuff).

Also, be sure to check out the presentation at Sprout's upcoming conference 'Soak it Up: Phytotechnology Solutions for Water Challenges'.   GreenWorks Senior Associate Jason King, ASLA LEED AP, will present at the first day of the conference on the theme: "Connecting Landscape Function to Ecological Function Through Design." which will feature a range of GreenWorks and other related project work pushing the boundaries of  innovative stormwater management... truly putting plants to work every day.