Native Planting Restoration Begins at the Wyeth Columbia River Treaty Fishing Access Site

 

GreenWorks is working with Advanced American Construction, Inc., the contractor for this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project, to design and build a fishing access site on the Columbia River for Native American Tribes.  This In-Lieu site is one of a total of 31 sites totaling 400 acres, that will fulfill treaty agreements that the U.S. government made with Native American Tribes that guarantee access to Columbia River fishing grounds that were lost as a result of the construction of the Bonneville, Dalles and John Day Dams. 

The Wyeth site is located approximately 10 miles to the west of Hood River, and entails the construction of a new bridge for access over the railroad line, dock, boatramp, breakwaters and campground facility. Restoration using native plant species has recently been completed on the bridge abutment slopes. In addition to the container plantings, the slopes have been seeded for erosion control along with a biotic soil amendment called PermMatrix, a new product by Sunmark Seeds, which brings together many of the soil like components that are needed for plant growth. This product is an excellent alternative to importing top soil. Planting installation on the project is by Cedar Landscape, Inc. of Hillsboro, Oregon. Engineering on the project was provided by PND Engineers, Inc. out of Seattle, Washington.

Early Head Start Playground Breaks Ground at Clackamas Community College

After a few months of intensive design, the children at the Clackamas Community College's Early Head Start are starting to see their playground take shape.  Little hands grasping the chain link construction fence and eyes set on the excavator, they wait patiently as the sea of bark chips is replaced with a natural area for creative play.

The Clackamas County Children’s Commission (CCCC) is a non-profit organization that serves children in Clackamas County. Their Early Head Start play space was in need of upgrades. The equipment was out dated and not meeting the physical needs of the young children.

GreenWorks worked with CCCC to develop a plan that fit within their limited space, met development requirements of younger children and offered an alternative play experience from traditional playground equipment. The nature based playground design includes an embankment slide, sand play area, trike loop, potting shed play house, lush planting and timber climbers. GreenWorks helped the client re-invision how to use the existing covered space for additional all season play, how to incorporate appropriate storage, and how play surfacing could extend social areas for music, arts, and classroom activities.

Rockwood/E 188th Avenue MAX Station is Under Construction

Construction of the redesigned 23-year old Rockwood/E 188th Avenue MAX Station on Tri-Met’s original MAX Blue Line serving the Rockwood Neighborhood of Gresham is under construction and rapidly moving towards completion, which is set to open March 2011. The existing eastbound MAX station alignment is moving to the west of E 188th Avenue directly adjacent to the existing westbound platform. This project will specifically improve pedestrian safety and the experience of users while also creating a unique MAX station that will enhance the identity of the Rockwood neighborhood. New station elements include: MAX shelters with transparent windscreens, ticket vending machines and platform furnishings, improved lighting and security cameras, treatment of stormwater from the station in vegetated stormwater facilities, surrounding station landscape planting and most prominently two large public art features located at each of the station entrances. This project is being coordinated with the Gresham Redevelopment Commission’s Rockwood in Motion infrastructure improvement projects in the Rockwood triangle area.

Final Phase of Construction on Denver Avenue Completed

The second phase of construction on Denver Avenue in the Historic commercial district of the Kenton Neighborhood of North Portland has been completed. This phase of construction included the installation of new street paving using a new concrete pavement technique called Ultra Thin White Topping (UTW). The top 2”-3” of existing asphalt roadway was ground down and removed, and the concrete topping mix was laid down on top of the remaining existing asphalt base. Once the concrete has set, score joints were saw cut at a tighter spacing interval than standard concrete. Integral pigment was added to the concrete used for the intersections and parking aisles to distinguish these zones from drive lanes and to provide additional visual interest and traffic calming. This phase of construction completes streetscape improvements for the historic Kenton commercial district, which features widened sidewalks, new street trees, ornamental street lighting, storm water planters, accent paving, custom benches incorporating public art and bike lanes. These improvements will serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of the Kenton Neighborhood.

A public dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of this project will be held on Thursday November 18th at 2:00 pm. Please join Mayor Sam Adams, Portland Bureau of Transportation, Portland Development Commission, Kenton Business Owners and neighborhood residents for the celebration.

Oregon City Green Street Construction Nearing Completion

As part of the realignment of Warner-Milne Road at the Molalla Avenue intersection, the City of Oregon City hired a team with GreenWorks to design a rain garden in a vacated portion of the right-of-way that will treat stormwater runoff from the adjacent heavily-travelled roadways. A series of large serpentine Corten steel fins meander through the site, articulating the stormwater channel and creating a striking contrast to the lush rain garden plantings. The first of its kind in Oregon, this rain garden incorporates prominent sculptural elements that highlight the City's committment to sustainability.

The project also consists of various streetscape improvements including new street trees, decorative tree and trench grating, and permeable concrete sidewalks.

Anderson Road Green Street Construction Nearing Completion

Construction on the Anderson Road Green Street project in Damascus, Oregon is progressing and nearing completion. This photo shows plants being installed in three of the six stormwater planters that are part of the project.

Wyeth Columbia River Treaty Fishing Access Site Breaks Ground

The Wyeth Columbia River Treaty Fishing Access Site broke ground recently with a ceremony celebrating the historic project.  GreenWorks staff attended the ceremony to celebrate as members of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Columbia Inter Tribal Fish Commission, Oregon State Parks, Advanced American Construction, and Native American Tribes engaged in the ceremonial shovel turn.  The Native American Tribes involved with the groundbreaking included the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Region, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe. GreenWorks is providing restoration and environmental improvement design for 3 sites in Oregon along the Columbia River including Wyeth Fishing Site, Celilo and Rufus.  The Wyeth site will include design of a single span bridge, roadway improvements, boat dock and ramp, restroom and fish cleaning station.  Wyeth will also include a picnic area, stormwater facilities, and campground. GreenWorks will provide design for restoration and revegetation.

Rockwood Station Design Improvements Underway

GreenWorks worked with David Evans & Associates and Waterleaf Architects in providing conceptual planning and design for the redevelopment of TriMet's Light Rail station at East 188th Street in the Rockwood neighborhood of Gresham, Oregon.  A neighborhood in transition, Rockwood is part of Gresham's first Urban Renewal Area.  Station redesign focused on attracting redevelopment in the area through improvements to the 188th and East Burnside intersection, expanded access and capacity of the stations, pedestrian-oriented facilities, user safety, visibility and CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) design.  The station design exceeded the local stormwater requirements and incorporated infiltration planters adjacent to the platforms as a terminus for the platforms.  The approved design incorporated significant redevelopment of the transit platforms, shelters, trackways, signage, landscape plantings and other features.  Final presentation drawings and perspective sketches were prepared and presented to the Urban Renewal Commission.

A recent Daily Journal of Commerce article highlights this project and its design components, construction for the station begins this month.  The full article is posted on the DJC website and can be seen by clicking the link below:

MAX improvements could help improve Rockwood’s image

Watch Lane Community College Grow

The new Health and Wellness Building at Lane Community College broke ground in June. From the LCC

Opening Doors Campaign site, some info and a few photos of the event.

Also, with this cool new feature, you can keep tabs on the project via a webcam, updated hourly, showing construction progress for the project. Below is the progress from 3:00 PM this afternoon.

Gardening for Hope

GreenWorks has been honored to help orchestrate the transformation of the rooftop planters on the Multnomah County Green Roof into a 'Hope Garden' ... From Multnomah County website:

"Multnomah County and the City of Portland are partnering to plant organic vegetable gardens at their respective headquarters to recognize the growing community interest in local food systems and to inspire residents to plant their own edible gardens.  “Growing food is a great way for a family to reduce food costs, spend time together, and to assist hungry families,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack.   “Multnomah County recognizes that our local food system has a significant impact on the economy, health, and environment of our community,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen. “And this demonstration project fits one of the county’s core missions to promote healthy people and healthy communities.”

 

Volunteers from a number of organizations and firms contributed their time and effort into making the garden a reality.  A list of donations includes:

:: GreenWorks Landscape Architects www.greenworkspc.com :: Teufel Landscape www.teufel.com :: Tremco Roofing www.tremcoroofing.com :: Anderson Roofing www.andersonroofing.net :: Phillips Soil Products www.phillipssoil.com :: HD Fowler www.hdfowler.com :: Oregon Wire www.oregonwireproducts.com :: Territorial Seeds www.territorialseed.com :: Plant Health www.planthealthllc.com :: Portland Nursery www.portlandnursery.com :: Parr Lumber www.parr.com  

Food will be cared for by the Multnomah County Green Team, and donated to local food banks via the Share your Harvest program.  The roof is publically accessible at 501 SE Hawthorne, and open during regular business hours.  Plus the view of downtown is stunning.