There are updates to plans for three sites on North Portland’s Willamette waterfront. (Click on any illustrations below to see enlarged version).
Steel Hammer
The 7-acre riverfront parcel of the property at 8504-8524 N. Crawford, is for sale. The parcel on the other side of the tracks will be developed as housing according to realtor Todd DeNeffe.
“It would be best to use [the riverfront parcel] as a green space, or park. We are hoping the city or Metro would be interested in taking it on,” he said. The proposal creates an opportunity for a continuous greenspace that would include the npGreenway Trail along the Willamette riverfront in North Portland.
Willamette Cove
In late October, Metro presented a master plan for Willamette Cove Nature Park that shows high-level design. It lays out where people will park, where trails start, if they’re soft or paved, and which habitats will go where. The plan is needed to prepare a budget for the project and create an engineering scheme.
The master plan illustrations below are courtesy of Metro.
McCormick-Baxter
The Portland Botanical Garden, a private nonprofit started in 2020, would like to locate at the former McCormick & Baxter site just south of Willamette Cove. They propose a 50 ft. setback from the river planted with Oregon natives that would also hold the npGreenway Trail.
The site is large at 58 acres. It has been cleaned up and capped but has remained empty for 20 years. The PBG released a conceptual master plan for the project in mid September (above).
They have undertaken a public outreach campaign to present the conceptual master plan to the public including to tribal partners and others involved in the Superfund cleanup of the Willamette River. PBG hopes to open the botanical garden by Earth Day 2030.
at the former McCormick Baxter site. See the npGreenway Trail in white. Illustration courtesy of PBG.