North Parks Blocks Extension

Parks

In Planning

This project will extend the North Parks Block to include the "PNCA Block," the block between NW Hoyt and Glisan Streets. It will also include park blocks further north, to be developed fully at a later date.

Planning starting summer 2023

Project Overview

The North Park Blocks were dedicated to the City in 1869 and is one of the oldest parks in Portland. Currently, the blocks cover NW Park Avenue from SW Ankeny Street to NW Glisan Street.

The project will expand the North Park Blocks further north, with a focus on two sites/three blocks detailed below. It will result in a design for three additional park blocks and construction of improvements to the “PNCA Block” – the first block north of the current Park Blocks.

Site 1: PNCA Block

This is an approximately 30,000 square foot parcel between NW Glisan and Hoyt Streets.
It is managed by Portland Parks & Recreation and is currently leased to Willamette University’s Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) for parking and display space for Lee Kelly’s sculpture, Memory 99.
When complete, this park will be the catalyst block between the historic North Park Blocks and the future Broadway Corridor and Green Loop developments.
Site 1 will be designed and constructed as part of this project.

Site 2: Broadway Corridor Park Parcels

This a 2-acre site spanning two full blocks from NW Hoyt to NW Johnson Street.
This park site will support the future development of the Broadway Corridor neighborhood and the Green Loop Corridor.
In 2019, Prosper Portland completed a five-year master planning process for the Broadway Corridor, which included a multi-bureau development plan for the parcels encompassing the former United States Postal Service (USPS) downtown distribution center.
In accordance with the Broadway Corridor plan, Portland Parks & Recreation will develop a 30% complete design and engineering package for the park parcel which includes this two-block section of the Green Loop.
Construction will occur at a later phase of development (timeline TBD).

The goals of the project include:

provide a cohesive, signature park that balances the needs of the neighborhood with those of the greater region
offer compelling recreational amenities as well as areas for respite and contemplation in an urban park setting, and
engage the community in a transparent and equitable process to ensure community participation in a meaningful way.

The designs for the new park blocks may include amenities such as gathering and picnic spaces, flexible recreational spaces and courts, skate spots, and overhead shade structures. It is anticipated that the regional multi-use Green Loop corridor will connect to a future bridge abutment within the most northern park blocks. These new parks will be centered in a dense, urban, mixed-use development within the central city.

The specific elements will be determined through the planning and community engagement process, with consideration of who lives, works, and plays near the park today and who may in the future.

Project Background

The 2019 Broadway Corridor plan included these new Park Blocks as part of the required open space. The Plan also developed the conceptual route of a public, off-street bicycle and pedestrian multi-use path known as the Green Loop that is envisioned to connect the North Park Blocks to the Broadway Bridge and continue on to the Lloyd District on the east side of the Willamette River.

In 2022, the City of Portland committed to an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Prosper Portland, Portland Parks & Recreation, and the Portland Bureau of Transportation in order to create the Broadway Corridor and Green Loop design and design/construct the PNCA block.