News Release from: Portland Parks & Recreation
PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION'S TANNER SPRINGS PARK A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL URBAN OPEN SPACE AWARD
Posted: July 20th, 2012 9:30 AM
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2012-07/1399/56196/Tanner_Springs_Park_89.JPG (Photos of Tanner Springs Park: from Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland, OR)
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2012-07/1399/56196/Tanner_Springs_Park_71.JPG (Photos of Tanner Springs Park: from Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland, OR)
Judges to Visit the Park on Friday, July 20
For Immediate Release
(Portland, OR) -
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R)'s Tanner Springs Park is one of five finalists for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Urban Open Space Award, a competition that recognizes an outstanding example of a well-used public open space that has spurred regeneration and the transformation of its surrounding community.
A panel of ULI judges will visit and review the park on Friday, July 20. Tanner Springs Park is one of five finalists nationwide to compete for the award, and the $10,000 prize that accompanies it.
According to the Urban Land Institute, Tanner Springs Park and the other finalists were selected from an impressive collection of entries, representing urban areas throughout North America. Finalist selections were based on project design and how each transformed or revived their surrounding community.
"We're delighted that Tanner Springs Park is a finalist for such a prestigious honor," says Portland Parks & Recreation Director Mike Abbaté, who helped design and plan the park. "It's an urban oasis in the heart of a vibrant city neighborhood, and provides a tranquil, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sustainable natural environment for the enjoyment of all."
Tanner Springs Park is owned by Portland Parks and Recreation. The park offers a unique, natural and contemplative oasis in the city. It offers a model of sustainable urban design articulated through its water management systems and rich features. Embraced by the community, the park offers an engaging respite embedded in the dynamic of a high density urban neighborhood. Tanner Springs Park was designed by Atelier Dreiseitl GmbH with GreenWorks PC.
The winner of the Urban Open Space Award will be announced at ULI's Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo, set for October 16 - 19, 2012 in Denver. A $10,000 cash prize will be awarded to the individual or organization most responsible for the creation of the winning open space project.
The other finalists are the High Line in New York, N.Y.; Pier 25 at Tribeca Section of Hudson River Park in New York, N.Y.; Railroad Park in Birmingham, Ala.; and RiverWalk Urban Waterfront in Calgary, Alberta.
The award was created through the generosity of Amanda M. Burden, New York City Planning Commissioner and 2009 laureate of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. In 2011 the Kresge Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and the ULI Foundation joined forces to continue the Urban Open Space Award through 2014.
To be eligible for the competition, an open space project must: have been opened to the public for at least one year and no more than fifteen years; be predominately outdoors and inviting to the public; provide abundant and varied seating, sun and shade, trees and plantings with attractions; be used intensively on a daily basis by a broad spectrum of users throughout the year; have a positive economic impact on its surroundings; and promote physical, social, and economic health of the larger community.
About Tanner Springs Park
What is now known as the Pearl District was once a wetland and lake fed by streams that flowed down from the nearby hills in southwest Portland. These wooded hillsides provided a natural filter for the streams, cleansing the water as it made its way to the Willamette River. The springs from Tanner Creek, named for the tannery built by pioneer Daniel Lownsdale in 1845, flowed into the shallow basin of Couch Lake, now the area surrounding Tanner Springs Park. As the population of Portland grew in the late 19th century, Tanner Creek was rerouted through an underground system of pipes to the Willamette River. The lake and the surrounding wetland were eventually filled to make way for warehouses and rail yards which in turn were replaced by residences, shops, and public spaces. Today, the park sits about 20 feet above the former lake surface.
For more information about the history of Tanner Springs Park, go to
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=1273&PropertyID_new_value=false
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in sustaining and creating thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 30,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.
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