In September, the city of Tualatin announced it had selected design firms for two large-scale projects in the city center: the 6-acre Riverfront Park and the reimagining of downtown Tualatin.
Design firm Berger Partnership was selected to lead the design phase for the Riverfront Park project, and architecture and urban design firm Walker Macy will oversee Phase 3 of Tualatin’s downtown revitalization.
Berger Partnership notably designed Spokane’s Riverfront Park, and Walker Macy has worked on plans for the Portland Japanese Garden and the original Tualatin Commons.
While both projects are currently in different stages, Tualatin city staff suggested that joint community engagement could alter Riverfront Park’s design to connect more closely with the redesigned downtown.
The city used grant funding from the Parks and Trails Bond to purchase the proposed Riverfront Park acreage near the intersection of Martinazzi Avenue and Boones Ferry Road in 2024. The park is intended to link the Juanita Pohl Center to the Boones Ferry Road bridge and complete the Greenway Trail.
The total project cost, including land acquisition, design and construction, is estimated at $20 million.
“What we’ve been doing up until now has been getting clear direction,” said Quin Brunner, an urban renewal and economic development policy analyst for the city. “We’re creating a joint engagement plan for these projects so that when we’re doing focus groups we’re asking folks questions on both projects.”
Brunner explained that discussions surrounding the park project will tie directly into the downtown revitalization effort, which aims to spur redevelopment in the city core and recently received a boost from a $740,000 Metro grant.
“Everything that’s been out so far on the Riverfront Park has been conceptual,” Brunner said. “Berger’s going to do a round of community engagement that informs build-ready site designs.”
While the exact details of how the two projects will intersect have not yet been determined, Tualatin project manager Kira Hein said the firms plan to collaborate during the public engagement phase, noting the Greenway Trail connection as an example of shared planning.
“We are going to extend that [Greenway Trail] so that it can connect over on the other side next to the Tualatin library,” Hein said. “It could run alongside Boones Ferry Road; it could cut through the middle of the six acres, but that’s one thing that the two firms are going to get together and brainstorm.”
Community outreach for both projects will kick off at the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, where the city will host an information booth, according to Brunner. Riverfront Park designs are scheduled for completion by late 2027, with the downtown revitalization project slated to finish by 2028.
