It is all concrete. I raised two boys downtown. Did you know the nearest baseball field is about 3 miles away (by Chapman)? Other than a tiny playground by PSU that is restricted to very young children, the nearest playground is 2 miles away? The nearest skateboard park is a mile across the river under a creepy bridge.

All they should do is plant some grass, put a few hills in for bikes or skateboards, throw in a sandbox, and some basic swings and slides and they could have a good park for real families for maybe $200,000. Instead they have to spend millions on crap like Directors Park. No wonder why the Pearl and Downtown are full of childless households. It is not the cost of the real estate, it is the total absence of amenities.

"“I suspect this will be a magnet for a lot of people who enjoy great public spaces,” said City Commissioner Nick Fish."

Kind of like the people who hang around Pioneer Square or O Bryant Square? Funny, I thought parks had green stuff and somethign besides hardscape.

Cold. Impersonal. Sterile. Fits right in with everything else constructed downtown in the last several years. Bland is the new black....

You're right. It does need some planters. Otherwise, there is nothing for the transients to urinate on.

What is interesting as all get out is that Portland Parks and recreation has created a brand spanking new position as a full scheduler for Director Park, to schedule "events" at the park.

A Parks staffer who had been the manager at Fulton Park Community Center got a nice raise and moved over to take the new "scheduler" job, and Parks is now seeking a new manager for Fulton park Commjunity Center.

Parks is also soliciting community involvement in its budget process for November 30, and on through February when Parks will submit its proposed budget for next year to City Council.

Parks is forecastimg a 5% budget cut, about $ 2.3 million, and closure of several facilities one day a week.

But we have a brand spankin' new Direvtor park, and a new position created to "schedule" the new park.

But there are no funds for maintenance of existing facilities.

Way to go Zari.

Instead they have to spend millions on crap like Directors Park.

For what it's worth, I think a large portion of the construction costs for Director Park were paid for by private individuals/organizations (esp. the Schnitzer family).

I walked through it last week and there's a whole corner area that looks like it will be a fountain area. These are hugely popular with kids and adults, and should be a great hit.

I thought it seemed like a pretty cool space: it's not far from the swath of South Park blocks full of established trees and grass. I'm not a fan of grass and don't think it's what makes parks, especially when it's mud 10 months of the year here anyway. I thought the low circular bench will be a great place to sit and watch kids, have lunch, or just take in the spot.

I hope they have planters though too, and ouch about the no-curb thing.

For what it's worth, I think a large portion of the construction costs for Director Park were paid for by private individuals/organizations (esp. the Schnitzer family).

Costs have more than tripled. Funding was from two main sources: PDC's URA funds, and Moyer. Moyer's main contribution was the land--but he gets a parking garage below it. Almost 40% of the cost (still several million dollars) did not come from private sources.

And so far, maintenance (expected to be as much as a half million dollars a year) will be funded by taxpayers.

Several million dollars for a concrete and glass-covered parking garage. Truly inspiring.

In place of a fountain, perhaps a disinfecting mist or Pinesol fogger?

Hmmm. You all missed it. Ever hear of, "Urban Infill"? Yeah, that's where you sneak around sucking up square-footage dedicated to auto parking and turn it into something else. Like a park, that isn't a park. Can't very well complain about a park, now can you?

Why keep bothering to simply impede traffic, er, I mean, calm traffic, when there's an easier way? Can't drive if there's nowhere left to park at the other end, no?

It won't feel like Director Park until there are some demonstrators with signs walking around it. That's my most vivid memory of the Director's stores around town over time.

During the construction period, seeing the deep foundation (50 feet?) I presumed that it was a new highrise that lost it's financing. I figured that the owner would wait a few years for the market to return then remove the concrete lid and go up fifty stories.

"It does need some planters."

No way - If this was a normal Portland site paying SDCs they would require bioswales to keep runoff to a minimum.

If they plant some grass they could save $5.00 per square foot. Just call it an eco-roof over the 462 below ground parking spaces.

http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=48724&

Vance,

This sits on top of a parking garage that has more spaces than the surface lot it replaced. You can object to lots of things about it, but displacing parking isn't one of them.

I am firmly opposed to Director Park as it contains absolutely no green space and required extensive construction vehicles to build - spewing millions of tons of CO2 into the air, just to create an impermeable surface devoid of wildlife and plants. This location does not meet urban density metrics in any way.

Oh, wait. The City can do what it wants.

Rather than waste more money on building things for the wastrels who hang in the downtown parks, I think it's about time they started spending money to stop the parks where families really live from sliding into degradation from lack of maintenance over twenty years.

My first date with the woman who would be my wife for 18 years was in Mt. Tabor Park in 1984. After she died of cancer in 2003, I went for a walk in the park...I was appalled at the crappy state it had degraded to...I'm sure it's no better now, even if the Water Bureau people aren't packing sidearms.

What we need to do is take care of the parks we already have and expand park space where families REALLY live....not build more crappy legacy projects that serve hardly anyone....

How can $9.5 million be spent on a void?

The property was donated by a developer and much of the construction cost was funded by a private donor. It's not like the city could have told those people "no, you build us a neighborhood park instead" or "no, you donate money to maintain Mt. Tabor instead".

And Directors' Park will serve plenty of people - downtown workers looking for a nice open space for their breaks and lunch. What, office workers aren't anyone? They can get a public space occasionally too.

I think it looks like a pretty nice space. There's a water pool and fountain at one end, chairs and tables at the other end, lots of bench seating, some young trees, and a pretty interesting glass roof structure at one corner. No, it isn't grass, and neither is Pioneer Square, for some uses grass isn't the best choice.

Other than Pioneer Square, downtown Portland doesn't actually have a ton of open public space. Yes the park blocks are nice but they are kind of removed from the downtown office building core. So, I think Director Park is a nice addition to our public space.