53rd Avenue Park

53rd Avenue Park is a municipal park under development in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Partially opened in 2008, the park covers 43.5 acres (17.6 ha) along northeast 53rd Avenue in the middle of the city. Currently the park includes two multi-purpose sports fields covered with artificial turf with other sports amenities and a water fountain under construction. Plans call for a large indoor recreation center at the park including pools, basketball courts, tennis courts, and exercise facilities to go along with outdoor park items that include children's play equipment and walking trails. Land for the park was purchased from exercise equipment maker Soloflex beginning in 2001.

53rd Avenue Park
Sports fields at the park
TypePublic, city
LocationHillsboro, Oregon
United States
Coordinates45°31′16″N 122°55′42″W[1]
Area43.5 acres (176,000 m2)[2]
Created2008
Operated byHillsboro Parks & Recreation Department
StatusPartly open

History

Hillsboro began negotiating with Soloflex in January 2001 to purchase 21 acres (8.5 ha) owned by the company.[3] The company was asking for $5 million for the land along northeast 53rd Avenue near Intel's Hawthorn Farm campus.[3] By February the city had purchased the land for a future park.[4] A second parcel was purchased from Soloflex in 2004 and brought the total land at the site to 33 acres (13 ha), with a total of $6.7 million paid for the land.[5]

In June 2005, the city agreed to purchase eight more acres from Soloflex that included a 44,000-square-foot (4,100 m2) building for $3.3 million pending a feasibility study.[5] The city planned to convert the building and the other park land into a recreation complex that would include amenities such as indoor basketball and tennis courts, workout rooms, and possibly a pool.[5] The deal was approved in August,[6] and Hillsboro used money from system development fees to purchase all of the land at the park site.[5]

Planning for the park began in 2006, with the city hoping to begin construction by 2007.[7] Plans called for the park to be developed in phases, with early cost estimates for the first phase at up to $7 million.[8] The plans called for a community park at the site along with an indoor recreation center.[9] The park plans proposed building sports fields, a dog park, tennis and basketball courts, paths, play equipment, and garden space among other items.[9] The city took input from over 100 residents during the planning process.[9] Total costs for the entire project were estimated at between $44 million and $51 million, with construction to occur in four phases.[10]

Children playing in the water feature

Plans for a dog park at the site were dropped in July 2006 when the city decided to build what became Hondo Dog Park at a different location.[11] Plans for 53rd Avenue Park were completed by December 2006, but construction did not begin as the city examined how to pay for the park's construction.[12] Funding for the first phase began to take shape in 2007 when the state gave Hillsboro a $500,000 grant from lottery funds for the initial construction.[13] This phase would cost $4 million and develop 10 acres (40,000 m2) at the 41-acre (170,000 m2) park with amenities including sports fields, two tennis courts, restrooms, parking, two basketball courts, lighting, and a courtyard that would include a fountain.[14] The Hillsboro Soccer Club also pledged $10,000 towards the project.[13] Construction began that year with the installation of an artificial turf covering to soccer fields.[15]

Playground at the park

The city then proposed using a bond to fund nearly $40 million of the project that would go mainly toward building the indoor recreation center at the cite.[15] The first phase of the indoor recreation center would include a soccer field, a pool, basketball courts, a climbing wall, and workout facilities that would open at the end of 2010 if the bond measure was passed by voters.[15] A later expansion was planned to add an Olympic-size swimming pool.[15] In June 2008, the FieldTurf installation was completed and construction began on restrooms and concession stands at the park,[16] and the next month the fields opened for use.[17]

In July 2008, the city council approved putting a $44.5 million bond measure on the fall ballot, with $39.5 million of those funds earmarked for use at 53rd Avenue Park to build the recreation center.[18] The bond would pay for a 121,000-square-foot (11,200 m2) facility if passed, with plans calling for later expansion to include other items such as racquetball courts, an indoor skatepark, and an indoor golf area.[18] The bond measure was defeated in November 2008.[19] The concession stands and restrooms were completed in Spring 2009, and construction of the remaining parts of the first phase began.[19] Amenities such as the interactive water fountain, outdoor basketball courts, and parking were scheduled to be completed by the winter of 2009.[19]

In September 2009, the city began looking at the park again to determine how they would proceed with developing the remained of the park including examining how to pay for it and if design changes were needed to reduce the costs.[20] The following month the city solicited ideas for a new name for the park, as the official name had been 53rd Avenue Community Park.[21] Hillsboro parks decided to go with the slightly shorter name of 53rd Avenue Park in January 2010.[2]

Amenities

The park includes a multi-sport FieldTurf artificial surface sports field.[22] This is the size of two soccer fields and includes lighting for nighttime use. Other amenities are public restrooms and a concessions area.[22]

gollark: Thermal Dynamics.
gollark: Nope, TD ducts.
gollark: Basically, there's a complex minigame of placing the right coolers to get heat down enough, when really This Is Not How Reactors Work.
gollark: Yes, probably.
gollark: Hmm... I *can* just not bother and carpet-bomb all the mobs periodically...

References
  1. "53rd Avenue Community Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  2. Parks, Casey (January 28, 2010). "Hillsboro's community park has a new name". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  3. Anderson, David R. (January 10, 2001). "Hillsboro negotiates for park". The Oregonian. p. C2.
  4. Anderson, David R. (February 1, 2001). "West Zoner: Hillsboro plans facilities to fill newly acquired park acreages". The Oregonian. p. 13.
  5. Bermudez, Esmeralda (June 1, 2005). "Hillsboro targets land for rec center". The Oregonian. p. C2.
  6. Bermudez, Esmeralda (August 10, 2005). "Hillsboro adds to site for fitness hub". The Oregonian. p. B.
  7. Bermudez, Esmeralda (January 18, 2006). "Hillsboro recreation site in works". The Oregonian. p. C3.
  8. Bermudez, Esmeralda (February 23, 2006). "Metro West Neighbors: Hillsboro running a deficit in recreation space". The Oregonian. p. 10.
  9. Bermudez, Esmeralda (March 16, 2006). "Metro West Neighbors: With public ideas in hand, city plans new rec center". The Oregonian. p. 6.
  10. Bermudez, Esmeralda (April 7, 2006). "News Update: Residents speak up on rec center plans". The Oregonian. p. B3.
  11. Bermudez, Esmeralda (July 6, 2006). "Metro West Neighbors: With own park, dogs of Hillsboro can run free". The Oregonian. p. 6.
  12. Bermudez, Esmeralda (December 14, 2006). "Metro West Neighbors: Cover Story: Green places to play". The Oregonian. pp. 16–18.
  13. Rehkopf Smith, Jill (July 18, 2007). "Forest Grove gets $288,000 for loop trail". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  14. McKee, Alysia (July 19, 2007). "$500,000 grant will help get park started". The Oregonian. p. B3.
  15. Suh, Elizabeth (March 13, 2008). "Metro West Neighbors: Bond measure possible for parks, indoor center". The Oregonian. p. 7.
  16. Armer, Christine (June 12, 2008). "Metro West Neighbors: Neighborhood Roundup; 53rd Avenue park gets artificial turf, fields". The Oregonian. p. 16.
  17. Armer, Christine (July 10, 2008). "Metro West Neighbors: Neighborhood Roundup; 53rd Avenue park's sports camps kick off". The Oregonian.
  18. Suh, Elizabeth (July 2, 2008). "Hillsboro council OKs recreation bond measure for fall ballot". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  19. Gordanier, Susan (July 30, 2009). "53rd Avenue Park's phase two on track for fall opening". Hillsboro Argus. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  20. Gordanier, Susan (September 9, 2009). "Sports center creeps back onto council's radar". Hillsboro Argus. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  21. Parks, Casey (October 26, 2009). "Hillsboro seeks new name for 53rd Avenue Community Park". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  22. Construction Projects. Archived 2009-09-17 at the Wayback Machine City of Hillsboro. Retrieved on September 10, 2009.
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