Three Riverfront Park Finalist Design Teams to Visit Spokane Sites

Monique Cotton, Director of Communications and Marketing, Spokane Parks & Recreation, 509.435.1866, mcotton@spokanecity.org

Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 5:30 p.m.

UPDATE

5/18/2015, 9:21 a.m.

Site Visits

An important aspect of the selection of the final design team for the “Design of Public Spaces and Park Grounds” for the renovated Riverfront Park is a heightened understanding of the natural and urban landscape in Spokane and the Spokane River. As part of the final design team selection process, each of the three design teams will visit sites to experience the diverse landscape. Teams are not being asked to develop a preliminary design for Riverfront Park at this stage in the process.

Sites include:

  • South Rimrock Drive – on the edge of Palisades Park
  • East Upriver Drive – near Avista’s headquarters
  • North Summit Blvd – overlooking the confluence of the Spokane River and Latah Creek
 
The Process of Selecting the Final Designer

Knowledge gained during the site visit will guide each design team’s Public Presentation, which will occur on Wednesday, June 3rd, starting at 6:00 pm, in the City Council Chambers of City Hall. An Open House will be held immediately following the presentations, from approximately 7:40 – 9:00 pm Members of the public are encouraged to attend the presentations and provide feedback.

On June 4th, interviews with each of the respective teams will be held by a Park Board-appointed Design Steering Committee. The Park Board Design Steering Committee will deliver a recommendation to the Park Board, which will ultimately choose the winning designer. 

Background Information

The teams are led by:

  • Walker Macy of Portland, Oregon;
  • The Berger Partnership, Seattle, Washington;
  • and Hargreaves Associates, San Francisco, California.

Thirteen local Spokane firms working within the teams include:

  • CH2M – Spokane Office
  • Adams & Clark
  • Epic Land Solutions
  • GeoEngineers
  • L&S Engineering
  • MW Consulting Engineers/Escent Lighting
  • Land Expressions
  • Roen Associates
  • AHBL -  Spokane Office
  • Coffman Engineers
  • Art +Environment LLC
  • MT-LA (Mike Terrell)
  • Hill International

The three “Design of Public Spaces and Park Grounds” finalist design teams, comprised of multi-disciplinary local and national professionals, will visit sites representing Spokane’s landscape on Tuesday, May 19th. The purpose of the visits is to give design teams a better understanding of Spokane’s natural landscape to guide their vision and ultimately their design of the new Riverfront Park, which combines both urban and natural elements.

A news conference, where the three teams will deliver remarks about their approach and past design experience, will be held at 11:00 am at Riverfront Park’s Rotary Fountain (located just north of the intersection of W. Spokane Falls Blvd. and N. Howard Street). Additionally, members of the Parks and Recreation Division will be on hand to speak to the importance of the site visits in the overall selection process.

Members of the media are invited to go along with the design teams as they visit and analyze sites immediately following the news conference.

Detailed directions to each location will be provided to media attending the 11:00 am news conference. A news release regarding the site visits will be forthcoming.

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