Portland Parks & Recreation Completes Transformation, Reopens Expanded 25-Acre Parklane Park

Huge investment in outer SE Portland with playground, splash pad, skate park, sports fields, much more

Councilor Loretta Smith, Portland City Council District 1, Adena Long, Director of Portland Parks & Recreation, Naomi Likayi, Artist and Graphic Designer, Sondra Burtzos, Capital Project Manager, City of Portland  

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has completed the long-awaited expansion of outer Southeast Portland’s Parklane Park . Following a five-and-a-half-year design and construction process, the park is now open and has been transformed from five acres to an impressive 25 acres of recreational space in District 1. It is now Portland’s largest developed park east of I-205.

The new Parklane Park features a new playground, splash pad, basketball and tennis courts, soccer fields, pavilion for community events, covered picnic areas, community garden, skate park, dog off-leash area, paved walking paths, additional restrooms, parking, public art, and hundreds of new trees.

“The expanded Parklane Park is a community centerpiece,” says PP&R Director Adena Long. “It helps address the significant lack of parks, open spaces, and recreation in the Centennial neighborhood. With so many new amenities on 25 acres, this is a major investment in East Portland, an exciting project that will benefit Portland for generations.”

Parklane Park serves 2,824 nearby residential units. 828 of them did not have ready access to any parks or natural areas prior to this project. The park’s immediate neighbors to the east are Oliver Middle School and Parklane Elementary School in the Centennial School District, with a combined enrollment of nearly 900 students ranging from kindergarten students to 8th graders.

System Development Charge (SDCs), not tax dollars, funded the park project. SDCs are one-time fees from new developments that support Portland's growing infrastructure.

The park was designed by local landscape architecture firm, Walker Macy, and constructed by Stacy Witbeck. A Local Improvement District (LID) funded by the park project and managed by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) created street and sidewalk improvements that improves access to and around the new park.

The ceremony included Portland Parks & Recreation Director Adena Long, District 1 Councilors Loretta Smith and Jamie Dunphy, and other community partners.

Portlanders have been instrumental in shaping the design for Parklane Park through a project advisory committee and a series of community gatherings between fall 2019 and summer 2020. This engagement process resulted in a design that reflects the community’s values and desires. For more information on Parklane Park, please visit the project page at portland.gov/parks/construction/parklane-park-project.