OPUS NW Won Burnside Bridgehead

The verdict is in. OPUS NW has won the bid for the Burnside bridgehead project. There is quite a bit of local outcry concerning this decision because OPUS was not the public's choice, but it was never the public's choice in the first place, it was the PDC's. I won't go into all of the politics of the decision because that is not the concern of the skatepark. What is our concern is that the skatepark gets what it needs to integrate into the new development.

I am very confident that OPUS NW will be looking out for the park. I have had the opportunity to sit down with the architect, Mulvanny/G2, and discuss the concerns and needs of the skatepark and they were very accommodating and supportive. As I've mentioned a number of times, our needs are lights, bathrooms, storage, and more room to expand the park. I discussed all of the above with the architect and all of them have been accepted. They even went so far as to re-draw the concept sketch to include a small skate plaza next to the park.

This is just the first step in a long process, but at least it's a step in the right direction. There is still quite a bit of work to do to make sure our needs are met over the next year or so, but at least we now have one specific target, rather than three. We can now focus all of our attention on one developer and really stay on top of it.

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I don't receive a lot of comments on this site, but I would really like some input on this. I want to know if there is anything, within reason, that you think the skatepark should try and add to our list of needs? Is there anything that you feel would make a good addition to the park? Help me out here. I have been the lone voice of skateboarder's and the skatepark in this entire process and don't want to speak on the behalf of the thousands of skaters in Portland when I've not heard from one. Thanks.

That's it. Go skate!