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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2013)
INSIDE: SERVING Burlingame • Capitol Hill • Garden Home • Glen Cullen • Hillsdale • Multnomah Village • Raleigh Hills • South Portland • Vermont Hills • West Portland Friends of April Hill Park need to raise $24,000 to begin building bridges – Page 5 Celebrating 21 years of continuous Southwest news coverage! Volume No. 22, Issue No. 2 www.swportlandpost.com Portland, Oregon Complimentary December 2013 Multnomah Village businesses celebrate one-year anniversaries THE COUNTRY STORE By Erik Vidstrand The Southwest Portland Post It’s been quite a year for the new- est businesses in Multnomah Vil- lage. Not only was the retail area hit with numerous construction projects that deterred would-be customers, it frayed the nerves of the most seasoned merchant and visitor. Medley Tea House Café is cel- ebrating its first year with a holiday fair from Dec. 2-24. “Gifts, baby items, and local handcrafts will be on sale in the main dining room,” said owner Kathleen Zorn. “We are taking reservations for a holiday tea platter including winter teas and holiday themed goodies.” Medley serves breakfasts all day, lunch from 11:00 a.m. on, and after- noon tea platters from 2:00 - 5:00. The tea house is located at the west end of the village. Nectar Frozen Yogurt Lounge, a few doors east, celebrated its first year with a joint eve- ning gathering with neighbors, Peachtree Gifts and The Wed- ding Cottage, the week before Thanks- giving. Located in the old Birdie’s space and re- modeled with a feel of the early 1900s, N e c t a r o ff e r s s e l f - serve frozen yogurt, many of it gluten and cholesterol free; naturally flavored, and can be enjoyed alone or with a vari- ety of toppings. The celebration brought snow to just the two shops; free Business owners gather to celebrate one year anniversaries in Multnomah Village. Jill Crecraft (Sip d’Vine), giveaways; a raffle; Trevor Arnold (Nectar); Randy Bonella (Multnomah Village Business Association); Joe Sysavath (Nectar); a n d p h o t o b o o t h Petie Farkas (Peachtree Gifts); Shelly Harbert (Little Shop of Drawers). (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand) complete with dress up props. Co-owners Joe Sysavath and “We had wanted to open up a presented itself in Multnomah and Trevor Arnold opened up the first second store for a long time,” Sysa- [we] couldn’t be more pleased.” Nectar in Sellwood three years ago. (Continued on Page 6) vath said. “An opportunity finally New Sellwood Bridge project links more than two river banks By Erik Vidstrand The Southwest Portland Post The next time you find yourself frus- trated by the delay of the temporary traffic congestion approaching the Sellwood Bridge, remember this: a lot of jobs, community involvement, and a great final project are the positive aspects. It’s been almost a year since the old Sellwood Bridge was moved upstream. This was done to mitigate the disrup- tion during the next few years it will take to construct a new bridge. “Construction is about 40 percent complete and is on schedule,” accord- ing to Mike Pullen, Multnomah County project communications officer. “The new bridge is expected to open in fall 2015 and construction will wrap up in 2016. “The reason for those two dates,” Pullen elaborated, “is that after the new bridge opens, we will need to demolish the east approach of the old bridge and build the north side of the new bridge approach.” There will also be some work on the state Route 43 interchange that needs to happen after the old bridge is removed. History includes Spokane Street Ferry The contractor continues to install soldier piles, soil nails, drainage and shotcrete on the retaining walls north and south of the Sellwood Bridge. Macadam Avenue (Highway 43) traffic lanes will shift west along the new walls in January. (Photo courtesy of Mike Pullen, Multnomah County) Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 The bridge is old: it opened in Decem- ber 1925. Before then, the only way to cross the Willamette River was the Spo- kane Street Ferry which opened in 1903. Portland voters held an election to fund the development of the bridge. It was approved and designed by Gus- tav Lindenthal and constructed for $541,000. But years of wear and tear eventu- ally brought the need to replace the span. After an inspection years ago, the bridge was ranked a 2 on a scale of 100 by the National Bridge Inventory. This news forced trucks and buses over 20,000 lbs. to take alternative routes causing detours and nervous com- muters. The bridge is the busiest two-lane bridge in Oregon with over 30,000 vehicles crossing a day. Even though Clackamas County voters decided not to fund the project, eighty-three percent of Sellwood Bridge traffic begins and ends outside Portland city limits. Nonetheless, other sources of fund- ing came through: an increase of the Multnomah County vehicle registra- tion fee, $164 million; federal funding (already secured) $15.7 million; state of Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act, $35 million; and city of Portland, $74.7 million. Community involvement School-based outreach has included a variety of schools on both sides of the river. On the east side, students at Sell- wood Middle School are learning about bridge design and construction using gumdrops, toothpicks, and saltine crackers. At Llewellyn School, 5th graders have decorated bat boxes which will be placed under the span to help the bat habitat. On the west side, Capitol Hill School 3rd graders are participating in inter- active programs focused on the three elements of the project: the bridge, the soil and rock supporting the bridge, and the river. Greenroads certification What would a Portland project be without a sustainability objective? The new Sellwood Bridge is Oregon’s first registered Greenroads project and one of the largest in the country Greenroads is an independent certi- fication project focused for sustainable transportation standards similar to the LEED program for buildings. (Continued on Page 6)