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Stay current on Willamette Falls

Check here for the latest updates on project design and construction, recaps of public meetings, and the latest news and events.

Willamette Falls Legacy Project update

Mon 23 Aug 21

Willamette Falls Legacy Project officials reached a consensus last week to restructure the partnership to include the five Tribes who have been engaged on the efforts to build a public riverwalk. 

“You have all been really great partners and I appreciate that, and the acknowledgement that we need to change and grow is important,” Metro Council President Lynn Peterson said to project partners. “Bringing all nine government agencies together will be truly a step forward, but it will take some time and a little bit more patience.”  

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Willamette Falls Legacy Project update

Tue 22 Jun 21

The next meeting of the four public partners of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project is scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 30.

The meeting will include discussion about multi-tribal engagement, Willamette Falls Trust’s recent request to join the Legacy Project Partner group, supported by four tribes, and next steps for the project.

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Willamette Falls Legacy Project update

Thu 9 Apr 20

Willamette Falls Legacy Project officials met April 8 to discuss the future of the riverwalk at Willamette Falls. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde presented an alternative riverfront concept they’ve developed for the first phase of the riverwalk. The alternate design seeks to support the Willamette Falls Legacy Project’s four core values, the riverwalk conceptual design, and meets Grand Ronde’s site cleanup and development goals.

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Willamette Falls riverwalk update

Mon 6 Apr 20

This week, Grand Ronde will present a proposed design to Legacy Project officials that seeks to incorporate the Willamette Falls Legacy Project’s four core values, support the riverwalk conceptual design, and meet Grand Ronde’s goals to develop the property in the future.

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New year, new riverwalk?

Thu 9 Jan 20

The path to providing public access to Willamette Falls could take a new direction – literally and figuratively – as project partners collaborate with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which recently purchased the shuttered mill site in downtown Oregon City.

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Willamette Falls Legacy Project update

Wed 31 Jul 19

Willamette Falls Legacy Project Partners today gave the green light to staff to continue refining the scope of the first phase of a public riverwalk to fit within the funding that’s available. The project team asked for direction after receiving cost estimates showing that jump-starting the riverwalk will be more expensive than an initial projection from architects.

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Historic and cultural resources at Willamette Falls

Fri 17 May 19

The Willamette Falls Legacy Project, set to break ground on the public riverwalk at Willamette Falls next year, has hired AECOM and Willamette CRA to develop a plan that will be used during riverwalk construction when historic and cultural resources are discovered at the Legacy Project site.

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Onward!

Tue 9 Apr 19

Late last year, the Willamette Falls Legacy Project team issued a request for proposals to transform a conceptual design for the first phase of the Willamette Falls riverwalk into detailed permitting and construction drawings, as well as manage construction. Metro, on behalf of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, is pleased to announce Otak has been

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Metro seeking team to prepare for Willamette Falls riverwalk construction

Fri 14 Sep 18

UPDATE: RFP 3590, Design and Planning Services, Willamette Falls Project has been posted on ORPIN.
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A search is about to begin for the team to advance the riverwalk at Willamette Falls in downtown Oregon City – envisioned as the catalyst for a signature Oregon destination along the banks of the Willamette River. Metro, one of four public partners of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, will be issuing a request for proposals this fall to transform a conceptual design for the first phase of the Willamette Falls riverwalk into detailed permitting and construction drawings.

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Willamette Falls storytelling project: the stories

Wed 18 Jul 18

In early 2018–over two weekends–eight people with connections to Willamette Falls were transformed into storytellers when Sue Mach and other members of the Clackamas Community College English faculty facilitated a digital storytelling workshop. These are their stories.

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Spring 2018 public tours were a success!

Fri 8 Jun 18

On Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2, Willamette Falls Legacy Project staff and volunteers welcomed more than two hundred members of the public on tours of the former Blue Heron paper mill site. Participants who were quick enough to claim a ticket, meandered through the site starting at the typically locked gate on historic Main Street.

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Public tours are back!

Tue 15 May 18

UPDATE: Tours filled up fast! Add yourself to a wait list on the registration page to get notified if spots open up or we add more dates.

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“Stories have to be told or they die…”

Fri 6 Apr 18

Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here.
-Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

Do you have a Willamette Falls story to tell? This winter and spring, Clackamas Community College, Rediscover the Falls and the Willamette Falls Legacy Project invite you join one of two three-day digital storytelling workshops dedicated to stories about the Falls.

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A new Executive Director leads Rediscover the Falls

Thu 5 Apr 18

Andrew Mason has been selected as the first full-time executive director for Rediscover the Falls (RTF), the nonprofit organization created in 2015 to raise resources and advocate for the revitalization of the former Blue Heron paper mill site in Oregon City and the riverwalk experience.

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Willamette Falls Legacy Project update

Fri 23 Mar 18

Progress was made earlier this week on bringing a public riverwalk at Willamette Falls one step closer to reality. Willamette Falls Legacy Project staff received Falls Legacy LLC’s signatures on multiple permit applications that would allow the riverwalk project to move into the permitting phase. Elected officials from Oregon City, Clackamas County, Metro and the State of Oregon are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to submit permit applications after we receive the funds due to the project from Falls Legacy LLC.

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Partners Group Quarterly Meeting and Executive Session, Dec. 6.

Wed 29 Nov 17

The next Willamette Falls Legacy Project Partners Group quarterly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 6, from 1:15 – 3:00 p.m. at the Metro Regional Center Council Chambers. 600 NE Grand Ave. Portland, OR 97232 This meeting is open to the public. Agenda available here.   A Willamette Falls Legacy Project Partners Group executive session

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Willamette River cleanup

Wed 18 Oct 17

The Willamette Falls Legacy Project team and volunteers participated in Willamette Riverkeepers’ Great Willamette Clean Up earlier this month. Volunteers paddled from Jon Storm Park in Oregon City to Willamette Falls, picking up trash from riverbanks along the way. We hope to participate again in 2018!  

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Partners Group Executive Session, Wednesday October 25

Wed 18 Oct 17

A Willamette Falls Legacy Project Partners Group Executive Session is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25, from 1 – 3:00 p.m. at the Market Center Building, 1600 SW Fourth Ave., Suite 109, Portland, OR 97201 – Room 316. The executive session is held pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e): To conduct deliberations with persons designated by the governing body

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Willamette Falls Legacy Project update

Thu 28 Sep 17

The Willamette Falls Legacy Project is committed to transparency and responsibly delivering on Oregonians’ investments and vision to create a public riverwalk at Willamette Falls. Together as partners, Oregon City, Clackamas County, Metro and the State of Oregon share the project’s four core values of: economic redevelopment, historic and cultural interpretation, public access and healthy habitat.

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Partners Group Meeting on September 20

Wed 13 Sep 17

The next Willamette Falls Legacy Project Partners Group meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20, from 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. at the Tumwater Ballroom. 211 Tumwater Dr. Oregon City, OR 97045 This meeting is open to the public. Agenda available here.   A Willamette Falls Legacy Project Partners Group executive session is scheduled for Wednesday, September

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Oregon City planning a trail connection from riverwalk pedestrian bridge

Mon 24 Jul 17

The riverwalk design, just unveiled last month, includes a pedestrian bridge over Highway 99E and the railroad tracks to the McLoughlin Promenade. The McLoughlin-Canemah Trail Plan project aims to connect the riverwalk and McLoughlin Promenade to Old Canemah Park and Canemah Children’s Park with a shared use trail.  The City won a grant from Metro’s

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Our website has a new look!

Fri 26 May 17

Repeat visitors to our website will notice that our website has a refreshed look, new navigation options, redesigned news page and updated URL!

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Riverwalk Opportunities Report Now Available

Wed 14 Sep 16

The riverwalk design team conducted an existing conditions investigation of the old Blue Heron mill site and PGE dam and documented their work in a report that describes the various areas and structures on the site. The report provides initial thoughts on the opportunities that each piece presents for the riverwalk experience.

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Project staff offer recommendation on whitewater park proposal

Fri 26 Aug 16

After months of careful deliberation, including numerous meetings and discussions with project partners, riverwalk stakeholders, whitewater park supporters and community members, project staff has made its recommendation on the proposal to the Willamette Falls Legacy Partners Group, which is responsible for making major project decisions.

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