Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Downtown Revitalization topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tualatin council hears downtown revitalization update; Metro awards $740,000 planning grant
Summary
City staff and CAC members presented Phase 1–3 plans for downtown design, including façade and outdoor seating grant concepts; the Metro 2040 Planning and Development Grant will provide $740,000 to fund consultants, a parking study, market analysis, outreach and bilingual engagement.
City staff and Community Advisory Committee members updated the Tualatin City Council on the downtown revitalization project and announced a Metro 2040 Planning and Development Grant award that will fund the next phase of work.
"This work will be supported by consultants and fully funded with the Metro 2040 Planning and Development Grant," said Beth Denton, a CAC member. She told the council the Metro Council voted to fully fund the proposal at $740,000, an amount $240,000 higher than staff originally expected, enabling an expanded scope including a parking study, a real‑estate market study, expanded developer outreach and bilingual engagement.
The presentation outlined three phases: Phase 1 produced a downtown identity study developed with Civilis consultants; Phase 2 partnered with the University of Oregon Sustainable City Year program, yielding 66 recommendations and 14 renderings; Phase 3, starting this fall, will produce an Urban Design Plan, Downtown Design Standards and a Consolidated Recommendations Report. Committee members highlighted design concepts such as a "lily pad" configuration on the lake that could activate Veterans Plaza, add pedestrian circulation, and create retail kiosk opportunities.
Quinn Bruner, an urban renewal and economic development policy analyst, said the IGA to accept the Metro grant will appear on the council agenda on July 27 and the city has already opened an RFP for an urban design firm with a target to have a consultant team onboard by October. Council members praised the CAC work and said phase 3 will focus on combining individual project ideas into a coherent, code‑implementable framework.
Council questions addressed how recommendations align with the project’s five evaluation criteria (vibrancy/mixed‑use, distinct identity, sustainability, safety/navigability, business support) and which subareas will move first; staff said the downtown core around Lake of the Commons (about 70 acres) is likely to move earlier in implementation, within a broader urban design framework covering roughly 300 acres.
The presentation concluded without a formal council vote; staff will return with the Metro IGA and future contracting updates.
