Portland's Kenilworth Park, nestled cozily at SE 34th Avenue and Holgate Blvd, is slated for a splashy upgrade, courtesy of Vibrant Communities Commissioner Dan Ryan.
Commissioning what most can only describe as a welcome addition, Commissioner Ryan is channeling $700,000 towards a new splash pad for the park. This cash infusion boosts the project's total tally to a cool $1.7 million. The freshly allocated monies will couple with an already earmarked $1 million to turn this watery dream into a concrete (and refreshingly wet) reality.
Sourced exclusively from system development charges (SDCs), these funds aren't your average property tax leftovers. Instead, as explained by Commissioner Ryan, "Splash pads in parks across Portland have proven to be popular cooling and water play spots for people of all ages and of various abilities." Portland Parks & Recreation's request for the additions seems to recognize that expanding park features sizably matters—to meet growing urban demands as the city's population ticks upward. "You don’t need to be able to swim to enjoy them, and they are on from 10am to 8pm daily all the way through Labor Day," touts the commissioner.
The project, expected to churn the waters of community discussion and planning from late 2025, isn't due for completion until somewhere between 2028 and 2029. Additional amenities could sprout alongside the splash pad, but whether these features will simply be ripples or waves in the park’s landscape is yet to be determined.
