Organizers with the nonprofit Depave have been working for years to transform a sketchy Central Eastside intersection into a car-free plaza with some much-needed green space. After many rounds of community outreach and several pop-up activation events, Depave is close to turning its vision of a permanent plaza at the intersection of Southeast Seventh Avenue and Sandy Boulevard into reality. 

Nonprofit leaders are hoping to build excitement through a temporary plaza activation at the site, complete with a makeshift skate park in the middle of SE Seventh Ave, which will remain in operation at the intersection through late September. But they also need to raise funds to ensure their plan can come to fruition. 

Depave is a nonprofit focused on urban re-greening, especially in parts of Portland that have historically been “over-paved” and lack green spaces. While recent conversations about Portland’s lack of tree canopies have mainly focused on neighborhoods in East Portland, the city’s industrial Central Eastside also has a dearth of green space. 

It’s also a part of the city that’s growing rapidly. Seven thousand new households are expected to move to the Central Eastside by 2035, many of them low-income, and there will be increasing demand for parks and green public space—especially as the planet continues to warm. 

“We have heat being amplified by motor vehicles and pavement. For the survival of our cities, we need to remove pavement and increase green space and urban tree canopy,” Katherine Rose, Depave’s communications and engagement coordinator, tells the Mercury. “Folks moving to the Central Eastside need green space they can walk to. This is about climate resilience and the livability and enjoyment of our city.”  

Rose says the intersection at Seventh and Sandy has a legacy as a “really unsafe and unmanageable” crossing. Up until about a year ago, the five-way intersection lacked crosswalks, and it was particularly uncomfortable for people biking and walking to safely cross the busy Sandy Boulevard and continue on the Seventh Avenue greenway. 

Last year, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) installed long-awaited crosswalks and other safety treatments at and around the intersection. But Depave wants to take the evolution of Seventh and Sandy further, with a plan that stretches back years. 

Several years ago, water resources engineer Adam Zucker came to the organization to discuss the potential for the Seventh and Sandy site. Zucker previously led a project to build stormwater collection improvements and street trees at a nearby site at Sandy and Ninth Avenue, and wanted to continue re-greening efforts on the corridor. 

The Seventh and Sandy intersection is also a particularly important site for stormwater management, as it’s located in a depression in the landscape and is a collection spot for rain. Over-paved areas are much more prone to flooding than sites with vegetation and greenery that can help soak up the water. 

In 2021, Zucker and Depave applied for and received a Percent for Green grant from Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) to start the planning process for a plaza at the site. The idea was to create a “vibrant, living, community space” that provides “much-needed storm water management, habitat, and shade from tree canopy” alongside opportunities for art and cultural celebration. 

When Rose came on board the nonprofit the following year, she wanted to get Portlanders excited about their idea for the site. 

“My idea was to host creative events in the street to catch people’s eyes and draw a spectacle, making our idea unavoidable,” Rose says. “I’ve been thinking about these block parties and activation events as a way to leave residue at the site, creating an imprint and memory and idea of what it could be in the future.” 

Depave held its first block party at the Seventh and Sandy site in 2022, creating a pop-up, car-free plaza at the intersection, complete with a stage, food carts, and skate ramps in the middle of the street. The event was planned to accompany the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Blumenauer Bridge, located just a few blocks north of the plaza, and Rose says it helped foment enthusiasm for the plaza. 

The nonprofit held another block party at Seventh and Sandy in 2023, this time occupying the site for two days. And this year, Depave can keep the party going for even longer, since PBOT granted a permit to operate the street plaza from their block party in late July to September 22. The area is currently set up like a DIY skatepark and is off-limits to through car traffic. 

“[Depave] has worked collaboratively with PBOT staff and have won support of businesses in the area, so we agreed to allow them a permit to operate the plaza on a seasonal basis this year,” PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera told the Mercury. 

Being able to keep the street plaza up for two months this summer was exciting, but Depave has more permanent plans on the horizon. And according to Rose, they have PBOT’s support to move forward. 

Rose says last winter, Depave met with PBOT to discuss beginning a phased approach to building the permanent plaza. To the organization’s surprise and pleasure, PBOT went a step further and okayed Depave building out the whole plaza at once—no phased approach necessary. Based on Depave's current plans, the construction will require new traffic patterns at the site, as the plaza will prohibit vehicle travel between SE Seventh and Sandy. 

“Now it’s like, okay, what does that really mean? It means tons of fundraising,” Rose says. “We’ve gotten some big grants, but we’re still not quite there yet.” 

The project is estimated to cost $3.5 million, which Depave is responsible for funding in its entirety. The nonprofit was recently awarded nearly $800,000 from Metro’s “Nature in Neighborhoods” grant program for their plan, but it still needs to secure most of the funds. 

Rose hopes people will check out the temporary plaza while it’s still up and show support for Depave’s future plans. She says donations to the nonprofit will go to support the permanent plaza, and she encourages people to tell PBOT and other city leaders they want to see the site succeed. 

While Depave leaders say most of the reactions to the plan have been positive, they’ve also received some pushback. Some bike riders who travel on the Seventh Ave greenway have been disgruntled by the recent addition of skate ramps in the street. Local business owners have also expressed concern about the loss of parking spaces that will come with the permanent plaza. Rose says all the feedback they’ve received has been instructive for planning something the entire community can enjoy. 

“I’m seeing these critiques as opportunities to have conversations with people,” Rose says. “We’re going to hone in on exactly what will work here and continue to build more trust and dialogue.”