Cully Park

Cully Park is 25-acre community park created from a new partnership model that brings together the City of Portland and a nonprofit developer, Verde, to raise more than $11 million dollars for a new park in one of Portland’s most underserved neighborhoods. With landscape architects in both prime and sub roles, the inclusive 11-member consulting team executed a planning and design process that effectively wove the voices of Native American and other minority and disadvantaged community members into the park program and design. The site, a decommissioned landfill, posed significant technical challenges with existing methane capture systems, shallow soils, and unconsolidated construction fill impacting everything from tree placement, drainage, and footing design. Through an intensive public involvement process spearheaded by the community and Verde, the resulting first phase of the park is a celebration of local ecology, community, play, the local Native American community, and views to the mountains that are so sacred to their culture.