By Phill Colombo

ofni.1600414220swen-1600414220rats@1600414220obmol1600414220oclli1600414220hp1600414220

Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers and the Portland Thorns donated $65,000 to the Portland Parks Foundation to kick-start a $500,000 campaign to support phase one of the new Thomas Cully Park in Northeast Portland. The park, located on Northeast 72nd Avenue just north of Killingsworth Street, is sited on a former 25-acre construction landfill and is scheduled to open in mid-2017.

Cully Park’s first phase will include a youth soccer field, playground, expanded community garden, walking paths and an Inter-Tribal Gathering Garden designed for cultural celebration and cultivation of native edible plants. The development of Thomas Cully Park is a unique partnership between the local nonprofit organization Verde and Portland Parks & Recreation. The first phase of Thomas Cully Park development is budgeted at $10.6 million.

Verde has been raising funds from a variety of public and private sources for the past few years. “With this award, the Timbers and Thorns FC make a powerful investment in a community-based, community-led park project – community members have overseen the site’s environmental assessment, designed park features, and developed safe routes for walking and biking to the park,” said Verde’s Executive Director, Alan Hipólito.

Mike Golub, president of business for the Timbers, said “This contribution will support the diverse and vibrant Cully community through the creation of outlets for play, gardening and cultural gathering.”

Related