Subcommittee recommends Oregon firm for quarry project

The subcommittee – comprising members of the Jordan Valley Advisory Committee, Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Sister Cities Advisory Board and Springfield Regional Arts Council – on Monday recommended GreenWorks PC of Portland, Ore., for the project.

Three other firms – Springfield’s Creative Ink Architects and Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., and Kansas City’s Patti Banks Associates – had been in the running. They were selected from a list of 11 firms that responded in August to an initial request for qualifications.

GreenWorks has experience working on urban parks and U.S. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified buildings. The firm partnered with a German artist to design the award-winning Tanner Springs Park in Portland and is currently working on seven park sites in Washington and Oregon to commemorate the Lewis and Clark expedition bicentennial.

City Redevelopment Director Mike MacPherson said the subcommittee recommended GreenWorks because of its creative, innovative and sustainable approach to the gateway plaza project on Jordan Valley Park’s east end.

“Across the board, that’s what separated them from everybody else,” he said. “(We) were impressed with their ability to be creative and think outside the box, and at the same time take advantage of green development.”

Acting as an entrance to the 300-acre park, the plaza will be located on three acres at the northwest corner of National Avenue and East Trafficway, where the city has filled in a former quarry. The only stipulation is for an area dedicated to Springfield’s sister cities, Tlaquepaque, Mexico, and Isesaki, Japan.

Earlier this week, Congressman Roy Blunt announced that $2.2 million the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development once appropriated for a downtown arena will now go to the quarry project and a new outdoor amphitheater in Jordan Valley Park.

Next up, the park board will consider the subcommittee’s recommendation on Friday. City officials have not yet determined whether Springfield City Council will also need to consider it before design work begins, according to city Director of Public Information Louise Whall.