Rassekh Park
Phase 2 Construction Update
Construction is underway at Lake Oswego’s newest community park! Rassekh Park’s playground will include:
- A tall play tower with multiple climbing elements and two slides
- An accessible swing that seats four to six and has a designated transfer point from a mobility device
- An inclusive spinner with multiple seating positions for everyone regardless of age, ability, or comfort level, and designed for easy mobility device transfer
- A natural boulder and wood climbing wall with ropes and hand-holds
- A nature play area with natural wood and rope structures
- A tot play area with bobble riders, interpretive play panels, and balance elements
- A musical/auditory play area with drums and a pentatonic instrument that delivers resonating sounds
In addition to the playground, the park will offer a plaza between the play area and the parking lot providing places for people to sit and rest, as well as a 960 square foot picnic shelter with wheelchair-accessible picnic tables, offering a place for families and community members of all ages and abilities to gather.
Phase I Construction Update
October 29: A lot has been accomplished in the last few months. We were excited to open the skatepark this summer, and all-wheel users are enjoying it. Construction of the parking lot and pathway is complete for this phase. Stay tuned for the restroom opening and playground progression.
February 8: This past month, a lot of progress on the Skatepark was made with the shotcrete applications! What's Shotcrete? It's the secret ingredient to a smooth skate surface. The highly-skilled and unique application uses a high-strength concrete mix sprayed on through a special nozzle, projecting it at a high velocity into forms over reinforced rebar. The force at which the concrete is projected from the nozzle allows for efficient placement of the material, even on the vertical surfaces and organic shapes of a skatepark. We are thrilled to be working with the experienced team of designers and builders at California Skateparks, supported by a local team from Collective Concrete & Construction.
November 28, 2023: Take a peek into the construction of the skatepark. The forms are up, coping (border around the skatepark) is in, and prep work continues for the concrete.
October 18, 2023: Progress continues with work on utilities, planting, and hydroseeding areas of the site. California Skatepark is mobilized on-site with fine grading. Next will be concrete.
September 28, 2023: City leaders, staff, contractors, and the community gathered for the groundbreaking of Rassekh Park and Skatepark. The event marks an important milestone in implementing the community’s vision in the long-range parks and recreation system plan (Parks Plan 2025) and the 2023 City Council goals.
Rassekh will be developed in phases, with this first phase projected to open in the summer of 2024. This phase focuses on the completion of the public utilities and infrastructure that sets the stage for its full buildout while providing amenities such as the skatepark, public restrooms, vehicle and bicycle parking, reconstruction of the Stafford Road multi-use pathway, one stormwater facility, and landscaping. Building the park in phases represents the City’s commitment to continued fiscal responsibility. Subsequent development phases will include a playground, athletic fields, additional parking, a maintenance building, and an additional stormwater facility.
A Phased Development Approach
In November 2022 the project team received bids for the project that were significantly higher than anticipated due to rising construction costs and made the tough decision to put the project on hold until a funding plan could be developed. In early 2023 the Lake Oswego City Council adopted their annual goals, including an initiative to “invest in Lake Oswego’s high-quality parks, natural areas, and recreational amenities” by developing a funding strategy for Rassekh Park and constructing the skatepark portion of the park. Following this direction, the project team developed a phased approach to the park's construction. In the spring of 2023 Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation solicited bids to construct Phase I of the project, and on June 27 the Lake Oswego City Council awarded a contract to Paul Brothers, Inc. for the construction of Phase I of Rassekh Park. Construction began in July 2023 and is expected to be complete in early summer 2024.
Phase I will include construction of the all public right-of-way improvements for Stafford Road (street trees, street lights, etc.); reconstruction and widening of the multi-use path along Stafford Road; construction of the new access road from Atherton Drive; a portion of the paved parking lot and a temporary gravel overflow parking area; and the restroom building. Phase I will also provide critical utilities to the site (water, stormwater, and sanitary sewer service and electricity), all of which will be needed to serve the full build-out of the park. In addition, Phase I will include the skatepark, which is planned to be constructed concurrently but through a separate contract with California Skateparks. For more information on the skatepark project, click here.
Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation recognizes the many voices and community interest groups who had input into Rassekh Park’s design. This phased development approach does not constitute a change to the overall design for Rassekh Park that was approved in August 2022. Rather, this first phase of development is intended to construct necessary site utilities and infrastructure that set the stage for future full build-out, while providing some park features to the community in the interim. We are committed to completing the full build-out of Rassekh Park, and are working to develop a funding strategy to build the next phase as soon as possible.
What is this project about?
The City of Lake Oswego is developing a new multi-purpose sports field, play area, and skatepark at the Rassekh property on Stafford Road. Athletic fields in Lake Oswego are in high demand, and public outreach conducted in June 2019 identified new fields as a high priority to be funded with the parks bond money. Read more about the 2019 bond outreach efforts here. This new community park will help meet that demand, fulfill the vision of Parks Plan 2025, and meet City Council’s goal of implementing bond-funded Parks & Recreation projects. Once completed, Rassekh Park will be a place for young athletes, sports fans, families, and neighbors to play and compete.
The design for Rassekh Park includes an multi-purpose athletic field, restrooms, a maintenance building, a parking lot with a drop-off area, walking trails, a covered picnic area, an expanded play area, a protected natural area surrounding Pecan Creek, and a 10,000 square foot skatepark. The design was informed by the input received from the community during the project's multi-year outreach effort.
- July 24, 2023: Construction of Phase I of Rassekh Park began. Construction is expected to last through early summer 2024. Work included grading and excavation, along with the construction of the underground utilities and the skatepark are expected to begin in September.
- June 27, 2023: City Council awarded the construction contract for Phase I of Rassekh Park to Paul Brothers, Inc. Construction will begin in July 2023 and is expected to be complete in early summer 2024.
- June 20, 2023: Tree removal work was initiated at Rassekh Park in order to prepare the site for Phase I construction later this summer. Tree removal work is expected to be underway through June 30.
- June 6, 2023: Bids for the construction of Phase I of Rassekh Park were opened. The apparent successful bidder was Paul Brothers, Inc.
- April 2023: The 2023 City Council Goals include an initiative to “Invest in Lake Oswego’s high-quality parks, natural areas, and recreational amenities” by developing a funding strategy for Rassekh Park and constructing Phase 1, which includes the skatepark. Following this direction, Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation is moving forward with soliciting bids to construct the first phase of the project. Phase 1 will include the skatepark, public restrooms, a new access road, and a portion of the parking lot. In addition, Phase 1 will set the stage for future development by constructing the public right-of-way improvements and the backbone for the utilities that are required to support the full build-out of the park. The multi-sports athletic field, play area, walking trails, covered picnic area, and maintenance building will be constructed in a future phase. Bid information will be presented to Council in May.
- December 2022: Bids were opened in November 2022; however the bids came in significantly higher than expected. On December 20 the City Council voted to postpone the Rassekh Park project until a funding strategy is developed.
- September 2022: Bid documents are being prepared and the release date for the RFB is October 11. Anticipated date for Council award of contract is November 15, with construction beginning in December.
- August 2022: The development application was approved at the DRC meeting on July 18 and findings were approved on August 1.
- April 2022: The Land Use Application is now complete, link is on the right.
- April 2022: Final Traffic Impact Analysis has been received. This document can be located under Other Materials on the right side along with the updated Project Schedule. The Land Use resubmittal will be will be complete within the next week.
- March 2022: The Online Rassekh Park Community Meeting 2 was held on Monday, March 7, 2022. The meeting video is under Notices on the right side.
- February 2022: A PAC Meeting #5 was held on Thursday, February 17. Meeting Video is under Notices on the right side.
- January 2022: City Council approved a Design / Build contract with California Skatepark at their January 18th meeting.
- December 2021: At the City Council Meeting on Dec. 7th the Council voted to bring the Rassekh property into the Urban Service Boundary (USB). Currently the park design has been submitted to planning for Land Use Review. The design is at 100% design development phase and is moving into Construction Document phase. The current plan proposes adding a larger play area, a picnic shelter, and more picnic tables to the existing preferred plan. Council previously directed staff to add a 10,000 square foot skate park to the project. Staff is currently working on hiring a skate park design / build firm to assist in design, public engagement and construction of the proposed facility.
- October 2021: Community Meeting was held online on Wednesday, October 13, 6 - 8pm. The video link is posted under Notices.
- October 2021: PAC #4 Meeting was held Tuesday, October 5, 6pm to 7:30pm. Video link and minutes are posted under Notices.
- August 2021: Online Neighborhood Meeting was held on September 29. The recording has been posted under Notices.
- August 2021: Thank you to those who attended the Rassekh Park Neighborhood meeting and shared your comments and concerns. We have posted a recording of the meeting under Notices. Please feel free to follow up with questions and comments to the project manager.
- August 2021: The Rassekh Park Neighborhood Meeting will be held at 6pm on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 in the Willow Room, LO Maintenance Building, 17601 Pilkington Rd, Lake Oswego OR 97035.
- July 2021: Thank you to everyone who provided input on the initial three park concepts. The design team is currently working on generating a design concept that best reflects the feedback received from the neighborhood, community, and stakeholder group while aligning it to budgetary, planning and engineering requirements. Based on all of this input, the design will continue to evolve in order to incorporate the preferences and priorities that have been expressed. The emerging park design concept will be shared with the community for additional feedback in late August.
- June 2021: Give us your input on the design ideas for Rassekh Park! The city is developing a new multi-purpose sports field and play area at Rassekh Park, which is located at 18011 Stafford Road. After over 600 people responded to the first survey, the design team have developed three design options that reflect the current needs and future vision for this site. Take a virtual tour through these options and tell us what you think!
- May 2021: Thank you to those who took the visioning survey. We had over 600 responses!
- April 2021: Please take the first survey for Rassekh Park. The survey will be open until April 25.
- February 2021: The contract for architectural and engineering services has been signed. The design will now progress.
- January 2021: The request for proposals is now closed and the contract for architectural and engineering services is being worked out. When the schedule for design and public engagement has been created, updates will be posted on ways the public can get involved.
Kyra Haggart
Park Analyst / Project Manager
Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation
P.O. Box 369
Lake Oswego, OR 97034
Phone: 503-697-6576
Email: khaggart@ci.oswego.or.us
Rassekh Park Land Use Application
Lake Oswego Review: Parks and rec expands offerings at future Rassekh Park
Lake Oswego Parks Plan 2025
Luscher Area Master Plan
Palisades