PROJECTS Archives - Mayer Reed

September Events

As summer winds down, our fall calendars are filling up. We hope you will join us at some upcoming events: AIA’s Urban Design Panel, PDX Design Collaborative’s Downtown to the Waterfront: The Urban Core as a Riverside Neighborhood and a grand opening celebration at Mill Park.

Urban Design Panel

At the upcoming Urban Design Panel on September 16, Mayer/Reed and the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) will present a Central City Urban Design Study on our waterfront. Mayer/Reed Associate Principal Shannon Simms will share results from the analysis phase, helping to identify opportunities for urban design interventions. This virtual event is free but requires advance registration.

Tuesday, September 16, 2025
12pm – 1pm PST
Register here

Downtown to the Waterfront: Rethinking Portland’s Urban Core as a Riverside Neighborhood

On September 23, PDX Design Collaborative hosts “Downtown to the Waterfront,” part of a series of events focused on transforming downtown Portland into a livable neighborhood. Representatives from Portland Parks and PBOT, leading urban designers and community organizers will discuss how Waterfront Park — and the connections to it — can play a major role in the future of downtown. Mayer/Reed Associate Principal Shannon Simms will share takeaways from the recent City of Possibility design workshop in June. This in-person event is sure to sell out, so secure your spot early!

Tuesday, September 23, 2025
6pm – 7:30pm
JK Gill Building (426 SW Harvey Milk St, Portland, OR 97204)
Purchase tickets here

Mill Park Opening Celebration

Join us, Portland Parks & Recreation and the Southeast Portland Mill Park community for a grand opening event on September 25. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony, remarks from city officials and a host of family-friendly activities to celebrate the newly completed park. Explore the Mayer/Reed-designed playground, splash pad, community garden, fitness area and more! This community event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, September 25, 2025
3pm – 6pm
Mill Park (1949 SE 122nd Ave, Portland, OR 97216)

Celebrating Summer in Mill Park

Summer is in full swing and Portland parks are buzzing with activity. To celebrate the season, Mayer/Reed gathered with friends and family for a picnic at one of our recently completed projects, Mill Park in Southeast Portland.

It was a delight to see the space in action — the play area and splash pad packed with neighborhood kids, the bounty of the lush community garden and pick-up soccer games taking shape on the lawn. We set up our picnic in the shelter and spread out blankets in the shade of the large canopy trees. It was a perfect summer evening to celebrate community, sunshine and the joy of a new park.

Mill Park is officially open to all and a celebration is planned for Thursday, September 25. See you in the park!

Celebrate the New St. Helens Riverwalk

You’re invited! Join us for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, June 26 to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the St. Helens Waterfront Redevelopment Project — encompassing a riverwalk and street extensions into the new waterfront district.

Mayer/Reed’s riverwalk design revitalizes the former industrial site. The first phase improves public access to the Columbia River and creates places to gather and play.

Photo courtesy of the City of St. Helens

Festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. at Columbia View Circle (Strand & Cowlitz Streets) with a ribbon cutting and remarks from city leaders. After the ceremony, explore the new stretch of ADA-accessible riverwalk as you head over to the revamped Columbia View Park for live music, food and craft vendors, games and a beer garden. The celebration continues every Thursday this summer with a weekly concert series, 13 Nights on the River.

Spring Openings

This spring, Mayer/Reed celebrated a series of major milestones as several transformative public spaces and civic projects officially opened their doors.

Excited officials and community members gathered on April 26 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the brand-new Lake Oswego Recreation & Aquatics Center. The state-of-the-art facility, designed by Scott Edwards Architecture, features landscape architecture by Mayer/Reed that prioritizes environmental resilience and accessibility.

On May 19, the new Clackamas County Courthouse in Oregon City opened to the public. Designed and funded by Fengate-led Clackamas Progress Partners, the new courthouse on the Red Soils Campus replaces the outdated and seismically vulnerable 1936 building. Mayer/Reed designed signage and wayfinding that puts clarity and legibility first, with high contrast text, icon usage and strategic sign placement to encourage a smooth visitor experience.

The front entrance of the new Clackamas County Courthouse with signage designed by Mayer/Reed

The University of Oregon (UO) welcomed students to its Portland Campus Center on May 29. Environmental graphics and wayfinding at newly renovated space by Opsis elevate the vibrant academic hub and celebrate UO school pride.

The interior lobby of the UO Portland Campus Center features yellow wall graphics represesnting an aerial map of Portland. A large "O" for the University of Oregon mounted above the stairwell.

And later this month, Metro’s Operations & Maintenance Campus at Blue Lake Regional Park wraps up FFA-led improvements with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 14. Mayer/Reed’s site design for the 2.3-acre campus includes ecological restoration of the existing park and outdoor spaces for staff to gather and relax. The site is designed to achieve the International Living Building Challenge’s Core Green Building Certification.

We’re proud to help shape these places that serve, inspire and strengthen our communities.