Your airplane isn’t the only thing getting delayed these days. An art installation dubbed the “Outer Rim Green Wall” did not debut as expected this February outside bike shop the Outer Rim (10625 N.E. Halsey St.), despite a grand opening event having been pre-planned. Now it’s looking like the Green Wall might not end up outside the Outer Rim at all.
As previously reported (“Grand opening for permanent art installation set,” MCM February 2018), a $26,000 EcoDistrict grant from East Portland Neighbors laid the foundations for design firm Propel Studio to add cutting-edge lounging spaces to the Outer Rim patio. The grant is being funded by Prosper Portland. As of March, the design stages have been completed, but the installation no longer has a home.
The Green Wall would have shared a wall with a mural from next-door neighbor Kings Omelets (10711 N.E. Halsey St.). The Kings Omelets mural on that wall is also about to undergo a redesign. Ultimately, art may have been pitted against art.
“We had money that had been expended on the design, and we delayed our stuff to make sure everything was okay at Kings Omelets, but there were considerations over whether what we were doing with the Green Wall might interfere with the mural,” says Tom Badrick, chair of the Parkrose Heights Association of Neighbors, the author of the East Portland Neighbors grant.
Badrick is not bitter. “This is a perfect example of government working right by not doing one project that hurts another. I was frustrated because the Green Wall predated the [Kings Omelet] mural by a year, but the reality is that it’s a good thing for them [Prosper Portland] to look at the projects together.”
He’s hopeful the Green Wall will be relocated, considering the design portion of the project has already been paid for. “We’re working on setting up a second meeting with Prosper Portland to see whether there is legitimacy to moving to a different location.”
In fact, Badrick may have already found an alternative location in the parking lot of vegan grocery store Food Fight! (11155 N.E. Halsey St.). He claims its owners are on board, and all he needs is the green light. Due to the design portion being finished, the installation could still arrive by summer.
There is good news for Badrick. One of his other grants arrived on time. The Street Furnishings Grant (“Wayfinding signage, new trash cans debut around Gateway,” MCM March 2018) sees the implementation of seven trash cans and benches dispersed around east Portland. This “7×7” grant calls for seven new trash cans and seven new benches to be distributed outside places like Northwest Flyfishing Outfitters (10910 N.E. Halsey St.), IRCO (10301 N.E. Glisan St.), Atomic Auto (610 N.E. 102nd Ave.), and two for the East Island (1017 N.E. 117th Avenue). The trash cans have all been installed, except for the two outside the East Island.
“The next part is working on the benches, so I’ve sent a pre-payment request to Prosper Portland,” says Badrick.
To learn more about the Outer Rim Green Wall project, go to Propel Studio’s official project page at propelstudio.com/outer-rim-green-wall/. You can also contact project designer Lucas Gray at 503-479-5740.