Two exciting new retail establishments are making the South Waterfront their home this spring:

Little Big Burger will open their sixth location in Portland at the Ardea.  Little Big Burger burgers are made with a 1/4 lb. of Cascade Natural beef, local brioche buns, local cheeses, organic veggies, and Camden’s Catsup.  They also have a veggie burger option and addictive truffle oil fries.  Yum!  The new location is set to open late Spring 2012.

Oranj Studio, a boutique hair salon and art gallery, also plans to open at the Ardea this spring!  Owner Tamara Dayton is Portland’s own local hair whisperer (this writer is one of her many devotees and can’t wait for her to be just one block away)!  The studio is scheduled to open in March.  Stop in and say hi or schedule an appointment to take in some art, sip some wine, and put your hair in good hands.

C’est Naturelle Farms, located in Molalla, Oregon, raises all of their vegetables, herbs, and fruit without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.  They also offer fresh, free-range eggs, pastured chicken and turkey, and raw cow’s milk herd-shares.  One of the beautiful things about their program is the ability to pick and choose what you want to have delivered to the neighborhood pick up site each week!  You can also go with their more traditional CSA “surprise basket” option.

Please visit their website for more in-depth information about the program.  Visit this link for a list of FAQ’s.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating at the Atwater Place pickup location.  Call or email South Waterfront Community Relations Manager Heather Bayles at heather@southwaterfront.com or 503-867-5766.

Have you seen the hundreds of bicycles at the base of the Portland Aerial Tram? OHSU and its employees know the importance of cycling to work and the many transportation options within and to the district. Through incentives, subsidies, and convenient means to log trips, the folk at OHSU make using transportation options fun and rewarding. Over 2000 cyclists were served by OHSU’s services and the number is expected only to rise. To read more about their successes and what motivates these riders, check out the OHSU Bike Program 2011 Report.

After 15 years, the largest privately conducted and privately funded cleanup on the Willamette River is complete.

First to be cleaned up were human health hotspots and ecological hotspots from the area above the river.  This summer complications to the remediation effort arose, involving permitting and working within “fish windows” to protect habitats.  In some areas contaminants were excavated and the bank was graded to a gentler slope.  In areas where contaminants were not removed, the ground was capped with sand and heavy rock was added to protect the sand cap from erosion.  A different kind of cap made of fabric that filters contaminants was placed in other areas.

Landscaping and some remediation will continue through next year, after which Zidell will be responsible for maintaining involvement in development over the next five years, to ensure that remaining contaminants are not disturbed.  In total, the project includes:

• About 2,700 linear feet of cleaned river bank.
• Two-and-a-half acres of removed invasive vegetation.

Some 15,000 newly planted shrubs and 212 new trees.

With the permission of Williams & Dame Development and the work of Hoffman Construction Company, the 40-foot-tall, 8-ton steel osprey platform pole was moved on Thursday, December 1 from its 2011 site on Portland City property, to the adjacent land parcel privately owned by Williams & Dame Development.

250+ concerned citizens signed petitions, made donations, and/or sent emails to City of Portland asking that the pole be retained in the successful 2011 location.  Though the requests were denied by the city for various reasons, a temporary site was made available on adjacent land owned by Williams & Dame Development.  There will be ongoing discussions and requests for the City of Portland to designate a permanent location for the osprey in the north end of the Central Greenway, as the osprey pair have chosen to return to this spot for the past 5 years.

The South Waterfront Dog Club, a local organization which advocates for the South Waterfront osprey and was able to legally obtain permitting for 2011, would like to thank those instrumental in the relocation, including:  Roger Goldingay from the Meriwether and South Waterfront Dog Club,  Peter Fenner and Paul Johnson from Mirabella,  Jim Luke from South Waterfront Nature and Greenspaces Committee, Geoff Granum, Steve Arndt, and Pete Collins and Heather Bayles of South Waterfront Community Relations.  Thanks to the generosity of Hoffman Construction and Williams & Dame Development, the cost for the relocation was under $500, mainly for fence work.  It will be paid from donations made on behalf of the osprey fund to the South Waterfront Dog Club.

Watch a brief video from the move here.

For more information or to donate to the osprey fund, contact Carol L. Otis at cotis@earthlink.net.

Tired of all the acronyms?  In an effort to dispel some of the general confusion surrounding what the various organizations of the South Waterfront do and how they are related to one another, we have created a new South Waterfront Organization Chart.

Please contact South Waterfront Community Relations at communityrelations@southwaterfront.com with questions.

What is an EcoDistrict? An EcoDistrict is a neighborhood committed to improving its sustainability performance over time.

What’s the EcoDistrict Program? The Portland Sustainability Institute is leading an EcoDistrict strategy for the City of Portland to promote neighborhood-scale sustainability and achieve citywide performance goals.   It includes a framework, a set of tools for implementation, and five pilot districts.

What are EcoDistrict Projects? Projects fit into three major categories:

• Green Buildings: weatherization, building retrofits, green building policies
• Smart Infrastructure: buildings, renewable energy, district energy and water, green streets, smart grid, parks and open space, transit access, bike systems
• People & Behavior: food composting, community events, education, engagement, demand management, and local food

District stakeholders decide which programs make the most sense for their EcoDistrict.  The projects in South Waterfront will likely focus on Infrastructure and Behavior because the green building performance is already so strong.

What are the potential results? EcoDistricts provide a framework to create better neighborhoods with improved livability and sustainability performance.

How do we create a South Waterfront EcoDistrict? The Portland Sustainability Institute has developed a five-phase approach for creating EcoDistricts based on best practices from around the world.  South Waterfront is one of the first neighborhoods to apply the approach.

1. District Organization: Engagement and local governance
2. District Assessment: Setting goals and determining project priorities
3. Project Feasibility: Making the business, technical, and social case for project priorities
4. Project Development: Implementing projects over many years
5. District Monitoring: Performance measurement to show the impact of projects

Why South Waterfront? Identified as an EcoDistrict pilot in 2009, South Waterfront is already a model for green building and planning techniques.  In addition, South Waterfront Community Relations has the potential to lead neighborhood-based activities. The redevelopment for the Schnitzer campus on the north end of the district is an opportunity to achieve even higher sustainability performance. South Waterfront Community Relations signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Portland Sustainability Institute and City of Portland to become an EcoDistrict in 2011.

What will the South Waterfront EcoDistrict look like? The vision for the South Waterfront EcoDistrict will come from the community and the City will partner in its implementation. Because the existing neighborhood has such strong green buildings, EcoDistrict projects will likely focus on infrastructure and behavior programs to achieve sustainability performance goals. The OHSU redevelopment on the north end of the district provides a major opportunity to demonstrate the potential for new development to achieve mixed-use, high performance EcoDistrict goals.

Will EcoDistricts be required? No, the EcoDistricts Program is not currently a regulatory initiative and does not currently include policy or tax requirements.

Why are EcoDistricts a good idea?

• For Municipalities: EcoDistricts support a neighborhood sustainability assessment and investment strategy to help meet broader sustainability policy and economic development goals. EcoDistricts put demonstration projects on the ground, save local money and resources, and stimulate new business development.
• For Utilities: EcoDistricts create a model for integrated infrastructure planning to guide the development of more cost-effective and resilient green infrastructure investments over time. EcoDistricts also provide a mechanism for scaling conservation and demand-side management goals by aggregating district-wide projects.
• For Developers and Property Owners: EcoDistricts create a mechanism to reduce development and operating costs by linking individual building investments to neighborhood infrastructure.
• For Businesses: EcoDistricts provide a platform to deliver district-scale infrastructure and building products and services to market.
• For Neighbors: EcoDistricts provide a tangible way to get involved in improving and enhancing the neighborhood’s economic vitality and sustainability, as well as a new form of organization.

Where can I get more information? www.pdxinstitute.org/ecodistricts

Metro and Kaiser Permanente have teamed up to bring you the Walk There! app.  The app features ten walks from the Walk There! guidebook that take you throughout the region, from Fort Vancouver to Wilsonville’s Graham Oaks Nature Park and from the Pacific University campus in Forest Grove to the Gresham stretch of the Springwater Trail.  Explore local communities, learn about the area’s rich history and get exercise while doing it.

Metro and Kaiser Permanente encourage active living.  Walking is one of the most effective ways to stay healthy, lose weight, and increase your energy level.  It’s also a great way to experience and enjoy the community as well as the natural beauty of the region.

Visit Metro’s website to get the app and get going!

Purchase a $300 gift card and receive a wrapped 16 piece Box of Moonstruck Chocolates.  Purchase a $500 gift card and receive an extra $50 gift card and a 16 piece Box of Moonstruck Chocolates.  Purchase a $1000 gift card and receive an extra $200 gift card.

Offer not valid with any other offer or discount.  Please visit Spa at the Avalon Hotel for this offer (address below); offer not available online.

Spa at the Avalon Hotel
4650 SW Macadam Avenue, Portland, OR Map It
www.avalonhotelandspa.com | 503-802-5912
Home to Aquariva Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar

Effective Sunday, December 4, Portland Streetcar will have schedule changes of up to 6 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, with one fewer early morning weekday trip in each direction, fewer trips throughout the day on Saturdays, and two additional trips in each direction Saturday evenings. View the preview schedule.