Pamplin Media Group – Three cities honored for their downtown revitalization efforts

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Beaverton, Tigard and Hillsboro all receive the Excellence on Main Street awards, awarded by the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation.

Three cities were recognized for their efforts in revitalizing their downtown areas, receiving top Excellence on Main Street awards as members of the Oregon Main Street program.

Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Tigard have all received one or more of the annual awards distributed by the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation.

A total of 21 companies, projects, partners and individuals were awarded this year’s prizes.

Among these was Beaverton’s Lionheart Coffee Company, owned by Lauren and Ben Reese, which received one of two Business Heroes awards.

“At the onset of the pandemic, Lionheart turned away from baking and drinks and began operating as a food resource center,†according to a press release on parks and recreation. “They collected donations from the community and prepared free lunches providing more than 12,000 meals to those in need.”

The cafe, which has locations in Beaverton on both Watson Avenue and Scholls Ferry Road, has partnered with the town of Beaverton to create a common dining downtown, which has closed some streets and created dining areas. outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, Lionheart also helped Hannah, the 11-year-old daughter of a neighboring business owner, aid her in her efforts to clean up downtown Beaverton, setting up a social media account to coordinate a program called Hannah’s Helpers.

In addition, the Beaverton and the Beaverton Downtown Association received an Outstanding Public-Private Partnership Award, awarded in part for the work of entities during the pandemic, providing restaurants with the ability to use on-street parking spaces and private car parks for the expansion of food courts. . Additionally, the award recognized the city for providing the Beaverton Downtown Association with a grant of $ 10,000 which enabled the association to fund two new murals, six new sidewalk murals and nine new potted planters. for the Dining Commons.

Meanwhile, the southern neighbor of Beaverton received an Outstanding Special Project Award for its “Building Our New Landscapeâ€. Tigard provided funds for a large paint by numbers type mural, which premiered last spring on the front of Main Street Stamp and Stationery. The Tigard Downtown Alliance partnered with artist Emily Lux to create the massive mural, which consisted of individually creating 27 panels of artwork and installing them on the commercial building. Lux, an art teacher at Beaverton High School, created the mural with the help of over 300 community members in a location described as “drab, ravaged and avoided.”

“Since installation, peripheral improvements have (started),†the press release said. “The immediate landscaping is weeded and flowers are planted with plans to enhance the adjacent seating area. … The mural reminds us that when they work together, they are stronger despite their differences. ”

Another recipient of the Excellence on Main Street awards was the town of Hillsboro, which received both an Outstanding Special Projects award as well as a Volunteers on Main award.

This first prize was awarded to the Literary Pollinator Garden project in downtown Hillsboro, designed and implemented by Lazar Isakharov, a high school student from Glencoe. Isakharov, with help from the Hillsboro Downtown Partnership, recruited volunteers to create a new garden made up of nine different flower beds. These beds not only featured native plants and non-native cultivars, but were accompanied by literary quotes in a garden that provides a food source and habitat for pollinating insects.

“It now serves as an educational tool and serves as a backdrop for new and future projects, including a rain barrel demonstration site and a stand-alone activity for children to paint and place themed rocks in the garden.” , according to the Oregon Main Street press release.

Kipperlyn Sinclair, who has served on the Hillsboro Downtown Partnership board and various committees, received the Volunteers on Main award.

“One of Kipperlyn’s leadership products was HDP’s idea-sharing process and the visual diagram that describes the process,†the statement said. “When the pandemic hit, she hung hand-made labels outside every retail store and restaurant to boost the morale of business owners.”

She also created the Wishing Tree, which educated the community on “meaningful participation in community activities that build engagement in the city’s diverse communities,” according to the City of Hillsboro.


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