Ankeny Square Park in 2016
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The city of Portland is offering entrepreneurs space in an historic downtown park for just $1 a year.
Portland Parks & Recreation wants to give the public a more positive experience at Ankeny Square.
The square sits at the edge of Portland’s Pearl District. It’s part of the North Park Blocks, which the city acquired almost 150 years ago.
It’s home to a few tall leafy trees and two brick restrooms built around 1920. Last summer, local businesses complained after the area became a major hub of homeless camping, drug dealing and drug use.
Janelle Harrie works around the corner at Bailey’s Taproom. Harrie is excited and hopes a new business will help revitalize the park.
“It would be nice to just have the park back as a place for people to sit and hang out and enjoy themselves," Harrie said. "That would be really nice. Currently it’s not the most desirable place for people to hang out."
Portland Parks and Recreation is open to lots of ideas for the space, including food carts, a flower shop, bike services, or arts and culture programming.
Proposals are due to the agency by April 20.