Willamette Falls

GBD is working with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to envision the future of the 18-acre former Blue Heron mill site in Oregon City. The site is at the threshold of Willamette Falls – a dramatic horseshoe-shaped waterfall and a deeply spiritual place – one of the signature moments along the Willamette River in Oregon.

The vision plan calls for extensive restoration of the site – “healing the land” – starting with the removal of the industrial complex that currently sits on the site. A primary goal is to return much of the site to its natural form as a rough basalt shelf, crisscrossed with channels and inlets where water from the falls used to (and may one day again) flow. A new street grid will allow multimodal access to the site, and there is the potential for a new connection across 99E to the bluff trail from the site, as well as improved access to the water in the lagoon from the southern end of the site.

Project size: 18 acres

Completed: 2021