Monteith Park looked like this on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. The foundation of the new stage is at left.
Without a drone’s eye view, it’s hard to see how the contractors are coming along with rebuilding Albany’s Monteith Riverpark. To get a glimpse of the work in progress, you have to climb along the bank on the outside of the chain link fence on the park’s Calapooia River side.
That’s what I did on Saturday. The photo on top was the result.
The park is being rebuilt as part of the city’s Waterfront Project, the roughly $20 million effort to update a section of Albany’s frontage on the Willamette River.
At the moment, the park looks like what you’d expect. As a place of heavy construction, the place is fenced off and there’s no public access.
The foundation of the planned new stage looks nearly finished. According to a schedule publicized in May, the stage is supposed to be completed by February 2024, along with a children’s splash pad and a new playground.
Two viewing piers on the river are being rebuilt. The schedule called for the west pier to be finished this month and the east pier in October.
I haven’t been able to get a look at the west pier. On the east pier, progress has been halting.
The project calls for changes on Water Avenue, including new railroad crossings at Montgomery and Thurston Street and some raised intersections built of decorative pavers.
The schedule calls for work on Water Avenue to continue through November next year.
For now, the rail crossing at Thurston has been closed, and a temporary crossing at Jefferson Street has been opened to provide access to the DeLuxe Brewing Co. while construction takes place at Thurston.
A lot of work remains to be done at Monteith and elsewhere along the river. So there will be plenty of opportunities to check on how it’s all coming along. (hh)
At Jefferson Street and Water Avenue, a temporary railroad crossing has been opened.
The crossing at Thurston Street is now closed but will be improved latter.
From the riverside path, the east pier on the Willamette looked like this on Aug. 22, 2023.
Thank You Hasso !
Your Blog, up-dates & all posted comments are a blessing for all to enjoy.
Mark
Thanks, Hasso. I like to know what is going on, even when it makes my blood boil that Albany (yes, I know it is damned CARA) spent 20 Million dollars on tearing up a park!!
Can’t wait to see the many thousands of people that CARA/Council (they are one and the same) think will daily drive or walk down to that waterfront as long as this ol’ planet exists. Of course, their cutting down all the trees helps make it questionable as to how long that will be!!
It is nice BUT, What are the city planners, mayor and city council doing? They are trying to keep things HISTORICAL, NEW WINDOWS, being installed in a historic building takes away from historic and also allowing a PAWN STORE to go into the old US BANK in half of the building, what is going in the half, perhaps a STRIP CLUB, that ought to bring all the best people into our downtown?!!!! We a r e footing the bill for millions on park and “RIVER WALK, and they bring a pawn store in?
Peg’s suggestion, to bring in Pawn Shops and Strip Clubs to operate on Albany’s First Street seems a sound economic development strategy. Particularly if the Strip Clubs operate largely after 5PM and on weekends. The different operating hours of the “regular” downtown businesses would not clash with the “adult entertainers” of the evening. Adding evening and late-night consumers to the downtown mix would create expanded cash flow, allowing the City’s CARA-funded Inner Urban Area Zone to pay back massive development loans more quickly while at the same time, draw an entire new class of consumers into Albany. Good suggestion by the commenter.
A true and excellent reporter you are, Hasso — going above and beyond for the up to date story and getting physical do get those shots!! Kudos! Thank you for your time on doing so. We’re going to have to put a ‘tracker’ on you!
What a waste of money. Now we know what the new parks director did with the money in her pocket as well as the city manager
The parks director had nothing to do with instigating the Waterfront Project, which was a venture of the CARA Advisory Board and then the city council.
What’s the plans for the roads that are trashed and need repaved. What about fixing boat ramps and making things better at fishing parks and all for those that like to use the water ways. Like fishing piers and docks. I know they just had the boats in waverly but that’s not long term as we can see the algae and green stuff is back in parts of it. What about treating it and the other water ways that feed into it and putting things in the creeks to stop algae, and the weeds seeds from going to other bodies like they did for a while above freeway lakes in the past. Also what’s going on with the plans to put the park in in north Albany along Thorton lake.
With Cara promoting things from the past being revitalized, maybe what is needed is a couple of Brothels downtown like were here in the 1940’s. It was said that during the heyday of the St Francis Hotel there were more than one “lady of negotiable affection” plying their wares there.
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself, I just completed my Jury Duty for this biennium and needed to let the bad boy in me come out………….. just a little
You could walk the downtown streets in the 1940s…young and old alike…without getting mugged or shot or knived. The “ladies of the evening” were calm citizens and there were no problems if your children passed them on the street on their way to the dentists, Dr. Ficq and Dr. Cooley! (Oh, so you think you are really getting raunchy because you men- tioned women sex workers. Some of your fellow males on this planet were no doubt not forced to be their clients.)