City of Portland Parks & Recreation
North Portland Aquatic Center
Portland Parks & Recreation is developing a new indoor aquatic center at Northgate Park to expand access to swimming, recreation and water-safety programming for North Portland communities. Envisioned as an inclusive community destination, the facility will offer recreational and competitive swimming, aquatic programming and gathering spaces, with construction anticipated to begin in 2027.
Community engagement has been integral to the project from its early planning and site selection through design. PP&R established a collaborative process designed to elevate community knowledge and lived experience, with particular attention to communities historically underrepresented in public processes and underserved by aquatic facilities. Community priorities helped inform site selection, programming and successive stages of design development.
Stanton’s Role
Community Engagement + Strategic Facilitation
Working as part of the engagement team led by Portland Parks & Recreation and Jeana Woolley of JM Woolley & Associates, Stanton Global supported an iterative engagement process that connected community priorities with the work of the project and design teams. Stanton facilitated affinity focus groups, helped translate technical design alternatives into accessible conversations and evaluation activities, and documented community perspectives as designs evolved.
Rather than engaging participants at a single point in time, affinity group members participated throughout the design process—reviewing options, identifying priorities and responding to increasingly refined concepts. Community feedback helped inform considerations including site and building orientation, accessibility, circulation, preservation of the park-like setting and the preferred design.
Engagement Approach
Owner/Client: Portland Parks & Recreation
Architect: Scott Edwards Architecture
Engagement Leadership: Portland Parks & Recreation
Engagement Consultants: Jeana Woolley, JM Woolley & Associates; Jessica Stanton, Stanton Global Communications
Engagement Team: Portland Parks & Recreation staff and consultants
More Information: City of Portland — North Portland Aquatic Center Project
Related Articles: Portland Business Journal | DJC Oregon
