Coming This Friday: The Hatching of Turtle Place!

Vancouver, Wash. – Turtle Place is hatching on Friday morning, 10:15 a.m., September 5—and you’re invited to take part in this historic event!

Welcome to Turtle Place, a model of sustainability and a vision of urban beauty that is being created in this plaza where C-Tran operated a transit center for more than two decades. Thanks to a cooperative effort led by Vancouver’s Downtown Association, the former bus stop at downtown Vancouver’s Seventh Street, in between Washington and Main Streets, is being transformed.

Schedule of Events

10 a.m. Press Conference
For local media, with Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard,
C-Tran Vice-Chair and La Center Mayor Jim Irish, and Vancouver’s
Downtown Association President Lee Coulthard.

10:15 a.m. The Hatching of Turtle Place!
- Speakers include Mayor Pollard, Jim Irish, Lee Coulthard, Dean Sutherland of Clark Public Utilities, and Jerry Nutter of Nutter Construction.
- Nutter Construction will have heavy equipment on hand to break the first section of concrete and officially mark the plaza’s beginning.
- Rumor has it a special guest of a turtle persuasion will be on hand, too!

10:30 a.m. ... It’s a Surprise! ... Stick around to find out!

5 p.m. Art Walk Reception beginning at West Coast Bank
Come out for Art Walk and see how things have progressed! Representatives of Turtle Place will be on hand to answer questions and share plans.

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Made Possible by an Extensive Partnership

Spearheaded and funded by Vancouver’s Downtown Association, Turtle Place is possible only because Vancouver’s Downtown Association, C-Tran, and the City of Vancouver have worked together step by step to bring this temporary plaza downtown. Local businesses in all arenas have donated time, talent, and treasure to make this sustainable plaza possible.

All design work has been donated by local civil engineering firm Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, leaders in landscape architecture and sustainability planning. Nutter Construction has come on board as the contractor to perform the work, and their heavy equipment will soon be seen transforming the former bus mall into a park for all of us to enjoy. Clark Public Utilities has worked closely with the project, every step of the way, to help design and procure a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient lighting system. Thompson Metal Fab is creating brackets, designed by Group MacKenzie, to hold this LED lighting system. Identity Clark County and Wayne Magnoni at Main Street Partners have lent immeasurable support. Local design team Tribe 2 Studios designed the mural art, which is being painted by prominent local artist Guy Drennan. The centerpiece water feature is a sculpture created by artists Wendy Armstrong and Greg Conyne, made of cast-off parts from the Clark Public Utilities and C-Tran “boneyards,” as well as pieces donated by the contractor who originally built the bus mall 20 years ago.

All of this cooperation, of course, wouldn’t be possible without funding! Working closely with local businesses that want to see their community revitalized, VDA has created a sizable fund that is specifically dedicated to downtown infrastructure improvements. Donors whose contributions have helped fund this effort include The Columbian, The Bank of Clark County, First Independent Bank, Albina Fuel, Hi-School Pharmacy, and Burgerville.