The Parks Foundation of Clark County has received a $650,000 grant to help with construction of a water feature at the new Vancouver waterfront park.
“We are thrilled with the Murdock Trust’s belief in this project and how it will enrich life for all of us here in the area,” Parks Foundation Executive Director Temple Lentz said in a statement. “The Waterfront Park project will change the face of Southwest Washington, and the water feature will more closely connect all of us with the source of our strength, the Columbia River.”
The water feature, designed by local artist Larry Kirkland, will depict the Columbia River watershed. The project will be an interactive art feature.
The grant is the largest grant ever received by the parks foundation and the largest public art project the Murdock Trust has awarded.
The 7.3-acre waterfront park is under construction. The larger Vancouver Waterfront development is also getting traction after years of preparation. Dean Kirkland, with Vancouver-based Kirkland Development, plans to build a hotel-condominium building at the foot of Esther Street. Gramor Development, master developer of the waterfront site, also has an upscale hotel planned.
Overlooking the pier, Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar, a Spokane-based eatery, will open up to the park and a promenade, with outdoor seating providing a vista of the Columbia River. M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a foundation that awards millions of dollars in grants annually, plans to move its Vancouver headquarters from 703 Broadway to the top two floors of a seven-story building at 305 Columbia Way.
Lauren Dake: 360-735-4534; twitter.com/LaurenDake; lauren.dake@columbian.com
