1st & Battery Portal Porch
Updated: December 6, 2022
What’s happening now?
We are currently in the process of finalizing the design for 1st & Battery Portal Porch. Based on on our recent “Design Concepts” survey, this design will incorporate longitudinal seating and benches, round planters, and saw-cut patterns & metal inlays for the ground surface treatment. Additionaly, we are also working on preparing our final construction plans.
Project Overview
We are developing design concepts for a new public space at the southwest corner of 1st Ave and Battery St. This area was formerly the portal site of the now decommissioned Battery Street tunnel, which we are calling the "Portal Porch."
The goal of this project is to open up outdoor community space for people to use until the long-term use of the site is determined. (These improvements are not intended to preclude the potential development of a school or other public facility on the site in the future.) This new public space will be contained within a 1,500 square foot footprint and will include a fence on the west side to demarcate the porch area.
Background
We have been working collaboratively with members of the community to develop design concepts for the Portal Porch site. In February 2022 we conducted a “Use and Features” survey, and developed three concepts to reflect the key features desired by the community: seating, vegetation, and lighting based on the results of this survey. Each of these three design concepts included these key features, with variations in configurations, furnishings, and surface treatments.
Project Map
Funding
Thanks to Councilmember Andrew Lewis, we secured $500,000 for the design and construction of this space.