Portland Parks and Rec have expressed an interest in developing the empty field at the corner of N Emerson & Williams as a small neighborhood park. Salvation Army currently owns that land and has been unresponsive to the idea of selling it. This petition is aimed at simply bringing them to the table to discuss the possibilities for this under-utilized piece of green space in our neighborhood
With the advancing line of aggressive commercial development only a block away now, it is only a matter of time until the national Salvation Army board will be courted to sell this under-utilized land to the highest bidder. Leaders in acquisitions and development at Portland Parks and Rec have reached out to Salvation Army numerous times to start a process of acquiring this land to be kept off the open market and developed instead as a vital piece of neighborhood green space. Salvation Army has been unresponsive so far but the hope would be that a show of support from the surrounding neighborhoods would at least bring them to the table. Ideally they would come to see that this could be a win-win for them and the neighborhood since they could continue to use the land as they currently do if it was a public park.