Revitalization of Hermiston’s downtown core will kick in to high gear this Spring with construction work of the long-envisioned Festival Street beginning Thursday, Feb. 1.
An official groundbreaking ceremony will take place at Noon on Monday, February 5 at the Festival Street adjacent to Hermiston City Hall, 180 NE 2nd St.
The Festival Street will provide a unique public gathering space, which will still function as a city street most of the time, but will be built without curbs; allowing the area to be easily closed and converted to a space for large outdoor events and gatherings. The redesigned street will also feature wider sidewalk areas, street trees, and additional space for outdoor seating.
“We’re very excited to see this project begin to come in to reality and contribute to the great momentum we have going in building a more vibrant downtown,” said Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann.
The Festival Street development in 2018 comes after a banner year for the Urban Renewal District in 2017. The assessed value of the District rose to $50.5 million; an increase in value of approximately 20 percent after four years in existence, due largely to the development of a new 93 room Holiday Inn Express in the middle of downtown. The downtown core also saw an addition of 110 public parking spaces which are available for new commercial development.
The Urban Renewal District has been coordinating with businesses likely to be affected by the construction of the Festival Street. The facility is expected to be completed by mid-June.
