Tigard Parks & Recreation Announces Ross Recreation as Cook Park Inclusive Play Design Competition Winner

Tigard Parks & Recreation is excited to announce Ross Recreation and Landscape Structures as the winner of the Cook Park Inclusive Play Design Competition.

“We’re thrilled to announce the results of the competition,” said Parks & Recreation Manager Rick Gruen. “We had five excellent companies submit designs, and we chose a process that would maximize community engagement in the decision making. The Ross Recreation proposal exceeded our expectations for what we could provide in Cook Park."

Inspired by early input from community members, the Ross Recreation proposal was designed to bring our community together in play.

“For children (or their guardians) who may have a physical or cognitive disability, we know that providing exciting and fun opportunities to play among their peers, experience the thrill of heights and motion, and engage in self-directed, choice-based play is critical and something that is missing from most playgrounds, even many inclusive play spaces,” said Ross Recreation Sales Representative Len Fransen. “We wanted visitors of ALL ages and abilities to have the opportunity to experience shared, side by side, and challenging play”.”

Next Steps

Tigard Parks & Recreation is already hard at work to implement the design, with a goal of breaking ground this fall. Rick Gruen and his team are working with Ross Recreation to make some minor adjustments to the design. Known as value engineering, these negotiations are aimed at incorporating as many of the features desired by our community as is practical. In turn, the Engineering Division is working on the land use process that is required to replace the playground in an environmentally sensitive area.

About the Inclusive Play Competition

Cook Park is the oldest, and most well-known park in the City of Tigard. The Park has a rich history and a variety of amenities including a large playground structure that has aged beyond its useful life. The Parks & Recreation Division hosted the design competition between five playground companies to see who could design the best playground for the space.

Community engagement for the project included a hybrid in-person/online open house, a community survey comparing each of the five proposals to key project criteria, and an evaluation committee including volunteers from the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board and Tigard-Tualatin School District.

“In the end, it was an extremely difficult decision for the project team given the thoughtfulness and quality of designs submitted by the companies and their representatives. Ultimately, Ross Recreation impressed us all with the prominence of the tower, diversity of play elements for all ages and abilities, and the use of synthetic turf surfacing,” summarized Gruen.

Community Input

01: Hybrid Design Day | Five companies heard directly from community about desire for inclusive climbing, swinging, and slides.

02: Design Competition Survey | In February 2022, our community reviewed the five proposals.

03: Evaluation Committee | Based on community feedback and a detailed review of each proposal two were recommended.

04: Parks & Rec Technical Evaluation | Chosen for its accessibility and surfacing, the Ross Recreation proposal is announced as winner!

View the Winning Design