Sherwood Robin Hood Festival Plaza Opening Soon!
Hello Sherwood residents,
Great news! The new plaza is nearing completion and is set to become an incredible community events hub. It will also offer convenient parking for the city. The plaza features beautiful decorative pavers and impressive stone walls that are sure to be a great addition to our downtown core.
There will be sails/tents flying overhead to provide shade during the hot summer months, which is perfect for those who want to enjoy the outdoors without being exposed to the sun. Additionally, there will be planters filled with lush trees and landscaping to green up the space and make it more inviting. The best part is that the design includes space for concession tents between the planters, which will be perfect for markets and festivals. I am looking forward to having a festival beer garden that is not in a gravel parking lot.
To ensure that the plaza reflects the needs and wants of the community, we sought input from residents with the help of Lango Hansen Landscape Architects, the same architects who designed the Cannery Square Plaza next to the Sherwood Public Library. The plaza will be used for Sherwood festivals and other events, including Cruisin’ Sherwood and the Robin Hood Festival. Construction is currently underway, and we anticipate completion in the first half of June.
The historical Robin Hood Theater marquee has been preserved and will soon be on display at the Langers entertainment center on loan from the city of Sherwood. Not only that, but Langers also has the original organ from the theater's days as "The Oriental," when silent movies were playing, and someone would play the organ during the film. It's great to see such important pieces of Sherwood's history preserved and shared with the community. Did you know that before the theater was built, the site hosted the first Ford dealership in the state of Oregon?
Finally, some have asked, “How did we pay for this” which is a great question. We were able to use Tax Increment financing (TIF) in partnership will all the taxing agencies in our Urban Renewal Agency to fund the project. TIF is a fancy way of saying that we are not raising your taxes or imposing any additional fees to cover the costs. We are just reallocating property tax dollars in partnership with and from all taxing agencies that cover Sherwood to the URA.
I am thrilled to see this project moving forward and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on our community.
Renderings/Resources
Overhead View
Street View Parking/Festival Area
View from Pine Street
More on how Tax Increment Financing works.