What’s New at Café au Play?

Tabor Commons and Café au Play Awarded Vision Into Action Grant

We are proud to announce that Tabor Commons and Café au Play have been awarded a $12,000 grant from the Vision Into Action (VIA) Coalition’s Community Action Grants program. The VIA Coalition is a broad, community-led alliance of organizations, businesses, government and individuals acting collectively to ensure implementation of Portland’s community vision.  The funds will be used to advance the renovation of Tabor Commons; specifically, to purchase a hot water heater, garage door, exterior and interior doors, install ceiling insulation, recondition the furnace, and refinish the floor. Funds will also pay to resurface the existing parking area and install an ADA accessible exterior walkway.  With this grant, you will soon see a significant transformation in the site of Café au Play’s future home!

The preparation of the grant application was a close collaboration between Tabor Commons, Café au Play and Southeast Uplift, and we’d like to thank all involved for helping us articulate our vision for Tabor Commons and Café au Play to the VIA committee. For more information on VIA, please see http://www.visionpdx.com/action/grants.php.

Interior Renovation Underway

 Thanks to our dedicated volunteers and funds from the VIA grant, we are making substantial progress toward renovating the interior of the building.  A new roll-up garage door has been installed which will eventually lead to our backyard play space;  framing, plumbing and electrical work are almost complete, with insulation and sheetrock to follow in June.  A special thanks to Leif Nelson, Brent Charbonneau, Traci Sullivan and Ed Musho for their volunteer skilled labor, and to Wayne Dalton and Edelen Custom Doors for donating a portion of the garage door.

Stormwater and Landscape Design to Be Implemented
 
Wondering what the landscape around Café au Play will look like?  Josh Lighthipe with KPFF Engineering has designed an innovative stormwater feature for Tabor Commons that will capture water from SE 57th Ave and divert it through the SE corner of the property and into a planter along the Division St. sidewalk. The city's Bureau of Environmental Services has dedicated $30,000 toward the project.  We are excited to announce that drawings and permits are now complete, work is to begin soon, and we expect an early-summer completion date.