Tualatin’s completely renovated Las Casitas Park set to open at end of year

Published 5:00 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

After years of community discussions, along with a name change and acquisition of two small pieces of land, Tualatin’s Las Casitas Park is expected to open by the end of the year.

Formerly Stoneridge Park, the so-called “pocket park” is undergoing $2 million in renovations and additions at  19489 S.W. 68th Ave. 

The park has been expanded thanks to the donation of a small piece of land by a nearby property owner as well as a partnership with owners of the adjacent Rolling Hills Apartments. The work is being paid for by money from the American Rescue Plan Act, distributed by the federal government to help out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When everything is completed, the park will contain two playgrounds, a basketball court, picnic tables, benches, drinking fountains and a splash pad that will feature eight different sprays.

“This is just a direct reflection of what the community wanted,” said Dustin Schull, Tualatin parks and recreation director. 

Retaining wall built to level property

During a recent tour of the park, Schull pointed out that the city needed to bring the sloped park level, a project that included building a 15-foot-tall retaining wall on the back end of the property where it overlooks Rolling Hills Apartments. 

Built in the 1970s and early 1980s, the former Stoneridge Park has been in need of remodeling for years — city parks officials have said the park was once accessed through a hole in a chainlink fence.

“In designing the park, the neighborhood wanted a name change,” said Rich Mueller, parks planning and development manager. “Las Casitas resonated with the neighborhood. That’s what they call the neighborhood.”

Many of the residents around the area of the park speak Spanish, and “las casitas” translates to “little houses” or “the little houses,” a reference to the duplexes and apartments in the neighborhood, city officials have said. 

Park changes names

In 2023, 420 residents voted to officially change the name.

Mueller said the park had only a couple of play features left when the city started to think about renovating the park. 

“Tables (and) everything else had been removed after breaking and getting damaged,” he said. “The neighborhood wanted security and safety, so there’s now lights. The area will be lit at night. It should be safer.”

During the community planning process, children weighed in on the types of play equipment they wanted. 

“It  was during that community engagement — public engagement — the kids chose the colors, the features, everything,” Mueller said. “There were hundreds and hundreds of kids that made the selection. We went to schools. We had meetings here.”

Park sports two playground structures

As a result, two playground structures — one geared toward children ages 2 to 5, and another catering to those ages 5 to 12 — have been installed atop padded artificial grass. 

After the playground, one of the features community members wanted was a half-court basketball court, said Mueller. In order to dampen the noise of bouncing balls, an inch of rubber sports court surfacing will be placed across the court. 

Rounding out the park is a long concrete Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible ramp that drops down to the expansive Rolling Hills Apartments complex below.

“All of that ADA portion, that’s all only an option because of the partnership that we’ve been able to have with the apartment complex,” said Schull.

In addition to allowing access to those in walkers, wheelchairs and strollers, the ramp, which includes a short landing pad to take a rest, also allows access to nearby school bus and TriMet bus stops.