In downtown Beaverton, at the corner of Southwest Millikan Way and Rose Biggi Avenue, a nearly half acre of land that formerly served as an informal parking area is becoming the home of a new food and entertainment attraction.

The BG Food Cartel, located near Beaverton City Hall and The Round, will feature 31 food carts, a covered outdoor dining area and an indoor beer and wine bar able to accommodate live music performances.

The idea for a public space anchored by food carts has long been floated by city officials. The Biggi family, which owns the property being developed, teamed with WALEN Construction (formerly LCD) and Scott | Edwards Architecture to develop a proposal for the food cartel concept, which won a city-sponsored contest.

“The idea for a food cart pod has been around for a while, but it really didn’t come together until Denny Doyle was elected mayor (of Beaverton),” Dominic Biggi said. “He came in with a new vision for a gathering spot downtown.”

The Biggi family is a staple in the Beaverton business community. The family’s primary company is Beaverton Foods, founded by Dominic’s grandmother Rose Biggi in 1929. The firm now makes and sells worldwide more than 70 kinds of condiments, including specialty mustards and horseradish.

Becoming involved in an effort to bring a food cart pod to Beaverton seemed like a perfect fit for the Biggi family, Dominic Biggi said. In addition to serving the community at large, the food cart pod will present one more option for employees at City Hall or residents at The Round.

“It’s designed to function throughout the day: breakfast, lunch and at night after work,” Biggi said. “There’s a large deck, indoor and outdoor bar, and really just a cool set-up. Once you cross inside you become part of the experience.”

The $2.4 million project got off the ground with a $25,000 grant from the city of Beaverton as a result of winning the contest. That money along with support from the city of Beaverton has made a tremendous difference in bringing the project from a dream to reality, according to Biggi.

“I really want to give credit to some of the people who were instrumental in making this happen,” he said. “Janiene Lambert with the city of Beaverton got us through the permitting process, the grants, fee structures and contacts. The (city) had to draft a new code for food carts. We had a lot of cooperation and help from Steve Regner at (the city).”

In addition to WALEN Construction and Scott | Edwards Architecture, the project team includes DOWL, whose involvement was led by Jeff Shoemaker as senior project manager. Eric Wenzel served as project lead for Scott | Edwards.

WALEN is in the process of wrapping up concrete work at the site, said Tyler Mildren, the company’s director of construction. The project is on track for a soft opening in February; a grand opening is slated for the spring.

While food and fun are the main focuses, the project also was designed and built with sustainability in mind. Benches are being constructed from recycled wood while the fencing will be locally sourced cedar. Indoor areas feature an abundance of glass to encourage natural lighting. An existing building on the site was renovated to house the indoor-outdoor bar.

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