If you’re an investor or developer in Oregon City, you’ll definitely want to keep the Park Place area on your radar. Park Place was brought into the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) by Metro in 2002 and has not yet been planned or annexed into the city, although hearings are now taking place.
I attended the first of those hearings at the Pioneer Community Center and listened to a proposed concept plan presented by SERA Architects, who were hired by the city to lead up a consulting team for the future development of Park Place.
The concept plan was presented to the city’s planning commission as well as to the public who were invited to attend, and proposes to develop Park Place area off highway 213 with a North Village neighborhood to the north of Redland road and a South Village neighborhood to the south.
The primary goal of both Villages is to be family-friendly as well as environmentally friendly while providing for future housing needs for the area. There will be parks and green spaces and even a trail system that will connect the two villages with the surrounding areas. The general idea is to promote foot or bike travel while reducing vehicle traffic.
Under the proposed plan, both developments will contain a mix of two residential densities and commercial/retail. This will mean a variety of home styles all in the same area, including townhouses, condos and detached houses.
It’s a unique vision, and should keep the neighborhoods looking quite a bit different from many “cookie cutter” neighborhoods you see today.
The commercial and retail areas to be included will provide the Park Place region with both jobs and services. In addition, stores will be close and convenient for families; once again promoting walking or alternate methods of transportation.
The consulting team also talked shortly about how they plan to deal with traffic and streets, schools, water and sewer service and geographic challenges to the area (land slope, primarily).
At the end of the hearing the public had a chance to comment on the concept plan; naturally there was a split between those who approved of how the city was moving forward with the process and those who opposed it. Those who opposed the development seemed mostly concerned with how it might negatively affect traffic.
The hearing was left open for anyone to write in and comment, so if you’d like to make your opinion known, visit www.parkplaceconceptplan.com/comment.
In September 2007 the Park Place concept plan will be presented to the City Commission, so speak up sooner rather than later. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the planning progresses.
If you have additional questions regarding the Park Place Concept Plan, contact us.
Peter Stewart is a licensed real estate broker in Portland, Oregon as well as a frequent contributing writer for OHM. Please don't hesitate to contact him with any questions you may have about buying or selling a home in the Portland area.
In the same category » Real Estate Investing » Land Development
Or by the same author » Peter Stewart