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Growth drives development, and Happy Valley is cruising full-speed ahead.

Barry Cain, president of Gramor Development, said 90 percent of unbuilt land in the Portland Metro urban growth boundary is in the Happy Valley area, and the strong housing market is the reason his company is building there.

Gramor announced last week that it plans to build an $80-million, mixed-use retail center called Happy Valley Crossroads that will include a 168-unit apartment complex, restaurants, shops and other retail outlets. A new 144,000-square-foot Fred Meyer store will serve as anchor tenant for the development.

Cain said construction will start this fall and should be complete in about a year on the project, which will be sited on 34 acres at Southeast 172^nd Avenue and Sunnyside Road.

鈥�(Happy Valley) has seen a lot of growth and there are plenty of people to handle this shopping center,鈥� Cain said. 鈥淲hat you have here is another 20 years of growth that’s going to keep happening. This is different. It will keep on growing, and there are not too many opportunities like that.鈥�

It hasn’t always been that way. During the recent recession, the housing market in Happy Valley took a big hit, with foreclosures and unfinished projects, said Michael Walters, economic and community development director for the city of Happy Valley. But now the housing market there is going like 鈥済angbusters,鈥� he said.

鈥淥ur economic recovery began about three years ago,鈥� Walters said. 鈥淏ut those foreclosed homes are long gone and, for the most part, what has happened is that the market recovered.鈥�

The Happy Valley housing market includes both new and used homes, according to Walters

鈥淭here is more inventory coming in and the market is responding to a lack of supply,鈥� he said.

Pam Yancoskie, a broker with RE/MAX Equity Group in Clackamas, agreed the Happy Valley housing market is booming now.

鈥淚n Happy Valley the market is fabulous, and we have really got a strong market all over Portland,鈥� she said.

鈥淣ow I think the market is very normal, not with leaps and bounds,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e now have multiple offers due to pent up demands, and I think the (housing) market brings business.鈥�

The Happy Valley Crossroads development will keep many existing of the existing trees on the site, and will include plazas and pedestrian access. Plans also call for improvements to local roads, new sidewalks and planter islands with road extensions, and lane enlargements at both Southeast Misty Drive and 169^th Avenue. A new traffic signal will also be added at Sunnyside Road and 169^th Avenue.

The project team for Happy Valley Crossroads includes Tiland/Schmidt Architects, Harper Houf Peterson Righellis and Christopher Freshley Landscape Architects. A general contractor has noty been selected yet.

Gramor sold the land for the apartment complex to Carla Properties Ltd., which will oversee design and construction of that project, Cain said.

Construction on the entire development will create about 150 industry jobs, according to Gramor.

The apartment complex, which will cover 14 acres, will be comprised of eight buildings of varying sizes, and will include car and bicycle stalls along with green space with trees.

The $30-million Fred Meyer store will sell clothing, furniture, garden supplies, housewares, home d茅cor and will have a 16-car gas station, according to a statement by Lynn Gust, president of Fred Meyer Store Inc. The company estimates the new store will create 250 retail-related jobs once it opens.