scott.huish//December 13, 2020//


This year’s Top Projects winner in the Senior Living category is a bright new addition to an historic Oregon community.
The new Village at Mary’s Woods in Lake Oswego development connects the Mary’s Woods community in Lake Oswego with a brand new expansion that includes independent and assisted living, wellness amenities and public retail space in nine buildings adjacent to Highway 43 on the east side of the 40-acre campus, which was originally founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1859 as the order’s first establishment in North America outside Canada.
The new expansion ties in with the existing campus facilities on the west side of the property while also creating a more public-facing presence along the busy highway connecting Lake Oswego and West Linn with Portland.
“Interestingly, the last thing the Sisters built is actually their new front door,” said Project Architect George Signori of Ankrom Moisan Architects.
General contractor R&H Construction carried out construction on the project, and completed work in November 2019 on nine buildings that include four residential buildings with a combined total of 198 units, an assisted living building with 48 units, a commons building and three separate amenity buildings. The structures cover a combined total of just over 422,000 square feet.
The new complex is marked by a 65-foot belltower, and is an ode to the traditional European village, both aesthetically and with its programming.
“Having amenities like a great coffee shop, a hair and nail salon, a dentist, personal trainer group, a medical clinic onsite along with all of the other amenities offered by Mary’s Woods creates a vibrant, active village,” said Mark Simpson, the senior project manager on the job for R&H Construction. “There is central community building with a large front porch and grassy area in the middle of all the action that to me feels like a town square.”
The Mediterranean architecture, white stucco, and brick provides an inviting feel and cohesiveness between the new buildings and the historic Provincial House, which was built by the order in 1910 near the Willamette River on the east side of the property. The Village uses recurring architectural themes that help establish hierarchy among buildings and help with wayfinding for both residents and the public.
“There is central community building with a large front porch and grassy area in the middle of all the action that to me feels like a town square,” Simpson said. “ The architecture of the new buildings blends in and complements the rest of the campus very well. There is a very prominent and beautiful bell tower that serves as a point of reference while walking around the grounds. The mix of brick buildings up front mixes well with rest of the stucco buildings.”
Simpson said the project team worked “amazingly well” together.