A new, 150-unit affordable housing community is coming to the heart of Hillsboro.

Nueva Esperanza will feature 12 residential buildings and a community building on a six-acre lot near the intersection of Northeast 53rd Avenue and Hidden Creek Drive.

The co-developers of the $37 million project are Hillsboro-based Bienestar and Portland-based Housing Development Center. Scott | Edwards Architecture is the designer, and LMC Construction is the general contractor.

Most of the apartments will have two or three bedrooms, though others will have one or four bedrooms. Sixty of the units are intended for households earning 30 percent of the area median income or less. The remainder will be for households earning 20 to 60 percent of the AMI.

The complex will have 169 parking spots, exceeding the requirement of one spot per unit.

The intent of the design, architect Eugenia Fama-Higgins of Scott | Edwards Architecture said, was to create small neighborhoods within the larger one. Residential buildings will be grouped into three distinct clusters – each with its own character and an outdoor plaza in the middle. Walking paths and vehicular streets will circulate through the site and connect the plazas.

Nueva Esperanza, according to Bienestar’s website, is its first project designed to meet two culturally different communities: Latinx families and Somali immigrant families. To ensure the needs of both would be met, focus groups were engaged at different stages of development. This made the project unique for Fama-Higgins, she said. From those conversations, she added, importance was placed on picnic areas, a piñata pole and a large meadow to accommodate soccer games and outdoor movies during summertime.

Both communities requested a separate vanity in the two-bedroom apartments where there’s only one bathroom. In units with two bathrooms, one has a shower and the other has a tub. For the three-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments, future residents asked for the kitchen to be separated from the living area by a partition wall or a door.

One point of contention between the communities was whether dogs would be allowed. To find middle ground, Fama-Higgins said, the team added a fence around the area for dogs. Also, signage will indicate whether dogs are allowed in certain areas.

All residential buildings will be three stories. The walk-up apartments will be stacked and identical, with entryways on the plaza and street side. The other configuration will be a two-story townhome unit over a flat.

The buildings will have a traditional wood siding, but Fama-Higgins said it would be a vertical board-and-batten pattern to add a bit of playfulness. The bluish color is still being finalized, she added, but so far feedback from the city of Hillsboro, clients and community members has been positive.

Earth Advantage gold certification will be sought for the project. Residential buildings at the site’s south end will be made solar-ready for a maximum 26-kilowatt load. The solar power will serve the community’s side lighting and some common spaces.

Construction crews will use an advanced framing method for the residential buildings. Instead of 16 inches of separation between studs, there will be 24 inches. This will allow use of less material and reduce the labor cost, Fama-Higgins said, but also create more space for insulation and thus improve the building’s energy performance.

The project team already has exceeded its goal of 20 percent participation by minority-owned, woman-owned, or emerging small businesses. So far, it is at 30 percent, according to a Scott | Edwards Architecture representative.

Currently, permits are being sought for the project. Crews expect to break ground this month and finish in fall 2023.

On the Boards is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact the 91��Ƶ at 503-802-7221 or newsroom@djcOregon.com.

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In the small town of Cornelius, between Hillsboro and Forest Grove, a unique, $19 million mixed-use project is nearing completion.

The top two stories of the three-story Cornelius Place will hold affordable housing units for seniors. But unlike most mixed-use buildings, there will be no commercial or retail space; the first floor will hold the new Cornelius Public Library.

“It’s exciting,” said Karen Hill, the library’s executive director since 2006. “And the biggest deal is that we can have more books, obviously. But we’ll have this big community room that we can split into two. We’ll also have five study rooms and all of these spaces are going to be packed.”

The library will have sufficient space for 40,000 books, movies and music. Also, at least 30 computers and laptops will be available. In addition to the 100-seat community room, there will be a space dedicated to youths and a coffee bar operated by a local microenterprise.

Cornelius Place is rising on the corner of Adair Street and 14th Avenue, across from Cornelius Elementary School. The prominent building in the small downtown area will provide a central gathering point.

“We have no competition in town,” Hill said with a laugh. “We think we’re going to double everything on day one.”

The development team includes partners , and the YMCA. Scott | Edwards Architecture designed the building, and Walsh Construction is serving as the general contractor.

The building has a U-shape with a courtyard in the middle, far from either street.

Plans call for 45 housing units – 44 for tenants age 55 or older and making between 50 and 60 percent of regional median income, and one for the apartment manager. Two of the apartments will have two bedrooms, six will be studios and the rest will have one bedroom, according to BRIDGE Housing project manager Destin Ferdun.

These days, crews are installing exterior siding, drywall, fire suppression and HVAC items and other interior elements.

“We’re supposed to be complete by mid-February of next year,” Ferdun said. “With the residential, we have a community room there for the residents. There’s a residents’ services office run by Centro Cultural, a local nonprofit, and we have leasing offices and bulk storage for the residents as well.”

Subcontractors currently working on-site include: Platinum Exteriors; Anning Johnson, which is installing drywall; Sterling Floors; RDF Builders, which is performing finishing carpentry and earthwork; Hildebrand Concrete of Washougal, Washington, which is carrying out site concrete; Boring-based United Brothers Company, which is installing cabinetry; Merritt Electric; Peninsula Plumbing; Jet Heating; and Crown Fire Systems.

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After nearly a decade of progress in fits and starts, the Cornelius Place project team is finally on the verge of breaking ground. The $18.5 million building will include a public library and senior housing when it opens in late 2018.

“It’s been a story of commingling funding streams to get the funding to work,” said Ryan McCluckie, project manager and architect with Scott | Edwards Architecture.

Multiple firms are involved in development of Cornelius Place, which will be built on North Adair Street, between 13th and 14th avenues, in the small city between Forest Grove and Hillsboro. It was originally supposed to be a simple replacement for the city’s aging downtown library, but now it will stand three stories and include 45 residential units for seniors.

“There aren’t many three-story buildings in Cornelius,” McCluckie said. “It was going to be just a library. We wanted to add value by creating another great use for the site.”

Securing money to pay for those uses was the overarching problem. Voters rejected a $2.4 million bond measure in 2013. A proposal in 2014 for a similar bond measure was scrapped in favor of using other money.

“Voters in Cornelius are very sensitive to tax increases for public benefit,” McCluckie said.

Developers’ funding plan became a patchwork of federal and state grants, Oregon Lottery dollars, private donations, low-income housing tax credits and private investments.

“I am a consultant and worked all over the country,” said Sharon Nielson, a principal with the Nielson Group, which is helping developer Bienestar Inc. tackle Cornelius Place. “This is a project that has one of the largest number of funding sources I have ever seen.”

Bridge Housing also was brought aboard to help coordinate funding.

“Bienestar will still be involved with the project as an administrative service provider,” McCluckie said. “They will create programs for the residents.”

For Bridge Housing, which has a large portfolio of affordable housing projects in California, Cornelius Place represented a chance to increase its presence in Oregon.

With funding secured, designers were able to move past the conceptual stage in September 2016. What emerged was a design for a new 16,000-square-foot library to replace the city’s existing 3,000-square-foot structure. The apartments – including studios and one- and two-bedroom units – will occupy the structure’s second and third floors. Building residents will be seniors, age 55 and older, with incomes up to 60 percent of the area’s median income.

“There will be some project-based vouchers, which will help those that need deeper subsidies of the rent,” Nielson said.

The development will also include a community space, a resident meeting space, a 5,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard and a YMCA community room. Stakeholders hope the project will boost downtown Cornelius’ image.

“It is a catalyst for downtown,” McCluckie said. “It really caps a piece of the downtown where the city has tried to make improvements.”

Developers believe Cornelius Place can show entrepreneurs what the city has to offer.

“It has been the discussed as the gateway to Cornelius,” McCluckie said. “It is a landmark. Cornelius has been moving toward an inclusive business climate.”

On the Boards is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91��Ƶ architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or khohlfeld@djcOregon.com.

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