A 26-acre site in Beaverton, across from the Nike campus, is being billed by one of its developers as the city’s “newest destination neighborhood.” 45 Degrees Central, named for the nearby 45th parallel, will include 18 acres of residential space, seven acres of commercial space and some green space.

Site and utility work is being completed, and developers are seeking commercial tenants while moving forward with the residential portion of the project. City officials and developers both believe the time is right to add single-family houses and condominiums in the area to attract businesses.

The site was annexed into the city of Beaverton last year at the request of the project’s developers. acquired the residential acreage at that point, and enlisted to create a conceptual site design.

Don Mazziotti, community development director for the city, noted that businesspeople are saying there is a need for more housing for the workforce of “educated people.”

“The 320-unit development will create the opportunity for highly-trained individuals to make their home in Beaverton,” he said.

The city offered an incentive to developers when the property was annexed by incrementally instituting property taxes on the property. Mazziotti said the move was justified by the project’s “economic value.”

The project is pitched as a mixed-use development, where walking paths and parks will connect houses on one side of the site to commercial development on the other. The commercial part of the property is owned by a separate developer, Beaverton Mobilodge, which once owned a mobile home park on the same property.

The mixed-use “vision” comes from the site’s zoning and its location near the TriMet MAX line, said MLG Vice President John O’Neil. The phased project will start with only residential units.

Site work, or “horizontal construction,” is being performed by Northwest Earthmovers and will be finished by the end of the year, O’Neil said. Designs for the condos and houses are in the city permitting process, and O’Neil expects construction to begin on the first ones at the beginning of next year. The developer expects to sell homes as they are completed, as early as spring 2012.

MLG will serve as general contractor, and will bring in major subcontractors through its own process, O’Neil said.

Despite a shaky new home and condominium market, O’Neil said he has reason to believe that new homes will sell in Beaverton.

“This is something we think is feasible from an economic standpoint, based on studies we’ve done on supply and demand,” O’Neil said. “We’re confident about the market, but that’s something we have little control over for the moment.”

Myhre Group Architects principal Don Sowieja, who has led conceptual site design and architecture work for the project, said the firm hasn’t done comparable work recently.

“We’ve had other projects, but not of this scale – it’s unique in that way,” he said.

The homes designed by Myhre Group range in size from 1,200 square feet to 2,000, and are grouped in clusters of houses and condominiums. The residential area will include a clubhouse area and two parks – one with a playground and one for more “passive outdoor recreation,” Sowieja said.

MLG is pursuing Earth Advantage certification for each of the homes, he added.

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The city of Beaverton announced today its plans to develop two mixed-use buildings on city-owned space in partnership with a private development team.

One of the buildings, developed by , will have 48 units of affordable housing with 1,700 square feet of open-to-the-public community space. will develop a separate building with 55 units of workforce/market-rate housing with 7,200 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

“Roy Kim and Central Bethany Development have a very successful track record in developing this type of project in a suburban setting,” said Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle in a statement today. “Their development of the Bethany area is one of the best in all of Washington County—I know that Mr. Kim will deliver an outstanding development in Central Beaverton.”

Both buildings will sit on a block at the corner of Southwest First Street and Lombard Avenue, a property the city purchased in June for $1.07 million. Beaverton issued a request for proposals for developers in July, and Community Partners for Affordable Housing was one of two firms that submitted applications.

Beaverton Community Development Director Don Mazziotti said the details of the public-private partnership will be laid out in a disposition and development agreement to be negotiated soon. The city’s contribution might include a long-term lease of the property, he said.

The existing buildings on the site are currently being deconstructed.

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A group of 28 local policy makers that present recommendations to the Metro Council unanimously support a modest urban growth boundary expansion for the Portland-metro area.

But about two-thirds of the group’s members went further and asked that the council also require residential zoning in those expanded areas to be as dense as most Portland neighborhoods.

During a Metro Policy Advisory Committee meeting last week, Portland Mayor Sam Adams received majority support for a resolution asking the council to require housing densities of at least 20 units per acre in any expanded area. If the council was to consent, the density requirement would be equivalent to row housing on the fringes of the metro area.

“Local jurisdictions should commit to a higher capacity target – based on a transit supportive density of a minimum 20 units per buildable acre,” Adams wrote in a letter to MPAC. “The particular areas that are under consideration represent the best of the urban reserves – they are adjacent to major transportation corridors and town centers.”

According to Adams, a set of row houses each with about 2,000 to 2,500 square feet of space would allow for about 16 to 22 units per buildable acre. Comparatively, detached homes built on 5,000-square-foot lots would allow for about eight units per buildable acre, and a three-story apartment building would allow for between 35 and 40 units per buildable acre.

Adams’ recommendation came as MPAC recommended to the Metro Council how much to expand the UGB. The council is set to decide Oct. 20 whether to expand the UGB.

The group unanimously called for adding approximately 1,600 acres to the UGB for residential needs. That amount of acreage falls into the lower end of the middle third of Metro’s population growth projections for the area over the next 20 years and would be considered a modest expansion, according to Metro spokesman Ken Ray.

The Metro Council is considering 10 areas for potential expansion. Two of those areas touted since the beginning of the process – a 1,063-acre swath south of Hillsboro and the 543-acre South Cooper Mountain area near Beaverton – have gone through the preliminary planning process and would meet MPAC’s recommendation.

“We regard (South Cooper Mountain) as absolutely critical to accommodating growth,” said Don Mazziotti, community development director for the city of Beaverton. “Through our initial planning we’ve discovered that 12 to 15 units per buildable acre would work. At first blush, 20 per acre sounds like a real stretch, not only for this area, but even parts of Portland.”

The MPAC resolution is just a recommendation, but Mazziotti noted that such a requirement would negate initial planning work already done.

Other MPAC members had similar concerns. Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said 20 units per buildable acre should be a goal, but that it is too late in the process for it to be required.

“It’s unrealistic to think we can go from a region that internally averages about 10 units per acre to the expectation that only on the edges be 20 units per acre,” Willey said. “It’s too tall of a charge right now. I’d like to see it in 2015 or later.”

Adams emphasized that the greater density is consistent with other recommendations MPAC has made to the Metro Council in the past.

In the end, the final decision will belong to the Metro Council.

“The council can condition UGB expansions with certain requirements,” Ray said, “but this is just a recommendation. The council will listen, but they’re not saying if they would include something like this.”

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Two development teams have submitted proposals to redevelop a block at the corner of Southwest First Street and Lombard Avenue in Beaverton that the city purchased earlier this year.

Both and submitted proposals before the city’s Sept. 20 deadline to do so. An evaluation team made up of city officials and staffers will now take the month of October to evaluate the proposals and interview the project teams before selecting a development partner for the project.

A development team made up of Catholic Charities and Caritas Housing had prequalified along with the other two teams to submit a plan on the request for proposals, but decided to pull out after learning more about the project, according to Jordan Imlah, a spokesman for the city of Beaverton.

While the details of the project proposals have yet to be released, Community Development Director Don Mazziotti has made it clear the city is hoping for a mixed-use development with about 70 to 80 units of workforce housing over ground-floor retail.

The city purchased the property in June with $1.07 million of general fund money that had been set aside for strategic property investments. City officials saw the site, which had a building on it before being demolished in the summer, as a good development opportunity that could help connect Old Town Beaverton to downtown.

According to the timeline set out in the RFP, city officials expect to have a development team selected by the end of August, a non-binding memorandum of understanding signed by mid November and negotiations beginning for a disposition and development agreement by the end of the year.

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Nearly three months after stating that it supports an urban renewal plan that would redirect future property tax dollars away from schools, the Beaverton School Board is asking voters for more property tax money.

The Beaverton School Board last week voted unanimously to place a five-year levy on the November ballot that could raise as much as $80 million to help operate Beaverton schools. The measure will be on the November ballot, along with one that will ask voters to approve a $150 million urban renewal plan that would redirect property taxes from property tax-funded districts – like schools – and toward construction projects.

The two measures would affect property taxes in Beaverton during tough economic times, but school district and city officials say longterm benefits would outweigh initial costs.

“It needs to be clear that one is a tax increase measure and the other is not,” said Don Mazziotti, the community and economic development director for the city of Beaverton. “The urban renewal initiative is not a new tax.

“But even though both are different, they’ll both be on the ballot at the same time and both will benefit the city. So, they’ve decided to support ours and we will support their measure.”

Beaverton School District expects to face a shortfall between $24 million and $37 million for the 2012-2013 school year.

The school board’s requested levy would raise property taxes in Beaverton by $1 per $1,000 in assessed value for a five-year period. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, the district would use the money raised for almost any operations-related cost.

The city’s urban renewal initiative, however, wouldn’t increase property taxes. Instead, it would use increased accumulations of property taxes – money that would normally go to schools, fire districts or counties – to help repay $150 million in bonds used for projects like road improvements, redevelopment grants and loans and other construction projects.

School district officials recognize that while urban renewal may impact district funding, creation of a URA in Beaverton won’t hurt it more than one anywhere else in the state.

Beaverton School District Executive Director for Facilities Dick Steinbrugge, who also represented the school district on the urban renewal plan’s citizens’ advisory committee, explained that school districts receive their property tax funding differently than other districts. Property owners pay drainage or fire districts directly, but for schools they pay the state, which then redistributes money to school districts across the entire state.

“Urban renewal in Portland affects the (Beaverton) school district as much as urban renewal in Beaverton does,” Steinbrugge said. “So, we would rather see the benefits of urban renewal here than somewhere else.

“Part of the vision of the (urban renewal) plan is to bring a more mixed demographic to Beaverton, which would not only bring in more students, but would also, in theory, bring in more property taxes.”

Both school district and city officials said they’re aware of how hard it is to ask voters for money right now.

School board members wanted to put a levy on the ballot closer to $1.50 per $1,000 in assessed value, but initial polling results showed that voters would be unlikely to support such a request. Board member Mary VanderWeele made it clear that the amount being requested isn’t nearly enough, but she understood that it was likely all they could ask for right now.

Mazziotti added that the likelihood of each measure passing could suffer because they’re on the same ballot.

“It’s always hard to ask the voters for money,” he said. “But our job is to educate voters about what these measures are actually doing and how they could help our town. If we do a good job with that, I think the voters will support both. And if the voters go in the other direction, that’s their choice.”

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The city of Beaverton is one step closer to finding a developer to create workforce housing on a land parcel it purchased earlier this year.

Three developers are prequalified to purchase and redevelop a city-owned block at the southwest corner of First Street and Lombard Avenue. The teams – Portland-based Blankslate Development, Catholic Charities/Caritas Housing and Community Partners for Affordable Housing – now will go through a request for proposals process.

The city of Beaverton purchased the property in June with $1.07 million of general fund money that had been set aside for strategic property investments. A building on the property was deconstructed last month. Don Mazziotti, community and economic development director for the city, envisions the property being transformed into a four- or five-story building with 70 or 80 units of workforce housing over ground-floor retail space.

The firms have three months to respond to the RFP with a detailed plan of how they plan to purchase and develop the property. A firm should be selected sometime in October, Mazziotti said, and could potentially start construction by November.

Though the city owns the property, Mazziotti doesn’t expect much public investment. The site sits in the city’s proposed new urban renewal area, but construction would likely start before voters even get a chance to vote on the URA.

City officials hope the project will not only provide workforce housing – essentially housing for families that make less than $66,900 a year – but also help bridge the gap between Beaverton’s Old Town and downtown areas.

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The Beaverton City Council has given its approval for a new $151 million urban renewal plan in the city’s downtown.

The council on Tuesday night unanimously supported an ordinance to move forwards with the plan, which city staffers and community members have been working on over the last year. The move comes after the plan received a vote of confidence from the various property-tax funded organizations around the area.

The legally required public hearing and passage of the ordinance are some of the last steps before Beaverton officials can put the urban renewal plan in front of voters in November, a move required under the city charter.

“It’s what we expected after a long process of putting this together,” said Don Mazziotti, community development director for the city and one of the driving forces behind the plan. “We were thorough, and I think it’s why you’re seeing the consensus.”

Next up, the city council will take a vote on a resolution at its July 12 meeting that will officially put the urban renewal plan on the November ballot. If voters approve the plan in November, the city can start work on selling bonds and starting redevelopment projects outlined in the plan.

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Beaverton Community Development Director Don Mazziotti will speak on the city’s plans for a new downtown urban renewal area as part of the new Beaverton Downtown Forum.

The Beaverton Downtown Forum is a new monthly event sponsored by the Beaverton Downtown Association and the city’s newly created Main Street Program that will cover a varying range of topics that relate to downtown Beaverton. The first forum will take place June 15 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Beaverton Community Center, 12350 S.W. 5^th St.

Beaverton city staffers, along with several members of the surrounding community, have been working on a new urban renewal plan for Beaverton since last year. The plan is expected to go in November to voters, who must approve it by a majority vote for the plan to be set in place. Citizens will not only have a chance to hear about the plan, but ask questions as well.

Refreshments are being donated by Beaverton Bakery and Ava Roasteria.

Future forum topics are likely to cover downtown parking issues, sign codes and marketing and promotion opportunities.

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After spending $525,000 over 20 months to develop a 20-year plan – the – for achieving community vision, city officials are taking another big step.

Beaverton City Council last week authorized the purchase of three parcels – to become one city block – at the southwest corner of First Street and Lombard Avenue. City officials hope the property, which is being earmarked for redevelopment into workforce housing, can help spur private development.

“This purchase is the first in what I hope to be several strategic property acquisitions to help facilitate redevelopment and to begin bringing the recently adopted Civic Plan to life for (Beaverton),” Mayor Denny Doyle said. “Property acquisition is a key priority.”

The city will pay $1.07 million for the parcels in a deal expected to close June 10. Doyle, who took office in 2009, said the city has set aside small amounts of general fund money so that it can jump on opportunities like this one.

The Civic Plan, an update of Beaverton’s 1981 planning effort, outlines the vision that citizens and government officials have for the city. One of the key goals is to make the central city, which includes Old Town, into a business and residential district.

Community Development Director Don Mazziotti envisions the lot, which houses three part-time businesses that will relocate, being transformed into a four-story building with housing for workers making approximately $66,900 – the city’s median annual income. The upper three floors would consist of 70-80 two- or three-bedroom units, while the bottom floor would be neighborhood retail, he said.

“We’re guessing that this site is ideal for housing, and that’s my personal intuition, but we will listen to any developer with a good idea and capital,” Mazziotti said.

Gary Winkler, a principal with multifamily brokerage firm Winkler & DuPont Real Estate Services, said city governments typically don’t buy land to serve as a pass-through to a private developer.

“It’s an aggressive move by Beaverton, but I think Beaverton needs to be aggressive right now,” Winkler said. “I can’t think of any projects that have moved forward out there recently.

“They need to create structure around downtown in Beaverton, and this lets them control what happens with a site they see as a catalyst.”

Paul Roder, chairman of the Central Beaverton Neighborhood Association, said that purchases such as this one are exactly what his organization believes will spur redevelopment downtown and initiate the Civic Plan.

“Maybe this isn’t a keystone of the area and the Civic Plan, but it can serve as an example of what’s to come. It’s an exciting opportunity for that area.”

Mazziotti added that the purchase will bring construction to Beaverton after several years of relatively few projects.

“Growth has been slow over the past few years and we want to make things happen,” he said. “We believe this can serve as a catalyst site.”

The city will combine the three sites into one and issue a request for qualifications. Once city officials have a list of qualified bidders, they will conduct a detailed request for proposals process and select a developer. Mazziotti expects a developer to be selected by September.

City officials don’t expect much public money to go into the project. The site is in the city’s proposed new urban renewal area, but both Doyle and Mazziotti doubt this project will receive any urban renewal money. They both expect work to start on the Old Town project before bonds would be issued for the proposed URA, which won’t go before voters until November.

“We want to get this going quickly,” Doyle said. “We think this is a good time to get something out of the ground that could bring about more development.”

More information about the Civic Plan is available at .

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A unanimous vote to delay the creation of a new urban renewal district in Beaverton has left future city development in limbo.

Amid concerns from stakeholder groups that the process was moving too quickly, Beaverton’s community development director, Don Mazziotti, decided not to pursue a ballot measure in May 2011 and instead target one in November 2011.

Mazziotti emphasized that the delay is temporary. Others involved, however, say an urban renewal plan isn’t close to moving forward.

“We were trying to accomplish too much in too short of time with too many questions,” said Alec Jensen, chairman of the 23-member citizens’ advisory committee that passes urban renewal recommendations to the Beaverton Urban Redevelopment Agency. “We needed to push the reset button, so that’s what we did.”

Concerns began to surface last month when the group was hashing out the maximum amount of city indebtedness – the final piece that needed to be set in place for the proposed urban renewal district. When tax increment financing is used for urban renewal, a city must establish the maximum amount it will borrow for projects; repayment eventually is made with property tax dollars.

After the group established district boundaries and identified potential projects, ECONorthwest, the city’s consultant, drafted a financial impact analysis with $150 million of indebtedness.

According to the analysis, that amount of indebtedness would require the district to last 39 years. Money would be issued for projects over the first 27 years and then paid back over the following 12 years. The numbers were determined by considering the size of the urban renewal district, the estimated costs of the proposed projects and projected property tax increases and growth over the time period.

“It’s a big number and a lot of time, so we just need to be fully informed before we go forward with anything,” said Jensen, executive officer of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. He has a vested interest in the indebtedness because tax dollars would be redirected from his department to the urban renewal district.

The citizens’ advisory committee and the redevelopment agency voted unanimously to forgo the May vote. They also canceled their December meetings.

The groups asked ECONorthwest to conduct several more financial impact analyses for comparison to the initial one. The committee wants to see a baseline analysis as if there were no urban renewal, and then others starting at $90 million of indebtedness and then increasing by 10 percent.

“The (group) wants to see several more scenarios as well as the assumptions behind each,” Mazziotti said. “This is all about getting the right plan for Beaverton, so (the delay) is welcome from my standpoint as long as we get a better plan in the end.”

Mazziotti said the main problem is that ECONorthwest and the city drafted an approach to developing the urban renewal district based on Hillsboro’s most recent efforts, which ECONorthwest conducted. While the two towns have similarities, he said, they also have a lot of differences.

“What we’ve realized is that there are more stakeholders here and more factors to include, so it’s going to take more time,” Mazziotti said.

Mazziotti is hopeful that ECONorthwest can complete the extra work within its initial $95,000 budget. But he said that issue would not be revisited until mid-January, when the groups reconvene.

In the meantime Jensen is relieved that the group will have more time to discuss the proposed indebtedness and choose the right amount.

“I’ve said all along that (Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue) is not against urban renewal when it’s used right and conducted in a well-thought-out manner,” he said. “And we’re hoping that these analyses can help us reach that point.”

Ray Bowman, a member of the citizens’ advisory committee and chairman of the Beaverton Committee for Citizen Involvement, said additional time will benefit the plan’s public image.

“I think the general public was getting a little confused because there are so many planning efforts going on in Beaverton and this plan was moving so fast,” Bowman said. “In the end, if we want urban renewal to come to Beaverton it’s going to have to be approved by the public, so this should give us some time to inform them.”

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