Officials broke ground Monday on a 75-unit affordable housing development in the South Cooper Mountain area of Beaverton.

The four-story, wood-framed Goldcrest Apartments will offer 29 one-bedroom units, 39 two-bedroom units and seven three-bedroom units for families earning 30-60 percent of area median income.

Nonprofit developer BRIDGE Housing is spearheading the project at 12595 S.W. 172nd Terrace. Salazar Architect is the designer, and Colas Construction is the general contractor.

BRIDGE Housing entered a purchase option agreement for the property in 2019. The project team is now working to stay ahead of potential challenges during construction, such as delivery delays of materials, BRIDGE Housing senior project manager Joni Hartmann said.

Design began in mid-2020, Salazar Architect founding principal Alex Salazar said. The existing residential neighborhood and Cooper Mountain provided context. Goldcrest Apartments’ design was inspired by regional agrarian forms and topography of the area.

The traditional gable roof is asymmetric, with a steeper pitch on street-facing elevations that scales up to address the public realm and a shallower pitch facing the courtyard that scales down.

“From a technical point of view, we inherited sort of an L-shape location of the building,” Salazar said.

The development is segmented into three boxes, each of which scales down to fit the neighborhood context while wrapping around south-facing indoor-outdoor building amenities.

A courtyard will provide a transition between the residential building and the parking lot.

“We spent a lot of time sorting out how to integrate the lobby space as you come into the building and how that can flow directly out to the courtyard, so it feels like an integrated relationship,” Salazar said.

A mural is planned for the courtyard’s south side; however, it has not received funding yet.

Residential building amenities will include two elevators, a community room with a kitchen, a playground, garden boxes, offices for both property management and residential services, laundry rooms on all floors, a first-floor bike room, and secure entrances.

On-site residential services will be provided by Hacienda CDC. Those will include financial counseling, after-school programming for K-8 students, and an early childhood education program, Hartmann said.

The development site is near Mountainside High School, and relatively close to both Cooper Mountain Nature Park and Paul and Verna Winkelman Park.

“With a school across the street, it will be a great spot for residents,” Salazar said.

The location will provide great opportunities for families – especially young residents, Hartmann added.

“There’s been some studies done that (indicate) low-income kids that grow up or live in higher-resource neighborhoods have better outcomes,” she said.

Goldcrest Apartments will be surrounded by nascent single-family homes and multifamily development. The site was selected for its proximity to parks, schools, retail spaces, and future transit expansion on Southwest Scholls Ferry Road.

The total estimated project cost is around $40.696 million.

Construction is expected to require 18 months. BRIDGE Housing anticipates units opening to residents in April 2024.

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