A 135,000-square-foot transit-oriented affordable housing development is in the works for property at TriMet‘s Willow Creek Transit Center, at 235 S.E. Edgeway Drive in Hillsboro.

Mercy Housing’s Northwest office and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) are co-developing Willow Creek Family Housing and Early Learning Center – a project that gained the Hillsboro City Council’s approval late last month.

In February, the city and TriMet entered an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to spur development of affordable housing at the transit center. The parties agreed to work together to solicit development proposals for a 2.89-acre parcel on the undeveloped portion of the park-and-ride facility at the north end of the property. Pursuant to the IGA, TriMet will make the subject property available for purchase by Mercy Housing at a discounted price of $1.25 million.

Currently, the total project cost estimate is $66.5 million, according to the city.

The city will dedicate an allocation of Metro affordable housing bond funds, estimated at $15.5 million, to support the project. Mercy Housing plans to invest $3.5 million.

Carleton Hart Architecture is the project architect. Neither a general contractor nor subcontractors have been selected yet. A general contractor will likely be selected in June 2026, according to a city of Hillsboro staff report.

Plans call for a five-story building with 118 units – 29 with one bedroom, 68 with two bedrooms, 16 with three bedrooms, and five with four bedrooms. Forty-one units will be for occupants earning up to 30 percent of the area median income. Some units will be for people earning up to 50 percent of AMI and others will be for those earning up to 60 percent of AMI. Also, 18 permanent supportive housing units will serve people exiting homelessness. There will be one manager’s unit.

Amenities will include a fully accessible community room with a kitchen, a tech center, a children’s area, and smaller meeting spaces. A smart screen in the lobby will provide transit information. Each floor will feature a laundry/lounge space and secure indoor bike storage.

“The design intent will connect residents with each other, the community, and nature with a forecourt plaza, walking path, gardening (space), and play areas,” Mercy Housing developer Justine Ealy stated in an email.

Mercy Housing will partner with IRCO to provide an on-site, 3,500-square-foot early learning center on the ground floor. The center will hold two preschool classrooms each able to accommodate up to 20 students.

Resident services, led by IRCO, will include health and wellness programs, meals for seniors, after-school activities, career coaching, workforce development, and more, the city’s staff report states.

The design plan calls for construction of 59 parking spaces, including 30 tucked under the building, according to the staff report. Parallel parking spaces will be included along the public street to the south, so that early learning center attendees can be dropped off and picked up.

Design details may change during the land use and permitting process.

Construction is anticipated to start as soon as late 2026 and require approximately 20 months to complete.

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Project name: Nueva Esperanza

Location: Hillsboro

Completion: January 2024

Size: 20,157 square feet

Owner: Bienestar

Architect: Scott Edwards Architecture

Interior Designer: Scott Edwards Architecture

Engineers: Standridge Design, Stonewood Structural Engineers, Interface Engineering

General Contractor: LMC Construction

Submitting Company: Scott Edwards Architecture

Other Associates/Key Consultants: PLACE

Subcontractors: ACME Scenic and Display, Benelli Construction, Castle Masonry & Restoration, Creators, DE-EL Commercial, Eagle Striping Services, Environmental Works, Great Northwest Gutters, Halsey Design, Interior Tech, JB Insulation, Jet Industries, Joshua Legacy Painting, KO Construction, Kodiak Pacific Construction, Lanz Cabinets, Lauzon Contracting, McDermott Fence, Modular Paving Systems, MSC Contracting, Nail It! Roofing, Northwest Door & Supply, Northwest Waterproofing, Pacific Landscape Services, Pacific Northwest Glass & Mirror, Outdoor Play & Amenities, Parca Floors, Precision Countertops, Santiago Concrete, Solid Form, Standard TV & Appliance, TerraCalc, Ultra Quiet Floors, VPI

Nueva Esperanza, meaning “new hope” in Spanish, brings 150 affordable apartment homes to Hillsboro while embracing the cultural diversity of its residents through thoughtful design and community engagement.

The 6-acre development breaks down its scale into three distinct neighborhoods, called colonias, each featuring outdoor plazas with unique amenities like barbecues, play structures and piñata poles. These colonias are connected by paths including the Paseo, Arroyo Walk and Alameda, creating a walkable community that invites interaction.

The design team learned through collaboration with clients and community engagement that the development would primarily serve families, predominantly from Latinx and Somali cultures.

Cultural sensitivity extends to apartment interiors, where three- and four-bedroom units feature kitchen and living room spaces divided by partitions or doors – a specific request from community members. Two-bedroom apartments include separate vanity areas outside bathrooms.

The community building serves as a gathering hub with a large community room featuring a connected kitchen, multi-colored acoustic ceiling and warm wood accents. A retractable partition allows the space to host multiple events simultaneously.

Nueva Esperanza was designed applying principles of universal, trauma-informed and inclusive design. Five of the six architecture team members were women, two of whom were Latinx, and subconsultants included minority-owned and women-owned firms.

The development achieved Earth Advantage Platinum certification, exceeding initial sustainability goals. Features include preserved existing trees, stormwater filtration systems and a 26-kilowatt photovoltaic array.

Budget constraints were addressed through creative use of economical materials, including traditional board-and-batten siding applied in non-traditional patterns and cedar accents referencing materials common in residential neighborhoods.

Scott Edwards Architecture noted in the project submission form that it is important to the team to design for diverse communities, and it is equally important to partner with diverse businesses to deliver these projects for the community and clients. Nueva Esperanza’s design DMWESB contracting goal was 20 percent and the design team exceeded that goal, reaching 37 percent.

The minority contracting goal for the project was 35 percent MWESB participation, and the general contractor – LMC Construction – achieved 38.71 percent. LMC actively reached out to minority, women-owned, and emerging small businesses to inform them about the project and collaborated with organizations supporting MWESB firms, such as LatinoBuilt and NAMC-Oregon, to identify and engage potential contractors. LMC also provided training and resources to MWESB firms to help them meet project requirements and enhance their capabilities.

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