http://www.oregonlive.com/washington...apes_up_w.html
OHSU/AmberGlen plan shapes up with revisions
by Elizabeth Suh, The Oregonian
Thursday December 04, 2008, 3:01 AM
The 600-acre project may boost perimeter density and spread out parks
City of Hillsboro If the vision pans out in the next 20 years, a sky-high community of condos and ground-level shops would rise in Hillsboro's Tanasbourne area. The city is considering refining an earlier plan centered around a large park (shown) with elements of an alternate plan, which places parks throughout the area.
HILLSBORO -- More than two years after the vision for a community of high-rises in Tanasbourne -- the OHSU/AmberGlen project -- began to take shape, it is up for another revision.
Working with property owners and others, city leaders finished a concept plan in March 2007 that mapped out 600 acres by Northwest 185th Avenue and Cornell Road with retail, condos, offices and research centers, some in 20-story high-rises.
Since then, city leaders have continued to meet with property owners and developers to build buy-in for the vision, said Colin Cooper, city project manager.
The project has wide support, he said. The challenge is to foster the kind of development that will lead up to the market for high-rises by projected build-out in 20 years, he said.
The OHSU/AmberGlen project area is bounded to the east by 185th Avenue, to the south by the MAX line, to the west by 206th Avenue and to the north by Cornell Road until it meets Amberglen Parkway, where the boundary shifts to Walker Road.
The existing Tanasbourne district, Cooper said, has the makings for an urban center: a vibrant hub of retail and amenities close to high-quality jobs, the Sunset Highway and public transit.
"There is something special here," Cooper said. "The foundation for this vision is really not outlandish. It's really there."
Cooper said the city plans to refine the idea further, factoring in an alternate plan by some property owners that deviates from the original by dispersing parks throughout the area, rather than stacking buildings around a 36-acre central park. It also places higher densities closer to the edges of the site and winds streets around existing buildings.
The city hopes to hire a consultant by January, re-form the project's steering committee and ask the City Council to adopt a plan in late summer. Then work would move on to zoning districts and financing.
Developer inquiries have slowed in recent months, Cooper said, but the city and council are just as committed to the project.
Recent trends are toward more sustainable and self-contained districts with amenities and mixed uses, he said.
"I think it really points to the future," Cooper said. "I think it is the type of development that will be emerging out of this downturn in the economy when things are starting to happen again."
Since Cooper began working for the city in March, he said one national developer and three others have inquired about the project, particularly the plot by the Quatama MAX station in the southwest corner of the planning area that would be easiest to develop first.
The key tenant in the project area is Oregon Health & Science University, which has its West Campus off Northwest Amberglen Parkway and 185th Avenue with the Oregon National Primate Research Center, Neurological Sciences Institute, Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and Department of Science and Engineering.
Some work is under way. OHSU will keep its campus but has sold some of its property to Polygon Northwest for about 400 housing units -- townhomes, condos and apartments -- Cooper said.
Portland Community College is building a three-floor work force training center in the project area by the Willowcreek MAX station near 185th Avenue and Baseline Road.
There also has been a recent explosion of development adjacent to the OHSU/AmberGlen area, with new restaurants, retail and housing along Cornell Road at 185th Avenue.
To learn more
For more about the OHSU/AmberGlen project, visit:
tinyurl.com/5fy99x
-- Elizabeth Suh;
elizabethsuh@news.oregonian.com