Oleson Woods Apartments

Tigard, Oregon

Project Type:Residential

Case No:C036020

Year:2006

SUMMARY

Located in Tigard, Oregon, a community where the number of renter households living in overcrowded conditionsincreased by 170 percent between 1990 and 2000, Oleson Woods Apartments provides three- and four-bedroomtownhouse-style apartments to families who make less than 46 percent of the area median income. Many greenfeatures have been incorporated into the development, including energy-efficient appliances, low-VOC (volatileorganic compound) finishes, and extra insulation. In addition to the six buildings, which contain 32 units, the3.15-acre (1.27-hectare) site is home to a restored wetland. Fifty species of plants and animals—some of which arethreatened—have been spotted on the site and over 200 trees have been planted there.

FEATURES

Green BuildingSustainable DevelopmentNonprofit DeveloperInfill Development

Oleson Woods Apartments

Tigard, Oregon

Project Type: Residential

Subcategory: Housing–Multifamily

Volume 36 Number 20

October–December 2006

Case Number: C036020

PROJECT TYPE

Located in Tigard, Oregon, a community where the number of renter households living in overcrowded conditionsincreased by 170 percent between 1990 and 2000, Oleson Woods Apartments provides three- and four-bedroomtownhouse-style apartments to families who make less than 46 percent of the area median income. Many greenfeatures have been incorporated into the development, including energy-efficient appliances, low-VOC (volatileorganic compound) finishes, and extra insulation. In addition to the six buildings, which contain 32 units, the3.15-acre (1.27-hectare) site is home to a restored wetland. Fifty species of plants and animals—some of which arethreatened—have been spotted on the site and over 200 trees have been planted there.

LOCATIONInner Suburban

SITE SIZE3.15 acres/1.27 hectares

LAND USESMultifamily Rental Housing, Affordable Housing, Townhouses, Apartments

KEYWORDS/SPECIAL FEATURES

Green BuildingSustainable DevelopmentNonprofit DeveloperInfill Development

DEVELOPER

Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH)Tigard, Oregon 503-968-2724www.cpahinc.org

ARCHITECT

Carleton Hart Architecture, PCPortland, Oregon503-243-2252www.chapc.com

PLANNER/PROJECT MANAGER

Housing Development CenterPortland, Oregon503-335-3668www.hdc1.org

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

Macdonald Environmental PlanningPortland, Oregon503-224-1225www.mep-pc.com

HABITAT CONSULTANT AND WETLANDS SCIENTIST

SWCA Environmental ConsultantsPortland, Oregon503-224-0333 www.swca.com

CIVIL ENGINEER

DL Design Group, Inc.Portland, Oregon503-225-1679www.dleng.net

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In contrast to the prevailing pattern of small apartments surrounding it, Oleson Woods Apartments in Tigard,Oregon—a suburb just south of Portland—is composed primarily of three- and four-bedroom townhouse-style rentalunits that are suitable for large families. Located between an existing 30-year-old, two-story garden apartmentdevelopment and single-family homes, the project’s townhouses are clustered in an open plan that consists of awooded natural area, a courtyard, a play area for residents, and a preserved wetland. The architectural focal point ofthe site is the community center, where tenants have access to services as well as meeting space.

With Oleson Woods, owner and developer Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Inc., (CPAH) has takenadvantage of a sensitive site to pursue multiple goals. The whole plan was conceived as a healthy, energy-efficientenvironment where other species could thrive alongside tenants. This goal is achieved through programs thateducate community members about the many plants and animals surrounding them and the ways they can protecttheir own health along with the environment.

Apartments are available to those earning 46 percent of the area median income (AMI). Oleson Woods has helpedaddress an imbalance between available jobs and housing by providing workforce housing that is convenient toemployment centers.

SITE DESCRIPTION

Oleson Woods is in Washington County near the geographic center of Tigard, an outer-ring suburb of Portland thatbegan to grow around a number of shopping centers during the 1970s and 1980s. Local leaders have struggled, withsome success, to create a civic identity for Tigard and to forge a sense of community among the geographically andeconomically diverse residents.

The community has the highest job-to-residence ratio in the Portland metropolitan area, with 18,000 jobs to only2,300 housing units. And an estimated 9,800 new jobs are forecasted in the coming years. But very few of thosejobs pay family wages, and most are in the shopping centers, including nearby Washington Square, a large mall thatclaims to be one of the country’s top-grossing malls per square foot.

Accessed via 91st Avenue, the site is angled in between the intersection of two arterials, Oleson Road and HallBoulevard. Originally, it was one large parcel that contained the aforementioned 30-year-old apartment complex.The parcel was subdivided and the apartment complex is now adjacent to the Oleson Woods site. Due to thepresence of a substantial natural wetland that provides scarce habitat for a number of native animal species—someof which are threatened—this land was designated as a sensitive area.

Most of the surrounding blocks are occupied by single-family homes. On the other side of Oleson Road from theproject is the public 18-hole Red Tail Golf Course. A short distance from the apartments is Washington Square. Alsowithin walking distance are schools and a library. There is a bus stop a few steps from the site, which providesservice to the Washington Square Transit Center, where commuters can make transit connections to downtownPortland and the Max Light Rail line. A hard-rail commuter line is scheduled to be added to the network in the nextfive years.

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

CPAH was founded by Loren Kerkof, a Catholic priest at St. Anthony Church. During the early 1980s, he began toform partnerships with local leaders to establish the nonprofit organization, and the group hired executive directorSheila Greenlaw-Fink in 1995.

In a two-county area where the median income is $40,740 for a family of four, residents at CPAH properties tend tobe families with a yearly household income under $20,000. The organization partners with schools, libraries, police,and youth programs to bring on-site services to its housing projects, which now include 175 units and house over500 individuals. Three-fourths of family heads work, and about half of those work in food services or retail.

CPAH’s history as a developer commenced in 1997 when it acquired two existing apartment buildings—an 84-unitlow-income housing complex and a 32-unit HUD-assisted apartment building—for rehabilitation. In 2002, CPAHcompleted its first new construction project, the 26-unit Village at Washington Square, where sustainable materialsand construction methods were specified. CPAH’s first project following Oleson Woods, the Watershed at Hillsdale,broke ground in September 2006 on a brownfield site in nearby southwest Portland.

With the exception of the Watershed at Hillsdale, the Oleson Woods development and design team is behind all ofthese projects. In addition to CPAH, the team includes the Housing Development Center (HDC), a nonprofit housingdevelopment consultant; Carleton Hart Architecture of Portland; and Macdonald Environmental Planning, also ofPortland.

Before beginning plans for Oleson Woods, CPAH had documented the need for affordable housing for larger familiesand was determined to offer big (i.e., three- and four-bedroom) units in its new project. CPAH commissionedindependent market studies to make sure the mix of residential unit types and rent goals would fit a well-definedneed, and studies showed that there were only three rental units with three bedrooms available for every fivefamilies with three or more members. The county’s U.S. Census data for 2000 showed that the amount of

PROJECT DATA

LAND USE INFORMATION

Site area (acres/hectares): 3.15/1.74Percentage complete: 100Gross density (units per acre/hectare): 10.16/25.1Number of off-street parking spaces: 47 (36 on site and 11 on adjacent property easement)

LAND USE PLAN

UseArea (Square Feet/Square Meters) Percentage of Site

Buildings 20,805/1,933 15.2

Streets/surface parking 13,118/1,219 10.0

Landscaping/open space

103,317/9,598 74.8

Total 137,240/12,750 100.0

RESIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Unit Type Number of UnitsArea (Square Feet/Square Meters)

Percentage Leased

Monthly Rental Prices

One-bedroom flat 4 615/57 100 $328–$435

Three-bedroom townhouse

21 1,120–1,150/104–107 100 $456–$700

Four-bedroom flat 3 1,340/124.5 100 $507–$775

Four-bedroom townhouse

4 1,330/124 100 $507–$775

DEVELOPMENT COST INFORMATION

Site Acquisition Cost: $518,475

Site Improvements and Construction Costs: $3,704,607Excavation/grading/sewer/water/drainage/paving/curbs/sidewalks (on site): $432,128Excavation/grading/sewer/water/drainage/paving/curbs/sidewalks (off site): $75,355Landscaping/irrigation: $122,223Fees/general conditions and profit/overhead: $377,898All other residential construction costs: $2,697,003

Soft Costs: $1,617,782Architecture/engineering: $263,518Project management: $160,000Marketing: $4,365Legal/accounting: $73,812Taxes/insurance: $65,996Title fees: $21,180All financing fees: $371,739Reserves (lease-up, operating): $62,468

Total Development Cost: $5,840,864

DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Planning started: February 2002Site purchased: July 2003Construction started: December 2004 Sales/leasing started: August 2005Project completed: November 4, 2005

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

From Portland International Airport: From the airport take a left onto NE Airport Way, then merge onto Interstate 205going south toward Interstate 84 in the direction of Portland and Salem. Continue on I-205 for about three miles (4.8kilometers), then merge onto I-84/US 30 heading west toward Portland. After nearly 5.5 miles (8.7 kilometers), takeInterstate 5 heading south. In a little more than five miles (8.2 kilometers), take the Multnomah Boulevard exit (exit296B) and bear right onto SW Multnomah Boulevard. After 2.5 miles (four kilometers), Multnomah Boulevard becomesGarden Home Road. Very shortly after this name change take a left on Oleson Road. Stay on Oleson Road for about onemile (1.6 kilometers), then turn left on 91st Avenue. The second driveway on the right leads to the Oleson Woodscommunity center and leasing office.

Driving time: 31 minutes in nonpeak traffic.

Clair Enlow, report author

Jason Scully, editor, Development Case StudiesDavid James Rose, copy editorJoanne Nanez, online production managerDevon Horne, editorial intern

This Development Case Study is intended as a resource for subscribers in improving the quality of future projects. Data containedherein were made available by the project's development team and constitute a report on, not an endorsement of, the project byULI–the Urban Land Institute.

Copyright © 2006 by ULI–the Urban Land Institute1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W., Suite 500 West, Washington D.C. 20007-5201

Document Images

Located on 3.15 acres (1.27 hectares) in Tigard, Oregon—a suburb of Portland—Oleson Woods is a 32-unit apartmentcomplex owned and developed by Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Inc., consisting of three- and

four-bedroom townhouse-style units reserved for those who make less than 46 percent of area median income.

The townhouses are oriented around public and private open spaces intended to preserve wildlife habitat and create anenvironment in which children can play.

Contributing to the project’s open space is a substantial natural wetland providing protection for wildlife, including 55identified plants and animal species, some of which are threatened.

Not only does the site boast a nature-friendly environment, but the developers also incorporated many greenfeatures—such as energy-efficient appliances, low-VOC (volatile organic compound) finishes, and extra insulation and

ventilation—into the construction of the buildings.

At the center of the site, a 1,490-square-foot (138.6-square-meter) community center provides spaces for meetings,child care, and community service referral.

Oleson Woods Apartments site plan.