![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Orenco Station is a new transit-oriented community of 1,800 homes, a town center, office, retail and nearby employment on 209 acres in the town of Hillsboro, west of Portland, Oregon. Extending out from the light rail and town center is a grid of walkable, tree-lined streets and parks, featuring cottages, condominiums and rowhomes in a broad range of sizes and prices.. The site of Orenco Station was designated a "Town Center" under Portland's 2040 regional plan, one of a number of Town Centers along a new light rail line. As the most ambitious and most successful such community to date, it has become a closely studied laboratory of new ideas in the battle against sprawl. Community History
It wasn't always so. At the turn of the century, the west side's Washington County contained a small, walkable town called Orenco. A company town of the Oregon Nursery Company, Orenco featured a small downtown of shops and services, narrow, tree-lined streets with cozy bungalows, and an electric railway that connected the town to the big-city resources of nearby Portland. During the Depression, the Oregon Nursery Company fell on hard times, and the town fell into decline. After World War II, walkable streetcar suburbs like Orenco gave way across the country to the familiar pattern of postwar sprawl. The light rail line was ripped out, replaced with government-subsidized roads and freeways. Walkable streets were replaced with spaghetti cul-de-sac neighborhoods and arterials, and mixed-use neighborhoods were replaced with single-use strip malls and office parks. Everything was accessible almost exclusively by car.
Today, as Americans search for more livable, walkable alternatives to sprawl, the old streetcar suburbs like Orenco are being rediscovered. Orenco Station is demonstrating that perhaps we need look no further than our own back yard for one of the most appealing, time-tested models of livability. At Orenco Station the old Orenco has been reborn, with high tech Internet wiring and other new bells and whistles, but with the same timeless neighborhood structure. Project History When funding for Westside MAX light rail was approved, Portland's METRO regional government committed to creating new residential developments along the line, to provide a greater density of light rail users in the new corridor. MAX was extended into the existing high tech industrial area of Hillsboro, and on into the center of the town of Hillsboro. The site of Orenco was a greenfield site along the line, between downtown Portland and downtown Hillsboro, and surrounded by thousands of high tech jobs but very little housing. Metro believed that it was critical to improve the mix of housing to jobs in this region between Portland and Hillsboro.
Members of the design team carefully studied old Orenco, as well as other successful older neighborhoods in Portland and around the country. The structure of these places was studied to understand what made them successful. One of the key concepts the team identified was a sequence of open spacesa "string of pearls," as it has been calledlinking the pedestrian experience through vistas and visual monuments, creating a stronger sense of place. The historic architecture of the region was also echoed but not copied, establishing an emotional connection to the region's history, climate and terrain
Neighborhood Structure Orenco Station's plan is organized around a pedestrian spine that extends north from the light rail through row homes to the Town Center, and beyond to a formal central park surrounded by a grid of walkable streets. The site is bisected by a major east-west arterial road, and the design team decided to exploit this troublesome challenge to support the town center businesses after only two years of construction. To date, all Town Center businesses have been successful.
Many of Orenco Station's residents work in tech jobs nearby, work at home, or commute on light rail, but a growing number of residents work in the Town Center. Many Town Center business owners are also homeowners at Orenco Station. Janis Steinfeld, owner of August Gardens Floral and Gifts, has a daily commute that is literally a walk in the park. She is helped by Rex Lee, an employee who lives in a townhome next door. Jim Bocci, owner of Merchant of Venice Italian Café, lives down the street in a cottage on the park, as does Sabahat Rafiq, owner of Shalimar Gourmet Indian Cuisine. Terry Brown, an artist, has his gallery in the downstairs of his live/work townhome, and also works part-time at Merchant of Venice. His wife, Debra, operates her own business in the Town Center building next door. Mixed-Use Centers Mixed-use urban centers inside the UGB are one key to the Growth Concept. Creating higher density centers of employment and housing and transit service with compact development, retail, cultural and recreational activities, in a walkable environment is intended to provide efficient access to goods and services, enhance multi-modal transportation and create vital, attractive neighborhoods and communities. In keeping with the jobs/housing balance in centers, a jobs/housing balance by regional sub-areas can and should also be a goal. This would account for the housing and employment outside centers, and direct policy to adjust for better jobs/housing ratios around the region. Portland's MAX Light Rail Service
Orenco Station in the News "Innovative development blends light rail access, small lots with 'community heartbeat'"
The 190-acre project is just the sort of project Metro envisioned for land along the new Westside light rail line, said Mike Burton, Metro's executive director. Despite high densities (about 18 units per acre), the homes are well-designed and offer a sense of privacy lacking in many homes on much larger lots, he said. The mix of apartments, townhomes and single-family homes, amenities such as parks and a swimming pool, the town center commercial area and an adjacent larger commercial development contribute to a sense of community, rather than being "just a bunch of houses," said Burton. "It's a great project," said Burton. "I think they've achieved a heck of a goal...."
The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But Orenco Station is getting a lot of attention for its innovations in urban planning and design. "'It's just wonderful what they're doing there," says Peter Wilcox, an architect with the non-profit Portland Community Design and an expert on new urban design standards. "'All the traditional rules of zoning and planning were thrown out the window," says Ken Grimes, chief architect for the project being developed by PacTrust, a Portland real estate development company.... "Arriving at the Station" Orenco Station is the name of a stop on the Westside light rail line now being built from Portland to its western suburbs. It's also the name of an ambitious 190-acre development that attempts to entice Oregonians into buying houses on lots as small as 3,700 square feet that are within walking distance of the transit route...
The neotraditional or New Urbanist planning concept is risky for a developer because it breaks from the suburban norm, Kadlub admits, but "the community is accepting it very well." "Small Lots Attract High Tech Buyers Outside Portland " Young buyers want access to a light rail line, shopping in a mini-downtown and a variety of choices in sports and recreation. Based on research, Costa Pacific Homes wanted to build a community with the features its buyers wanted, while taking advantage of the built-in amenity, the light rail line.
To create the pedestrian-oriented feeling in the community, the homes are closer to the street than usual. Surprisingly, a maximum distance is set regarding where a house is sited in relation to the sidewalk.... While the homes are close to the sidewalk, the buyer maintains privacy because of the elevated pads, slightly raising the homes above the sidewalk.... and their research has paid off. Costa Pacific Homes sold 95 single family homes and townhomes of the 391 planned since opening in October, 1997. For more information, visit Orenco Station at www.OrencoStation.net.
|
![]() |
|