Rockwood
Village

NEIGHBORS PARK, GRESHAM, OREGON

Goal: Create a world-class site plan and model workforce housing community that includes a privately funded public park with robust programming to provide services, social engagement, and economic mobility opportunities to residents and the community at large.

Rockwood Village is a five building workforce housing project located in the heart of the Rockwood neighborhood in Gresham, Oregon. As the diverse Rockwood population continues to increase, the supply of high quality and attainable housing becomes even more scarce. While Rockwood Village will be the largest new housing community in the Rockwood neighborhood of Gresham with its 224 units, Rockwood Village is still just a small reprieve to this housing crisis. This project is designed to not only meet the needs of the general workforce community, but also of the population demographic that tends to be larger families. This site includes five, 4-story buildings, a stand-alone community building and new public park, Neighbors Park. All units are a mix of 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4- bedrooms. 64% of the units for this project are comprised of larger units to meet the needs of larger family sizes.

To promote health, education, and social activities, the community building includes a large gathering space with a full kitchen for events and social interaction, along with audio visual equipment that will enable the community to host workshops and seminars. To foster outdoor activities, the project provides flexible outdoor spaces that include an outdoor playfield, meandering walking paths, picnic areas, a play area, and a large community garden area. Pedestrian paths that can be used as an exercise track provide connection between the Rockwood Village community and the adjacent school and other local amenities. A new street that bisects the property will provide residents with direct access to public transportation, major retail, and services along the major arterial streets. To complete this community, CDP partnered with Hacienda CDC, Oregon’s largest Latino-led, Latino-serving housing organization, as a Co -Developer and Co-General Partner to own and operate the property together with CDP and to provide its invaluable resident services programming.

DEVELOPMENT

Rockwood Village site was originally a private fallow piece of land that was landlocked and not accessible by the public. Through CDP’s work with the Center For Public Interest Design, the team realized that public recreation and gathering spaces, especially those that are culturally and socio-economically relevant, was severely lacking in the immediate vicinity. The design team acknowledged the importance of filling this gap by designing the site around an existing grove of old Douglas Fir trees and around a new public park, Neighbors Park. Through numerous neighborhood and stakeholder meetings as well as dozens of individual and small group conversations the design concept was created.

DATA
  • Number of units: 224
  • Lot size: 16 acres
  • Density: 14.6units/acre
  • Unit size: 605-1,290 sf
  • Unit mix: 82 1BD, 101 2BD, 73 3BD
  • Parking Spaces: 444
  • Affordability: 30%, 50%, 60% AMI
  • Sustainability: Earth Advantage Certification
  • Total Cost: $85.5M
TEAM
  • Architect: Waechter Architecture
  • Contractor: LMC Construction
  • Property Management: Guardian Management LLC
  • Non-Profit Partner: Hacienda CDC
WEBSITE

PARTNERS

CDP is proud to partner with these organizations that are critical team members and who share our mission of enhancing the quality of life for the communities in which we work.

Hacienda CDC

Hacienda is Oregon’s largest Latino-led, Latino-serving housing organization and remains a trusted name in the Latino population. Hacienda is also a highly experienced Latino community development corporation that strengthens families by providing housing and home-ownership support, economic advancement and educational opportunities. It has learned that combining a stable home with access to education, job and business creation, and financial empowerment can create long-lasting, positive changes in a family’s trajectory. It has developed and maintained over 400 units of affordable housing. As an organization formed by Latino leaders, they design their services with the needs of the multi-cultural community in mind. Their resources will be invaluable to this project.

Center For Public Interest Design (CPID)

The Center for Public Interest Design is a research [+action] center at Portland State University that aims to investigate, promote, and engage in inclusive design practices that address the growing needs of underserved communities worldwide.  Through research and design, fieldwork, and public outreach, CPID promotes a mode of practice that is socially conscious, environmentally sustainable, and economically accessible to all.

From a practical standpoint, CDP and Hacienda engaged CPID to lead the asset-based development outreach and research in Rockwood.  This research identifies existing resident-serving assets that are in the surrounding community as well as identifying needs that are not being met by those existing assets.  The process involves utilizing PSU Master of Architecture studio students and CPID fellows and staff for on the ground outreach and interpretation of findings into a conclusive report.  The entire process produces an in depth understanding of the community’s assets and needs that can then be utilized to inform the concept and design of the project, as was the case in Rockwood.  The end result is a project that has been thoughtfully concepted and that provides the greatest benefit to the community.