Oak Hills

Wow! My last blog post about the new recreation center in Oak Hills broke all records. Here are the numbers:

Unique views of the post to date: 1,492
Views in a single day: 244
Reach of Facebook ad promoting the post: 11,618
Engagement with the ad: 57 likes, 9 comments and 11 shares
Registrations on my website to view homes for sale in the area: 12

I’d like to think it was the verve of my prose. But I have to credit the vitality of the neighborhood. Current residents probably felt a spark of pride. And past residents voiced nostalgia for their old homes and neighbors.

One member of a select group (fiercely loyal 2^nd generation residents) corrected me on the western boundary of the neighborhood. I still haven’t been able to find a definitive answer to the question of whether Oak Hills as a whole – or just its historic district – ends at Bethany Blvd.

It was a kick to see the Facebook ad become a virtual meeting point for relatives and long-lost friends. Even folks with 3^rd generation ties to the neighborhood chimed in. Grandchildren of a former resident asked each other about old photos of grandpa’s house on Oakmont Loop in the early 80’s. One has vivid memories of the rocket ship on the community playground and was happy to learn that the Homeowners Association is raising funds to rebuild it.

“The rocket ship found its way into many of my dreams,” she wrote via Facebook Messenger. “It seemed to reach the sky!”

The person with the oldest direct tie to the neighborhood – extending at least as far back as 1967 by my estimate – grew up there and attended Sunset High. His parents bought the 12^th house built in Oak Hills.

Want to see 1-level homes for sale on the west side? Click here

The bravest of those who commented on the Facebook ad agreed to meet me for coffee at Ava’s Roasteria in Timberland Town Center. Ronnie Augustynovich and her husband Ron raised a family in the neighborhood for 10 years before moving to their current home in Cedar Mill in 1992. She remembers eyeing Oak Hills when she and Ron first moved to Portland from Ohio. Though she was sold on the area, most properties went for about $10K over their maximum budget. That may sound like a small hurdle. We both laughed when she explained that the average sale price in Oak Hills was just $50K at the time.

Years on when they no longer needed a bargain, they happened to find one with the right layout – a foreclosure on Perimeter Dr with 5 bedrooms and an office on one level.

“It had purple shag carpeting and was a mess,” she remembers.

Ron promised Ronnie that it could be renovated into their dream home. And that’s what happened. In fact, he now says it was a mistake to leave since their current 2-story has no master on the main.

Want to see 1-level homes for sale on the west side? Click here

The rec center and youth swim team proved to be the family’s best entry point to Oak Hills. Ronnie remembers competitions in Toledo (OR), Junction City and at the Sunset Athletic Club. She cheered tirelessly for her son and daughter and their teammates from the sidelines.

See yourself or someone you know in this photo from the 80’s? If so, comment!

But Ronnie has always been much more than a spectator in life. A crackerjack secretary with a typing speed of 120 words per minute and shorthand of 80 words per minute, she worked for many years in Beaverton School District at Ridgewood Elementary and Meadow Park Middle School. She also found time to coach a girls’ soccer team in Oak Hills. Believe it or not, one of her players – now grown up and with a toddler in tow – visited Ava’s during our interview.

Back then the pool was 40 yds and had 4 lanes

Ronnie also served on the Board of the Homeowners Association. Asked about the issues of her day, she mentions speeding cars. The Board responded with a homespun public safety campaign in the Oracle, the newsletter that still serves the neighborhood.

With so many happy memories of the rec center, Ronnie was concerned about talk of getting rid of the pool toward the end the family’s time in Oak Hills. She and Ron visit the neighborhood now and then to walk their dogs and are impressed by the rebuild.

“It’s still a great place to live and raise kids,” she says.

Want to see 1-level homes for sale on the west side? Click here

How many Metro area neighborhoods can fund, build, own and operate a $4.3 million recreation center? I know of just one – Beaverton’s Oak Hills. On June 24 its Homeowners Association opened the gates to a rebuilt complex with a 5-lane swimming pool, kiddie pool, gym, locker room, meeting room, kitchen, playground and administrative office.

Though unusual, the achievement is of a piece with the neighborhood’s history. At its founding in 1965, Oak Hills was billed as “Oregon’s most complete family community.” Along with the rec center, its 240 acres are home to:

A highly rated elementary school
A church that also runs a preschool program
A 33-acre greenway with soccer fields, baseball diamond, walk/bike paths and open spaces
627 detached homes, 29 of which are historic Rummers, Portland’s contribution to Mid-Century Modern architecture
4 townhouse clusters
An RV parking space screened by mature trees and shrubs
A community garden for growing fruits and vegetables

Want to see homes currently for sale or pending in Oak Hills? Click here

An early example of master planning, the development served as a model when Washington County developed its land use regulations. And no wonder. As planners and architects know, built environments have a big impact on attitudes and behavior. When neighbors have lots of opportunities to rub shoulders in their daily routines, community spirit grows.

Two achievements in frame – historic designation and the new rec center

By 2011, the slogan “This place matters” had become a rallying cry for Oak Hills. The County planned to widen Bethany Rd, which runs right through the middle of the neighborhood. In part to block the plan, residents took on the challenging task of applying for historic designation, including winning HOA approval by a wide margin in May 2012. Though the County eventually proceeded with the road project, in July 2013 Oak Hills became – at age 48 – the youngest community in Oregon and one of the youngest in the country to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The road to rebuilding the rec center proved even longer and steeper. Efforts to improve the original complex started as far back as 1992, but failed to garner the two-thirds approval needed in a vote by the HOA. By 2014, the center had reached a crossroads. Key systems were at or near the end of their useful lifespans. Any repair involving a county permit would have triggered a cascade of costly code requirements and closure of the facility until all were met.

Though the issue had taken on new urgency, skepticism about finding an affordable yet high-value solution was unchanged.

“Community members were not about to write a blank check,” comments David Boyd, Vice President of the HOA Board and a 19-year resident of Oak Hills.

Want to see homes currently for sale or pending in Oak Hills? Click here

In particular, they balked at paying hundreds of thousands of dollars up front for a detailed design they might not like or that could prove too costly to build.

Meeting room roof lines have an Asian feel

“We didn’t take the traditional design-bid-build route,” Boyd explains.

Instead the Board thoughtfully phased research, consultation, planning, decision making and investment. Step by step, they were able to maximize transparency, build confidence and manage risk.

Early on they approached bankers to estimate the cost per household of different loan scenarios and found that a modest $50 per month would cover a ceiling north of $4 million.

Inside, a full kitchen for catered events

In meetings and surveys, community members gave input on the features they wanted in a center. Their opinions shaped 3 broad conceptual designs that went through a ballpark costing exercise by a contractor. The community weighed in on the 3 options in another survey, and the Board selected the one favored by a majority. Only then was the design fleshed out in more detail, a contracting bid accepted, and a loan of $4.225 million negotiated.

With these key elements in place, the Board submitted a proposal to the community in the summer of 2015. It was approved by a vote of 82 percent. Construction began the following summer and was completed in a year. Throughout the process, Boyd and other volunteers on the building committee kept a sharp eye on project costs and made adjustments to stay within budget. Overruns came to only about 3 percent, an excellent result in the building industry.

Close-knit and can-do, Oak Hills offers good living. In fact, it’s part of the zip code (97006) that placed 9^th on a list of 15 most in-demand Metro neighborhoods published by OregonLive last week. With the rec center rebuilt and in enthusiastic use, that ranking stands to rise.

Want to see homes currently for sale or pending in Oak Hills? Click here

The clincher – hubbub around last blog post shows power of Oak Hills spirit, which spans neighborhood and generational boundaries

You can live well in close-knit, can-do Oak Hills – and own a piece of its new $4.3 million recreation center