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Aug 06 2017

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

 

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 neighborhood Rummer
  • 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.

Feel-good natural light in the gym

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.

David Boyd, VP of HOA Board

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.

Outdoor gathering places

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 9th 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

 

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: livability, neighborhoods · Tagged: Beaverton, National Register of Historic Places, Oak Hills, Oak Hills Homeowners Association, Oak Hills neighborhood, Oak Hills Recreation Center, Portland neighborhoods, Rummer homes, Washington County

Jun 07 2017

When the value of home trumps the value of a house – how one couple adapted their West Slope beauty to the demands of aging in place

West Slope represent!

I regularly estimate home values for potential buyers and sellers, past clients, or homeowners tracking their net worth. The information helps them set goals and make decisions. On my side, the exercise allows me to expand my network and deepen my understanding of neighborhoods and market trends. So I was happy to estimate the value of a friend’s West Slope home recently.

Would you like to get an estimate of your home’s value? Just click here to make an online request. 

Part of unincorporated Washington County, the neighborhood is bounded by Highway 26 to the north, Highway 217 to the west, Highway 10 to the south and a sloping boundary (no pun intended) to the east. Home to about 6500 people and over 3,000 housing units, the average West Slope household comes to just a little over 2 people. Yet most detached homes in the area are spacious and high-end, with a median sale price of $549K.

The “bite” out of the northeast corner of West Slope is covered by a Beaverton Neighborhood Association Committee though it’s a Portland address. Jurisdictional and administrative lines of unincorporated Washington County can be bewildering.

According to nextdoor.com, residents value the area’s friendly neighbors, quiet streets and large lots (good for kids and dogs), well-kept gardens and homes, proximity to shopping and downtown Portland, and mature trees. Walk scores are low but school ratings are high.

In many ways, my friend and her husband embody key trends in Portland and the country. Latecomers to the Silent Generation, they bought their 3300-square-foot home in the mid-80’s for just $110K. They have long since educated their children, paid off their mortgage, and retired. But they are part of a growing wave of seniors who are choosing to age in place.

Unlike many Baby Boomers, they are prudent financial planners. Despite their pensions, savings, and other assets, the husband continues to earn income by working part-time from home. So they don’t need the outsize equity in their home to fund their retirement.

Would you like to get an estimate of your home’s value? Just click here to make an online request. 

Ridgewood Elementary gets top marks: a 9/10 on greatschools.org and 5/5 on schooldigger.com

I say ‘outsize’ with good reason. A walk through of their well-maintained 1960’s 2-story revealed:

  • A handsomely remodeled kitchen
  • 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, with the master remodeled and one guest bath updated
  • A downstairs family room with a wet bar
  • Three balconies overlooking a grand sloping lot flanked by even grander Doug Firs

After a thorough review of recent sales and cancelled and active listings nearby, I estimated a 10-percent value range of $730-805K.

Improvements to the house have been driven by both aesthetic and practical considerations. For example, as part of last year’s kitchen remodel, doorways to the entry hall and the dining/living room were enlarged to improve flow and accommodate walkers or wheelchairs. And the footprint of the curbless master shower was enlarged along with the frameless glass door in keeping with universal design principles.

This Mid-Century Modern in West Slope sold for $825K last month after just 5 days on the market

Since the master bedroom and bathroom have always been located on the main floor and the garage is flush with the mud/laundry room, the house is now part of a very select group. Less than 4 percent of the US housing stock offers 3 key accessibility features needed for aging in place: single-floor living, no-step entries, and wide hall- and doorways.

But my friends didn’t leave it at that. They are riding the wave of another trend: the village movement. Originating in Boston’s Beacon Hill almost 20 years ago, it empowers seniors to age in place. The movement has since spread across the country. Villages NW acts as organizational and administrative hub to 6 spokes in the Portland Metro area. One of the 6, Viva Villages serves Beaverton, Cedar Hills, Cedar Mill, and West Slope.

In exchange for modest member fees, seniors get help from community volunteers with transportation, shopping, household chores, gardening, and light home repairs and maintenance. Still healthy and active, my friends provide volunteer services to Viva Villages members that they will one day receive.

Backyard giants are par for the course in West Slope

Getting to this point hasn’t been easy. Committed to living responsibly and within their needs, they have seriously considered downsizing more than once. Several years ago, they explored a home in a co-housing development on the west side. But they were put off by what they saw as the inefficiency and financial risk of consensual decision making not guided by professional expertise.

On another occasion, they toured almost every condo development on the west side but concluded that the lifestyle wasn’t for them. And a couple of years back, they made a cash offer on a detached house in a newer suburb 5 miles west of theirs but were outbid. When the first sale fell through, they couldn’t justify leaving the neighborhood and friends they love for a house that cost so much more than what they paid for theirs – yet lacked its character and forest-like setting as well as age-in-place features.

The challenges and choices they have faced are being played out across Portland and America – reinforcing the current inventory shortage. No one knows when “the great senior sell-off” will occur or what effects it will have. But for now, my friends are living resourcefully and well in their West Slope beauty.

Would you like to get an estimate of your home’s value? Just click here to make an online request. 

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: home values and prices, lifestyles, neighborhoods · Tagged: baby boomers, Portland neighborhoods, Silent Generation, universal design principles, Villages NW, Viva Villages, Washington County, West Slope, West Slope neighborhood