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Affordable housing project gets underway at Murray & Cornell

Sometime this month we should see some activity at the long-vacant lot at the SE corner of Murray and Cornell.

Conceptual image of Cedar Grove looking southeast

In 2008, Washington County purchased the former commercial property to make way for the expansion of the intersection. The former dry-cleaning operation left the property contaminated, so a lengthy remediation was required. Once the DEQ signed off, the property was offered at auction in 2012, but nobody bid on it. In 2014, a team of planners, elected officials, and community members, led by consultant John Southgate, explored ideas for the property. In 2016, the proposal offered by Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) was selected. Since that time, they have been assembling the necessary funding to proceed.

In August, CPAH announced that the final piece of funding was in place and they would begin construction. Their plans have changed considerably since the first proposal, which included some retail that was to include a food court. They were unable to purchase the small adjacent lot on Joy, which meant that they wouldn’t have adequate parking.

According to Jilian Saurage Felton, Director of Housing Development for CPAH, “There will be 44 residential units, which will include 14 units of family housing. We are currently working with the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District to design a beautiful public space in front of the building. While the new design no longer has commercial space on the ground floor (we were unable to acquire the necessary neighboring parcel to make it work) it will have a community room available for meetings for local neighborhood and neighbors. The working name of the project is Cedar Grove.”

She explains, “In early October we will be proceeding with some pre-development and due diligence at the site, and you may see some backhoes and other equipment on the site during that time.”

CPAH expects to begin construction in the summer of 2019, and hopes to be leasing by September 2020.

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