Timberland adds community garden, parking to proposed plans

This concept drawing shows a view of the commercial area with the Main Street in the foreground. The large building in the background will be a 30-40,000 sq. ft. grocery at the corner of Barnes & 118th. Angled parking along Cedar Falls Drive has been tentatively approved by Beaverton planners.

Polygon is moving ahead with their long-held plan to develop the remaining large parcel of land bounded by Barnes Road and 118th. After meeting with neighbors and other community members in February, they have added community gardens to the planned park in the middle of the development. That will be included in the several parcels to be transferred to Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District once the development is complete, and will be managed by THPRD.

Another request from neighbors was to add parking spaces along 118th. Polygon President Fred Gast notes, “We have advanced a plan with the City [Beaverton annexed the former Teufel property in 2003] and our transportation consultants. The plan would increase parking on 118th by approximately 35 spaces, adjacent to the school property. We have to obtain neighborhood input on the design. If there is a favorable reaction, we could obtain the approvals and permits and construct the additional spaces this summer.”

Construction will begin this summer on the infrastructure for the Main Street of the retail area (Cedar Falls Drive), perpendicular to 118th, to speed development of the commercial area once it is finalized.

Gramor Development will handle design, construction, leasing and management of that part of the project. Matt Grady, Senior Project Developer for Gramor, says they are continuing to work to pin down the anchor grocery that will occupy the large building at the corner of Barnes and 118th. They have just completed a market study that demonstrated the viability of another food store in the area, and they hope to have an announcement by the end of the summer.

He also acknowledged the many requests for a variety of “Portland-style” independent quality restaurants, but said it’s hard to find viable businesses that can afford the rent for new buildings and still operate profitably.

Grady spoke of the “Rubik’s cube” of shopping space and parking that must be solved to satisfy Beaverton planning. It is unlikely that second-floor office space would be included, because of those constraints. Four parking spaces must be provided for every thousand feet of commercial development.

A neighborhood meeting was held in conjunction with the June 5 CPO 1 meeting. Residents of the existing residential areas of Timberland had many comments about the plan including continued concern about parking issues.

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