Beighley & Associates has been in this Cornell Road building since 1973

Featured Business
Beighley & Associates, Inc.
By Dawn Anderson

Landscaping around business property adds so much to the visual appeal of a community. Beighley and Associates has designed the landscapes around many of the businesses in Cedar Mill. “We have worked with Bales/Findley Property Management several times, including work for the office space directly across the street from our office. We also worked on the landscape design for the Cedar Mill Vet Clinic, next to our office,” said Hal Beighley, principal landscape architect at Beighley (pronounced beg-lee) and Associates.

The company has been at its current location in Cedar Mill since 1973. The building on Cornell had been home to a number of businesses, including Uppinghouse Construction, the Village Gallery of Arts and Second Hand Clothes Closet. Hal has owned it since 1982.

Although he loves his job now, Hal did not always want to be a landscape architect. “I originally wanted to become an engineer,” explained Hal, “but could not pass the physics part of the examination.” He had always appreciated the outdoors, so he switched paths and received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Kansas State University in 1964. His first job was in Eugene, where he worked on the designs for Lane Community College and the Eugene Mall.

Hal Beighley works on a landscape plan in his office overlooking Cornell

Hal has experience in both landscape architecture and irrigation consulting. He is particularly skilled in the identification and use of plant materials, installation techniques, and soil preparation requirements, with an emphasis on the preparation and implementation of landscape maintenance programs. Hal specializes in irrigation design and installation. “I was one of the first in the nation to include the use of computerized central irrigation control in my irrigation designs, which emphasizes water conservation techniques,” said Hal.

In addition to Hal, two associates work at Beighley and Associates. Anne Miller, Landscape Architect, has been with the firm for 20 years and Ron Davies, Landscape Architect in Training, has been with the company for two months. In addition, Karen Peinl has been the office manager for 21 years. Hal’s youngest daughter, Kim Thompson, is the accounting manager.

Anne has an extensive background in horticulture, plant identification and installation techniques. Her emphasis is on design work for schools and housing. Her projects include designing the landscape and irrigation for the Cedar Mill Community Library building expansion including street and parking areas.

A low-maintenance landscape design for the Crossroads project near Cornelius Pass Rd & Cornell

In the past 34 years Beighley and Associates has worked on all sizes of projects. Past and current local projects include: the athletic complex at the Catlin Gabel School; athletic fields and irrigation design for the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District; previous phase and current Phase I addition at Sunset High School and irrigation design for multiple office park projects for PacTrust. They have also worked on several wetlands projects—Pioneer Estates in Beaverton and Tualatin Edgewater. The company will soon be working with the Catlin Gabel School on a project to uncover and restore the headwaters of Johnson Creek.

Beighley and Associates now offers Global Positioning Systems (GPS) services to their clients. “GPS is a navigation and positioning system using data transmitted to a hand-held receiver from satellites in orbit,” explained Hal. “We collect the data to accurately survey site boundaries and to locate site amenities such as sidewalks, light and power poles, manholes and irrigation features. This information is then used to create a correct base map/drawing of the site in AutoCad format.” Hal continued: “This ensures that the site drawings used by a contractor are highly accurate, minimizing the need for changes in the field and helping to keep costs within budget for our clients.” They have used GPS locally at Sunset Park, the Catlin Gabel School and the Tektronix Office Campus in Beaverton.

“Meeting people and seeing projects come to life,” is what Hal enjoys most about being a landscape architect. His favorite project has been “working with PacTrust from the beginning on the Columbia Tech Center in Vancouver, Washington. This project involved the landscape design of 430 acres—streetscape, irrigation, tenant pads, Nautilus World Headquarters and eight water features.”

Hal is currently a member of the Board of Site & Design Review for the City of Beaverton. He was also a member of the Project Advisory Committee on the Cornell and Barnes Road Improvements project. A Beaverton Rotary Club member for years, Hal is active with their fundraising projects—specifically with the Dental Check program. “We also donate blocks of time to various auctions,” Hal added.

Beighley and Associates joined the Cedar Mill Business Association three years ago. Hal sees the CMBA’s role as “the sounding board for Cedar Mill.” Hal also belongs to the American Society of Landscape Architects and is past chairman of the Oregon State Board of Landscape Architects.

What Hal and his family like most about Cedar Mill is that “all of our needs are met in one compact area.” The Beighleys have lived in Oak Hills since 1970. Hal and his wife Ellen met in their senior year in high school in Wichita, Kansas. They have been married for 45 years this August. They enjoy skiing with their four grandchildren, collecting Dept. 56 Christmas houses and model railroads. They are also huge “Go Beavers” fans!

Beighley and Associates is located at 12840 NW Cornell. Phone 503-643-4796.

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