In 2001, the State of Oregon and the City of Wilsonville had a vision for one of the largest undeveloped parcels located within the Portland Metro area’s Urban Growth Boundary. At that time the site was a 500-acre planning area that included the former state mental hospital.

After a nationwide search in 2001, Costa Pacific was selected as the maser planner of the community that came to be called Villebois.

 

Building on its successful creation of Orenco Station, Costa Pacific envisioned a transit-oriented pedestrian-friendly village of compact urban form featuring many elements reminiscent of European villages and small towns in the United States built before World War II and the proliferation of suburban sprawl.

 

The innovative community will ultimately include 2,500 homes, a village center housing a grand piazza and retail tenants, numerous parks, an elementary school and more than 160 acres of open space. Since the land was bought from the State, the legislation used to create Villebois included a requirement for 10 acres of supervised housing for people with mental illness. This housing will be incorporated into the aesthetic of Villebois.

The site originally had 13 separate owners, with the largest parcel owned by the State of Oregon. The remaining owners were individuals. Costa Pacific purchased the state’s 198-acre hospital site, July 1, 2004 and has an option for an adjoining 14.54-acre parcel. 158 acres was sold to the largest regional builder in the metropolitan Portland market, Arbor Custom Homes, to enable Costa Pacific to concentrate development of the Village Center, Villebois’ core.

 

The development of Villebois helps to achieve the region’s density goals. The project has already attracted $70M in regional, state and federal investment for an enhanced transportation system. These road improvements will benefit the entire city by helping to reconnect east and west Wilsonville. The city also has a housing shortage, with many more jobs than places to live in Wilsonville, and Villebois’ 2,500 homes will help to correct this imbalance. Providing housing close to employment will also reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled in the area and relieve congestion on Interstate 5.

 

Villebois’ connectivity will increase in the fall of 2008, when TriMet’s Westside Express Service (WES) opens a commuter rail line to serve Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, and Wilsonville. Villebois residents will be able to jump on a shuttle to the nearby station and commute to Beaverton in 27 minutes without ever setting foot in a car.

Absorption of the entire village, or approximately 2,300 units, is anticipated to occur in 8 phases with each phase lasting between 12 and 18 months. Total build-out is expected to take seven to twelve years.

Please visit our website at www.CostaPacific.com for additional information.

Andy Green Costa Pacific Homes, LLC Villebois Village Center Email Me at: Blog@CostaPacific.com Visit us on the web at: www.CostaPacific.com