South Hillsboro Groundbreaking Tuesday After Years of Planning

It is not an understatement to say that when the shovel hits the dirt Tuesday for the groundbreaking ceremony for South Hillsboro, it was a moment that was years in the making.

When Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey first took office almost eight years ago, planning for South Hillsboro had already been underway for years.

"We are celebrating more than a decade of hard work, smart planning, thoughtful negotiation, and the realization of a vision of greatness for Hillsboro’s newest neighborhood," Willey said.

"Working with private development partners Newland Communities, Hagg Lane, LLC, and Pahlisch Homes – and with community partners such as Washington County, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and many others – we expect to begin issuing building permits for new home construction as early as late 2017 or early 2018."

Willey was joined by more than 100 community leaders and others for the groundbreaking ceremony.

The plan will transform what is now 1,400 acres of mostly open space and farmland bordered on the south by Rosedale Road, on the north by Tualatin Valley Highway, and lying between SW 229th Avenue to the west and SW 209th Avenue to the east into what will eventually be a community of about 20,000 people.

Besides approximately 8,000 homes of various styles, South Hillsboro will have 286 acres of new parks and opens space with 15 miles of new, multi-use trails that will be connected to planned school facilities, guaranteeing that all residents live within one-quarter mile of a park facility.

City officials say that the community has also been planned to have a world-class bicycle infrastructure and expanded transit service.

The community will have a mixed-use town center along Tualatin Valley Highway with a main street featuring retail, civic space, and housing along with public plazas.

Planners have also included a village center south of Butternut Creek along the proposed Cornelius Pass Road extension, providing a second smaller area for gathering, shopping, a school, and housing for seniors.