According to the City of Hillsboro Website, the latest Block 67 redevelopment agreement is dead and no longer binding. The exclusive agreement that was made with Rembold Development in 2022 led to much fanfare and a lot of press about a massive new project that would stimulate the downtown Hillsboro economy and provide important housing and groceries to the area. This 2nd attempt to develop the Block was greeted with a lot of mixed feelings, but the drawings were alluring. And for those with memories of the heartbreak felt when the last big project (announced in 2017) died, this one hurts. All of the time, energy, and Millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money now buried in the ground along Baseline & Washington Street seem to be such a lost opportunity.
The City bought the land in 2016 for $4,800,000 using Hillsboro taxpayers’ money. This price was $1,317,000 dollars per acre- a huge amount by any historical standards. Havings said that the property holds huge promise and could change the fortunes and lives of the people downtown. We need housing as much as air, and access to a grocery store has been stressed repeatedly at community meetings. I do not blame the City for wanting to be in the driver’s seat, but it has stopped the project from moving forward. Why? Cities like Hillsboro are not forced to develop or sell once they own things. They can take decades to wait for the right project. This project is at least 2 or 3 years from being realized, and if the economy does not improve, it may be another decade or more. Private developers do not wait- they move on things or go broke. Based on the fact the property was a hot item in 2016, it is not a stretch to opine that the entire block would have been completed with hundreds of residences and vibrant shops by 2020 if a private developer had bought it. Interest rates were 3%…now they are 7.75% for commercial loans. This news of this project dying for now is not surprising- but it is very sad.
Here is what you will find on the Hillsboro, Oregon Website.
Visit this Link at the City of Hillsboro Website To See Project Information – https://www.hillsboro-oregon.gov/our-city/departments/economic-development/development-areas/downtown-southwest-industrial/block-67
Block 67 Redevelopment Update
In September 2022, the City awarded Rembold, a local real estate development company, the exclusive right to negotiate for the purchase and development of Block 67 through a competitive RFP process.
Their proposal for the site — titled Viridian — included market-rate housing, retail space, a public plaza, and mid-sized grocery store to be delivered by Rembold, and an affordable housing development to be delivered by Related Northwest and Centro Cultural.
During the past year, Rembold and partners conducted surveys, estimates, and other due diligence tasks to advance the design through several iterations.
Now, project work is suspended due to the current state of the real estate and capital markets, and unprecedented increases to both borrowing and construction costs.
The parties remain interested, and committed, to the project should the economic conditions become more favorable.
QUESTIONS MUST BE ASKED-
Nestled between charming history and vibrant academia, Block 67 in Hillsboro is a prime piece of real estate, its future seemingly in limbo. In 2016, the city took a bold step – purchasing the vacant former Hank’s Thriftway site for $4.8 million with grand visions of redevelopment. Yet, eight years later, progress remains sluggish, begging the question: did Hillsboro miss a key opportunity by holding onto the reins when private developers could have steered the project to fruition faster?
The city’s initial enthusiasm was evident. A 2017 call for developers yielded promising options, but none gained traction or reached the finish line. Then, 2020 dealt a double blow with COVID-19 and skyrocketing construction costs, forcing the project into hibernation.
Now, we see the current Rembold Development deal off the table. As proposed, the “Viridian” was originally going to break ground in the late summer of 2023. Nothing is going to happen now or anytime soon.
- Was public ownership the best path? Could private developers have navigated the shifting economic landscape more nimbly, securing financing and navigating approvals while the city struggled to keep the project afloat?
- Lost momentum, lost opportunity? 8 years have passed since Hillsboro bought the property. While public control offers flexibility, did valuable time and potential partnerships slip through the cracks while navigating internal processes?
- The “Viridian” dream: achievable or wishful thinking? With construction costs still high and the economic forecast uncertain, can the ambitious vision of something like the stalled-out Viridian be realized, or will further delays and adjustments leave residents disappointed and businesses hesitant?
Hillsboro’s Block 67 stands as a complex case study in urban development. While the city’s desire for control and community-driven vision is commendable, the slow pace raises questions about whether private involvement could have propelled the project forward. I am quite certain it could have.
Dan Dias, Economic Development Director, told the Herald that “the site is not officially for sale. ”
Considering all that has transpired and the tens of millions in lost revenues that our downtown businesses and the local economy should have netted by now, it seems that it is time to put a price tag on the property and let the private sector have at least an option to carry the ball up the field and into the endzone.
Thoughts? We always appreciate our readers and the good people of Hillsboro weighing in. In fact, the Herald is right now the only paper or venue where debate can be had- no questions or open discussions are had at City meetings here in Hillsboro at all, and God forbid we would ever have a Town Hall format where real Q and A can be accomplished. So please weigh in below.
How do you feel about what is happening at Block 67?
Let’s offer a proposal: They suggest market conditions aren’t favorable for residential or commercial development. Why not zone the block industrial?
There’s existing water, power and fiber infrastructure. There’s access to both major roads and public transit lines to bring commuters to and from the site. It’s within striking distance of a major airport. Surely it would be a fine vertical campus for one of the many tech and biotech companies the city wants to lure here. Certainly it would work from a logistical perspective for companies who’d love an address right along that growing Route 8 corridor.
Surely it would bring exactly the kind of jobs that Hillsboro says it desperately wants to an area where much of the population can easily reach them. If you used a city block to, say, build a 66-story building, surely you could attract a company on par with Pfizer to establish a headquarters here (https://www.thespiralny.com/).
I can’t imagine there’d be any qualms about using a blank piece of fallow land to drive employment in the city and make it the economic engine of the state once more. Who could possibly take issue with a plan that so clearly benefits everyone and in no way overlooks any detail that could adversely affect the people who call this place home?
That is a very salient point. 66 stories – think of it! Wouldn’t that make for some fine views! I wonder if a semi-conductor Fab can work in a vertical arrangement like that? Hmm… provacative. Oh hey, I know. How about a massive Data Center or even combine the two? Hmmm…the mind runs wild.
I love this idea, Jason! Put a chemical plant in downtown, just like they want to do to us.
High interest rates, inflation driven skyrocketing construction costs, less consumer spending. All hallmarks of Bidenomics. Who you vote for matters.
I don’t agree with your political statement. Your correct that NOW we are faced with high interest rates and construction costs. Those things stop almost any projects from moving ahead that are not subsidized by the Government or some form of stimulus.
As far as Biden VS Trump and who caused this financial tightening? That was Donald Trump – scholars and the numbers are clear: “The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans, credit cards and every other type of debt other than mortgages, combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country.” Biden is paying for what the kind of debt did.
Well, at least Biden didn’t attack the Capitol and is trying to overthrow the constitution….so there’s that.
Not going to recognize nor tolerate blaming a current President for the last Presisent running up the 3rd largest deficit in history…keep your comments on point and not on politics!
If Centro Cultural is involved, that means section 8 housing, and if I still lived there, I would have a problem with that. “Affordable housing” means low income, government funded and operated…and it’s only affordable…and available, to those receiving public assistance. That is the LAST THING Hillsboro needs in the downtown business area. And I will politely disagree about who you vote for. My personal experience is…I receive a monthly pension check from the largest Machinist’s Union on planet Earth. Obama nearly destroyed our pension fund, and when Trump took office it was in critical status. His administration and economy almost had it’s status restored, and now with Bidenomics we are back in SEVERLY critical status and if things don’t change we are faced with a reduction of benefits. In any case, Hillsboro has proven over and over again they are not interested in what is financially responsible for the community, nor do they give 2 figs about what the community needs. Nobody, except you it seems, is holding them accountable and asking questions. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!
Again this has nothing to do with who is the in the white house at all. Your points I can accept if they are project specific… we won’t however become a site to glorify Mr Trump who did a lot of harm to this country and did not add to any positive momentum we have as a Nation. His deficit and tax packages hurt mist Americans and we are paying for that now.
Oh My God!
My Oh My!
Anyone else get tired of hearing EVERYTHING is about politicians?
I thought that was a done deal. Wìth the interest rates being so favorable at the time there’s absolutely no reason that this could not have come to fruition!! Unfortunately with city governments it’s called paralysis of analysis!!
I’m heartbroken to hear this. One of our calculations when choosing to buy in downtown Hillsboro was the possibility that that block could bring more vibrancy to the community. As it is, it’s a draw for those experiencing homelessness. I would hate it to become something industrial or something that will (continue to ) detract from the community.
Could a private company have done it better or more quickly? Maybe. I liked having the city in charge because we could have more input. But now we’re at a point where we get nothing at all. I probably would have taken my chances with a private company.
I agree. 8 years is too long. The City loses no Industrial deals…this one should have been done by now. It’s sad. But the discussion helps us openly talk about all of this . Thanks for contributing!!
Does the city of Hillsboro still own the land? If so, why not put out another RFP? The new bids would incorporate the new costs of borrowing. The new bids might be a lot more creative.
Has the city thought about a new round of community outreach/ public comments?
Revitalizing that part of downtown Hillsboro would be great…why not wipe the whiteboard and start again?
Well they sure should do those things. But that has not worked yet after several tries and it seems offering the land for sale is a good idea too.
Having been nearly a lifelong resident of Hillsboro and having lived in that corridor off and on over the last 50 years. None of the needs stated in this article at least in my mind are true. There’s plenty of housing available. There’s grocery stores nearby. And with Amazon and Walmart you can have food delivered basically for free. And the dream and promise of affordable housing never comes true. The affordable housing conversation has been going on since I was a junior higher. So I’d say the city of Hillsboro should sell this property to private developers. Refund the money back to the taxpayers. Since they had no say in the purchase of this property.
Lots of “I don’t live there anymore, but…” in this thread.
The city spends 5 million to buy the property, but they can’t spend a couple more million to fund construction? In other words, a gamble. This doesn’t happen so much in the private sector. ( financial sector yes, not in the construction and development sector)
You want to know why the deal is off? Well kind of the same reason the Sizzle pie closed. Financially unviable. Greed on the part of the landowners, pollyanna mindset on the part of the city, and as always is the case in Oregon, a lack of critical mass, particularly critical mass from people willing to open their wallets, and not that many folk with fat wallets.
From a previous article in this same paper :
“A story released by the Oregonian last week stated that the Hillsboro Sizzle Pie location was financially unviable. Some of that commentary centered around the high lease rates being paid.”
There you go.
At the rate Hillsboro is growing, Tuality Hospital is way too small. What about that area being a new hospital or annex of existing OHSU/Tuality?
I recall that, a few years ago, OHSU was approached about whether they would be interested in the Hank’s Block for future expansion of the Tuality Hospital campus, but they were not interested. I have yet to see any outward signs of OHSU investing in the Hillsboro site, though they are building another multi-million dollar hospital tower on the flagship campus on Portland’s Marquam Hill, and are planning more investments on their South Waterfront Campus.
Hillsboro would be well-served if Tuality Healthcare would break their OHSU contract, and instead contract with another provider group or sell it to a healthcare system that would be more willing to invest in Hillsboro than OHSU. A city the size of Hillsboro should have more than one general-access hospital. (With the exception of the ER, Kaiser requires membership in their healthcare plan in order to see their providers.)
Our experience with OHSU since they took over Tuality’s operations has been terrible. My late father had a terrible experience there, and my Mom’s experience wasn’t good either. Some Tuality-based specialty practices (like Hillsboro Cardiology) closed, and their doctors left Hillsboro for other area health systems (Providence, Legacy, and Kaiser). Wait times for appointments with OHSU specialists are many weeks, if not months, for appointments in Hillsboro. If you want to go to OHSU, might as well drive into Portland. The emergency room, which wasn’t very good when Tuality ran it, is even worse with OHSU in charge. Forest Grove Hospital is all but abandoned…emergency room and urgent care clinic were closed down. OHSU closed the Tuality Urgent Care in Reedville.
For the above reasons, I switched from Blue Cross insurance to Kaiser several years and haven’t regretted it one bit. I hope Kaiser continues to expand their facilities and services in western Washington County.
Unless the City of Hillsboro was purchasing the property for a public purpose, like some city facility, park, etc., they shouldn’t have bought the property. As a Hillsboro resident for 25+ years, I’ve seen the City Gov execute quite a number of good capital projects. However, this is not one of them. A private developer could have purchased the property years ago, proposed and executed some development, which would of course be subject to City approval. The $4.8 million spent on the property could have been used for some other public purpose. Alternatively, it could have been made into a green space after the purchase by the City, at least giving it some value for community use.