More change is coming to the Synopsys Campus just South of the WinCo store on Cornelius Pass Road. Residents of the Orenco area are all over social media discussing this new proposed project. A few weeks ago, the Herald was the only news media outlet to cover the massive 6-story luxury apartment project that will rise from the former Macy’s Store at the Streets of Tanasbourne, just East of this site. Now, with a proposed zone change, the former tech campus will see its future turn away from a business and employment center and become a high-density neighborhood.
The Hillsboro Planning and Zoning Hearings Board will approve a zone change from Station Community Business Park (SCBP) to Station Community Residential Medium Density (SCR-MD). While comments and testimony will be allowed, it does not appear that there are any criteria in the codes that are not being met. Anyone with concerns should attend and testify or send comments to the City. Readers should understand that this is a zone change and will lead to an immediate application for a residential apartment project. More detailed plans will be shown during that process.
From the Developer: High Street Development
Description of Proposal
High Street Residential (applicant) is proposing a quasi-judicial amendment to the City of Hillsboro (city) zoning map in order to change the zoning designation of the subject site from Station Community Business Park (SCBP) to Station Community Residential Medium Density (SCR-MD). The subject site is currently designated SCPA Comprehensive Plan Map and the SCBP zoning designation is an implementing zone of the SCPA plan designation per Table LU 2 within Chapter 14 of the Hillsboro Comprehensive Plan. xisting Comprehensive Plan Map designation and zoning map designationare shown on Figures 1 and 2 within this narrative.
The intent of this request is to adjust the subject site zoning designation to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan Map and to establish a zone for the site that is surrounding areas and allows for future development consistent with the character of the neighborhood. As identified in the provided Transportation Planning Rule (TPR) analysis (Exhibit C), the proposed zone change will not result in a significant effect under the Transportation Planning Rule per OAR 660-012-0060(1)(a), OAR 660-012-0060(1)(b), and OAR 660-012-0060(1)(c). See Exhibit C for further information regarding the TPR.Zone Change-001-25: Synopsys West
Request: Consider approving an order to change zoning from Station Community Business Park (SCBP) to Station Community Residential – Medium Density (SCR-MD) to facilitate future development on a lot 17.58 acres in size. (Staff: Ruth Klein)
MEETING INFO:
1) Email your testimony – ruth.klein@hillsboro-oregon.gov
2) GET TO THE MEETING -Planning and Zoning Hearings Board
5/7/25 @6PM
Place: Civic Center Auditorium
150 E. Main Street
Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
OR JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING
Zoom Teleconference:
Phone: 1-253-215-8782 or 1-301-715-8592
Meeting ID: 869 3118 8188
Password: 726588
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86931188188?pwd=SUQzSGt4LzVXU2djRnkzelFJazgvZz09
TESTIMONY TIPS-
Written Testimony: To provide written testimony, email communitydevelopment@hillsboro-oregon.gov before 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7th. The agenda packet will be updated after 8:00 a.m. with the testimony received via email.
In Person Testimony: To give testimony in person, please sign in on the form at the table in the Auditorium, or by emailing communitydevelopment@hillsboro-oregon.gov prior to the start of the meeting at 6:00 pm on May 7th. In person testimony will be given priority and will be called upon first.
Teleconference Testimony: Pre-register to speak during the public hearing by providing your name and phone number, or Zoom name, to the Planning Division in the Community Development Department before 3:00 pm on Wednesday, May 7th. During the public hearing, you will have three minutes to speak when your name is called. Members of the public using Zoom will not be able to share their screen during the meeting; presentation materials should be submitted as written testimony. You can pre-register by emailing communitydevelopment@hillsboro-oregon.gov or calling 503-681-6153. Please note that, during Work Sessions there is no public testimony.
Contact Information:
Community Development Department – Ruth Klein
503-681-6153
Like in so many neighborhoods, the biggest issue is traffic. This land has blocked the efficient flow of traffic within the community. Thousands of car trips per year have been added to Cornelius Pass and Century Blvd. because there is no way to flow through this massive block North and South. And no one who lives in the area wants more traffic on Cherry Street. Out-of-direction travel is a real problem. We expect some serious testimony from the Stonewater Community, where homeowners are very active when change comes near them.
The developer shows how flow through traffic can work by using calming techniques like 90-degree stops and street designs that will not allow speeding. Circuitous or well-thought-out stops will calm those trips going North and South. Another real lost opportunity on projects like this is ownership. Well over 80 percent of all units in this Orenco area are rentals. Governor Kotek wants ownership opportunities, and so does the City of Hillsboro. However, the laws on our books, heinous permitting fees for single-family homes, and the condo defect rules required by our state force these projects into the rental pools. And Wall Street is all too willing to invest in a hot area like this.
THE REAL STORY – OPINION BY AUTHOR
The Loss of Business Parks and small industrial sites is the real story-
A more nuanced aspect is the loss of small industrial and commercial sites. As a City, Hillsboro is running entirely out of sites that will allow for small commercial and industrial users. There is no doubt that Hillsboro has plenty of apartments. Just look at Amber Glen, South Hillsboro, the area this site is located in, and the City core. We have a massive build-up of apartments all aimed at workforce housing in the tech and business sectors. Those sectors have lost thousands of jobs over the last 3 years, and thousands more are about to be cut. Repeat after me- WE ARE NOT SHORT OF MARKET-RATE APARTMENT HOUSING!
Rents are creeping down on apartments—incentives are being offered. While my friends on the City Staff will hail that outcome, which is a direct product of oversupply and job losses and may be short-lived, we brokers know the downside. We can not find any sites where smaller, more blue-collar users can locate their businesses in Hillsboro. These smaller employers make up a significant workforce for us and our sustainability. It is a fool’s game to assume we do not need this land for those users.
Here is the site in question as seen from Google Earth-
About 5 years ago, as I served on the Planning and Zoning Hearings Board for Hillsboro, this same request came before our body for 5 acres of land zoned the same, which was part of the Soloflex Campus. We agreed to the rezoning, understanding that the City would find additional land to rezone for the loss of those very needed business users. Today, that land is open as the Nueva Esperana. The move to Section 8, lower-income apartments, created a nice community. However, it is surrounded by industrial users, some of whom use chemicals. This created potential conflicts and concerns. Those acres were never replaced. See below.
The future project will probably qualify for the Vertical Housing Program tax breaks. This would benefit the developer greatly and result in a 10-year reduction in property taxes. This leads to the bigger question: why? When we needed apartments, that was great. The entire value proposition of tax giveaways is something the people of Hillsboro need to address sooner rather than later. The community sees little benefit with Intel faltering and paying NO property taxes on most of their multi-billion dollar holdings. Data Centers receive a five-year property tax waiver. That costs our county and city tens of millions in lost revenues. And the list goes on.
We see how we have been duped as we watch Washington County cut essential services because of a $20 million budget shortfall.
This zone change is happening. These apartments are coming, and the band in blur and green plays on!
Can’t find the email address to send in testimony. Do you have it? Thanks!
Funny how they claim to have no comments – but they do not provide an email address on the public notice site- fun and games 24/7!
Herr it is – ruth.klein@hillsboro-oregon.gov
I hope you get something in!
Dirk
Has Synopsys sold off those buildings? I seem to recall that they only ever had employees in one of them and even it wasn’t very full. They built them around 2000 and we know what happened in tech right after that. They had gotten overly exuberant expecting to fill both of those buildings with employees, but it wasn’t to be.
More apartments aren’t going to be needed if there’s nowhere for the residents to work. I guess the developers haven’t noticed that Intel is planning another 20% layoff. Not that the developers care, they will cash in and be gone before all the trouble hits.
SalesForce moved in after Synopsys left. They then laid everyone off in Favor of AI. It’s Wall Street- apartments are what they want to see.
I concur ! We need more ownership communities so citizens have a vested tie to their community. Couple that with small businesses and voila we have a real community that actually pays taxes instead of a yet another massive apartment complex that sucks us dry and pays no taxes. Say no to the billionaires that only wish to exploit our land and communitiy .
YES!! I found a fellow citizen! Awesome- and thanks! I hope we see and hear more from you!
It’s urban sprawl y’all.
Tom McCall wouldn’t approve at all.
It’s too tall, and the tax is too small.
Next they’ll build a mall.
Kotek’s having a ball
Without the UGB as a pitfall.
First everyone was complaining that they built housing too far out in South Hillsboro having to travel through residential to get to Intel and other jobs in North Hillsboro and now they propose housing closer to the North Hillsboro jobs and here we are with more complaining. What is it that you want?
I don’t believe I complained. Luxury Apartments, which we have so very much of, is not a housing type we lack. That was the point to me.
“You will own nothing and be happy.”
I live in this neighborhood and have no problem with the proposed development. Maybe it will generate business to replace the dead Joann’s, the closed Orenco Grill, the dying Kohls, the dead Macys. Maybe it will encourage OHSU to actually place physicians at the Orenco clinic. You seem to be against everything. Hillsboro is not a farm town.
I live in Club1201 East Village at Orenco station. We have see development in our neighborhood for years. A problem I can see is when Tesera was built across from our community they were allowed to build too close to the proposed street. So from Cornell to Baseline/Main on Century Blvd is one lane in each direction. Cars are already lining up so that our residents can’t access Centry Blvd. Just south of us is Orenco Station MAX station. The railway crossing is continuous throughout the day and night. Backing up Century Bl. Campus Way ends at Century and the entrance to our community. Do you see the problem here? Century Bl can’t handle any more traffic.
This will be housing built adjacent to a transit system that just recently completed critical upgrades, in an area that was intentionally zoned and designed to encourage transit-oriented development (indeed it is nationally-renowned for it). This is precisely the kind of infill development we need in Hillsboro, building up, not out.
The loss of the business park land base is the most concerning thing. And it is fair to be concerned about the type of housing.
If the business park isn’t in use, especially as we notice employment shifts post-COVID. I don’t think it’s a huge loss. There are a of empty or lightly occupied business parks along both Evergreen and Cornell. We arent lacking these spaces, and demand is low for them right now.
As to occupancy type, I’m in agreement that we should create more opportunities for homeownership. I would love to see the market for missing middle scale opportunities develop further in Hillsboro.
However, we should absolutely continue to develop rental housing, even as you note that rental prices are coming down a bit, we should do what we can to prepare for future economic growth to make sure everyone who wants to live in Hillsboro can. I don’t particularly like a valence that supposes renters are less valuable neighbors than homeowners. If someone lives here, they contribute in ways big and small to our businesses. That’s good for all of us.
Agreed- and well stated. But let me ask you something. What are the jobs you see coming here? In this enviroment of Data Centers and AI, what sector do you see coming here? Because my analysis is farly deep. And we are seriously challenged for jobs and are quickly racking up multi-year retractions in the thousands. So, houising coming down in price may be happening much sooner than we think or many of us have planned for.
Yeah, we’re definitely in agreement about the data centers and the attendant land use issues, it’s little different than the kind of fiscalization of land use that encourages us to build box stores or drives thrus with huge parking lots that genrrate minimal tax revenue and more road O&M costs.
I also remain worried about the long-term viability of Intel and I wonder what the tech sector here will look like. I think we benefitted greatly from the urban outflow during COVID, lots more WFH folks.
To be honest, I’m not smart enough to know what it might look like. I think that’s a pretty macro question in the long-term. But what I do think is that by building out Hillsboro in a way that emphasizes classic city forms– walkable communitues, mixed with flexible commercial spaces, more like downtown, we make Hillsboro a place people want to move to and live, the more we’ll benefit from the effects of agglomeration and people will come up with a businesses that will keep us on the map.
For me, I have been stressing taking a time out, or letting things occur naturally. The City has forced and encouraged growth for the sake of growth. The wine is in the casks now. Time to let it age and see what it can become. I like Hillsboro as a destination and as a place to live. That could change if we force things. I do not see the jobs coming. During the Trump admin we will see no Federal help, and in the meantime Arizona has built a tech hub of epic proportions. So has Texas. I think we become a strong hub for the best of the best creators. Manufacturing is not going to happen here beyond what we have. And I am find with that.