Park Place Redevelopment Project

The Park Place Redevelopment Project will transform the 16 acre Clackamas Heights public housing complex, originally built in the early 1940s, into a revitalized community with up to 250 new homes.

"Redevelopment" refers to the process of improving or rebuilding an area that is underutilized and in need of revitalization. A redevelopment plan envisions a new and improved plan for the area that aims to better serve the community.

The Park Place Redevelopment will redesign the area to fit more homes and families, replace old infrastructure, add new features, and better meet the needs of residents and the surrounding community.

The redevelopment will be a Cottage Cluster housing development, and it will reshape the street grid to allow better access and alignment with the nearby neighborhood and city street grid.

Clackamas Heights is among the oldest public housing in the country and HACC is struggling to maintain and operate these units as federal funding continues to steadily decrease.

HACC is repositioning their housing portfolio out of the Public Housing program and moving it to the Section 8 program. The Section 8 program is a more stable and flexible program that allows Housing Authorities to combine other funding sources like the Metro Affordable Housing Bond to support redevelopment, ongoing capital needs, and sustainable operations.

This provides an incredible opportunity for HACC to improve its existing housing, build more affordable housing, and create a sustainable organizational foundation.

Yes. In 2009, HACC began a master planning process with the intention of redeveloping Clackamas Heights. However, HACC was not successful in securing funding from HUD and was unable to complete the project.

HACC's current funding plan will utilize it's allocation of Metro's Affordable Housing Bond to leverage other public and private resources to support the redevelopment.

The diagram below above is the current thinking with regard to the project schedule. Dates are subject to change.

Cottage clusters are a housing development concept featuring a group of homes arranged around a shared courtyard or garden space. This design promotes a sense of community while maximizing land use efficiency. Each cottage typically offers a compact, single-family living space with essential amenities, making them an affordable and sustainable housing option.

The shared common areas foster neighborly interaction and can include features such as communal gardens, playgrounds, and outdoor seating. Cottage clusters are often integrated into urban or suburban settings, providing an appealing alternative to traditional single-family homes and high-density apartment complexes.

In 2019, the Oregon state legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2001 which required jurisdictions with a population of 10,000 or more to allow “middle housing” - including duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses, and cottage clusters - in all single-family residential zones. HB 2001 addresses three goals by:

1. Providing more housing options
2. Increasing overall supply
3. Increasing diversity by encouraging more inclusive neighborhoods

HACC invited residents from Clackamas Heights and Oregon City View Manor and Park Place neighbors to weigh in at key stages of the development planning process. HACC hosted listening sessions, conducted surveys, interviewed resident services coordinators, and provided residents with summaries of feedback heard at each stage. A total of 119 survey responses were received.

In addition to engaging residents, HACC recruited 15 residents from Clackamas Heights and Oregon City View Manor to be part of a Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

The CAC’s role was to share feedback and generate ideas based on their experience living in the community. The CAC helped HACC and the design team make informed decisions about ways the layout and design could best meet the needs of future residents.

A special thank you to our Community Advisory Committee for investing their time, graciously sharing their lived experiences, and contributing invaluable insights to the design team.

The majority of residents agreed that Cottage Cluster housing allows residents to maintain the community feel of the site (ex. shared open space, eyes on the street, etc.) while making more efficient use of the property to provide additional homes for individuals and families.

Residents prefer to have shared amenities centrally located on the site such as the community building, community garden, open space, play areas, sports courts, and resident service offices. Gathering space and programs should be suitable for all ages, including older youth and teens, with covered outdoor spaces that they can use year-round.

Residents and neighbors shared concerns about increased vehicle traffic and pedestrian safety on Holcomb and Front Avenue. We heard a strong desire for better pedestrian connectivity both on site and in the existing neighborhood to help increase the safety and walkability for everyone. HACC hopes to work and advocate these desires with the city to understand how this redevelopment can impact both the site and neighborhood connections positively.

There will be many cottage clusters on the site with a mix of 1, 2, 3, and 4-bedroom units. New unit sizes will be the same size or larger than existing units and clusters will provide a mix of amenities.

At least one parking space will be available for every unit and additional parking will be provided near the community building and other shared amenities.

HACC and the consultant team shared three different preliminary design schemes with residents to gather feedback and help inform a preferred design concept. Each scheme demonstrated different ways housing, open space, pathways, and community amenities could be arranged, distributed, or emphasized throughout the site.

This concept focuses on creating pedestrian-friendly streets that connect residents to a central open green space. A prominent raised crossing at the heart of the site serves as a reminder for drivers to be mindful of the pedestrian-oriented neighborhood.

This concept focuses on creating a large gathering space at the center of the site for residents to gather and partake in recreational activities. This park could be a mix of hard-scaped plazas + sport courts that tie into the softer landscaped grassy park.

This concept focuses on creating a pedestrian-friendly loop through the site that allows residents to connect with neighbors from around their whole community. It also provides nodes along the path for other activities to take place like workout stations, playgrounds, etc.

The revised Park Loop concept features around 20 cottage clusters comprised of up to 12 housing units each, for a maximum of 250 units on site. Each cluster is arranged around a landscaped courtyard that extends to meet the connecting park loop. Residents can use this park loop for daily walks, meeting up with neighbors, or giving children a safe path to ride or run through.

Amenities are distributed throughout the site but remain connected via the park loop. This allows for smaller-scale amenities like pocket parks, picnic tables, or exercise areas to be closer to individual clusters, while maintaining a central connection to the larger open space area, community garden, playground, and sports court.

Keeping pedestrian safety as a top priority on-site, a large raised crossing at the central intersection point of the site helps signify to drivers to slow down and keep an eye out for pedestrians in the area.

Each cluster will provide a mix of unit types ranging from 1 Bedrooms - 4 Bedrooms. New unit sizes will be larger than existing footprints and clusters will provide a mix of amenity types to best serve residents’ needs.

The following section shows inspirational images and ideas for play areas, community gardens, paths, parks, and community amenities that were favorable and desired by residents along with additional comments we heard from residents.

There are several big milestones remaining before construction begins. HACC will submit a Section 18 Application to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this summer. Section 18 approval is expected late 2025 and will allow HACC to move forward with the redevelopment and begin resident relocation. More detailed architectural design and permitting processes will also begin this summer based on the preferred site design concept and continue until construction begins.

There will be more opportunities to provide feedback during the architectural design and permitting phase. Topics to be discussed with residents in future engagement include:

• Laundry

• Unit design

• Unit mix

• Parking space allocation

• Landscaping

HACC will keep residents informed on upcoming engagement opportunities.

Residents of Clackamas Heights and Oregon City View Manor will be offered a Section 8 voucher and relocation assistance. Relocation assistance may include:

• One-on-one meetings with a relocation counselor who will assist residents with finding a new home and overcoming any barriers
• Payment of application fees and deposits
• Payment of any moving related fees including boxes, packing tape and movers

Clackamas Heights residents will relocate prior to construction which is expected to start in late 2025. OCVM residents will have a longer relocation timeline that will be determined based on feedback from HUD. Ideally, interested residents from OCVM will be able to move directly into a new unit at Park Place.

Current Clackamas Heights and OCVM residents will have first priority to move to Park Place Redevelopment once construction is complete and ready for move-in.

For more information, visit the project  website:    www.clackamas.us/housingauthority/clackamas-heights .

If you have any questions or comments, please send to:  chredevInfo@clackamas.us .