Acadia Gardens, located at SE Causey Avenue and 85th Avenue in Happy Valley.
Reporting from Happy Valley
It's nestled in the fastest growing business center in the region.
A frequent service bus line runs less than 700 feet from its front door and a MAX Green Line station is just a half-mile to the south. The Interstate 205 multi-use path is within easy walking and biking distance.
Sidewalks in the neighborhood provide direct connections to the Clackamas Town Center and a cluster of stores and restaurants on 82nd Avenue.
Just opened Acadia Gardens, a 41-unit mixed-use transit-oriented development for low-income working families, represents a new model for livable communities that, according to research by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be the first choice of nearly a quarter of all U.S. households by 2030.
"Increasingly, Americans are showing a preference for more compact, walkable, mixed-use communities over typical suburban development," states "Encouraging Transit Oriented Development: Case studies that work," a report produced by Reconnecting America. That's in part, the report says, because traffic is so bad that no one wants to spend time commuting.
Although studies show that transit-oriented development produces 43 percent less emissions than conventional suburban development, the preference goes beyond the benefits of less time in traffic and better for the environment.
Housing preferences change with family profile
The profile of a typical American household is changing, and with it, so are housing preferences.
"Acadia Gardens is home to 40 families of which 35 percent are of ethnically diverse backgrounds," says Janine Lind, senior vice president of operations at Guardian Real Estate Services, the property management company serving Acadia Gardens. "Twenty-three families have women as their head of household, (there are) 21 children, 50 percent of whom are under the age of 6, along with disabled individuals and senior citizens."
"While the vast majority of U.S. households used to be families with both a mom and dad and more than one child," reads the Reconnecting America report, "this demographic group now comprises just 25 percent of households and it is shrinking."
Amenities that build community
The day-to-day needs of this new demographic are driving the types of amenities showing up in transit-oriented developments. For residents of Acadia Gardens, those amenities include a high speed internet equipped computer lab, central recycling on each floor, a community garden, and nutrition classes.
The ground floor office space in Acadia Garden is the future home of a WIC (Women, Infant and Children) satellite office that will provide nutrition services and education to young families in the development. Beyond the building's back door are several raised garden beds where vegetables grown are used in the cooking classes held in the ground floor community center. A children's splash pool area is located next to the garden.
"It's not about putting up a structure and putting people in it," says Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette, within whose district Acadia Gardens is located. "(Acadia Gardens) cares about the residents' whole lifestyle."
The community garden provides vegetables for use in the cooking classes offered.
For resident Eliana Mayers, the garden is the source of more than just fresh vegetables – it's growing the apartment community as well.
"I was one of the first residents that moved into Acadia Gardens and it was so empty," says Mayers, who shares an apartment with her high school aged son. "Then one of the other women in the building started planting the gardens, and now everyone sits down and watches the flowers bloom. It helps us communicate more with each other."
Managing transportation costs
Similar to Town Center Station, another transit-oriented development located just blocks from Acadia Gardens built by the same developer, Geller Silvis and Associates, residents are encouraged to use transportation options other than the automobile. Secure indoor bicycle storage and bike hooks are available at locations throughout the building, adequate for every apartment unit.
Given that the average household in the Portland metropolitan region spends 15 to 28 percent of its budget on transportation, housing in locations connected to transit and supportive of transportation choices can create opportunities for families to have more affordable lifestyles.
"Many employers and residents in the area managed to come through the economic recession better than others," says Anna Geller, owner of Geller Silvis and Associates.
Returning savings to local businesses
The use of green building features throughout the four-story structure also helps residents manage household costs. Cove heating units, available in every apartment, are mounted near the ceiling so that the radiant panels direct heat downward across the room, without being blocked by furniture and other objects. Rooms can be heated individually to moderate costs.
"My electric bill in my old apartment was around $150 a month and up to $300 to $400 in the winter," Mayers said. "At Acadia Gardens, the lowest bill I've had is $34 and the highest is $54."
Reducing household expenses – such as transportation and utilities – can increase purchasing power for other essentials and help support businesses in the community. Locally earned wages spent during construction of Acadia Gardens and by new residents after construction is estimated at $10.6 million, generating more than new 70 jobs in the area.
Metro's Transit-Oriented Development program provides relatively small funding grants as financial incentives for the private sector to invest in compact, mixed-use projects near transit. The program's investment of $60,000 in Acadia Gardens helped spur $9.4 million in development.