Hub 9, the newest mixed-use building in Hillsboro, is key part of a development plan for the Orenco Station area.
Last week, it was also a place for a party.
Community leaders gathered Nov. 1 to celebrate the grand opening of Hub 9, a six-story residential and neighborhood retail development near the Orenco/NW 231st Avenue MAX stop.
Present were members of developer Holland Partner Group, current and future residents, owners of businesses going in on the ground floor and more.
The view from Hub 9's sixth floor, facing the MAX station.
Samantha Kochanasz, marketing manager for Holland, said her company wanted to help complete Orenco Station as a neighborhood.
“We want people to feel like they can thrive here,” said Kochanasz. “In a neighborhood, you have everything that you need, so you don’t have to go outside of it to find necessities.”
Residents of Hub 9 won’t even have to leave their building to find food or to exercise, as the building has an fitness center and three restaurants: Pizza Schmizza, Red Onion Thai and Ava Roasteria.
The building is across from the MAX line and is one of five residential and commercial buildings in the Holland’s Platform District at Orenco. Other buildings in the district include the Platform 14, Tessera and Rowlock. The Vector building is expected to open next summer.
The building itself fits the scene, said Tony Gonsalves, Holland’s marketing director.
“When you see the building for the first time, it gives you a sense of place - that it really belongs here and always has,” he said. “You admire the vision of the people who saw it before there was anything here.”
Metro has been involved with the area’s expansion and contributed $700,000 to the $26 million project, said Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington, whose district includes Orenco Station. She said projects like Hub 9, which help to provide more vibrant and dynamic communities, are exactly what Metro’s transit-oriented development group seeks out.
Metro Council President Tom Hughes, a former Hillsboro mayor, agreed.
“Metro’s proud to have played a role in the end,” Hughes said. “It’s the kind of thing we do and the kind of thing we like to do, to work with local governments on, and I just look forward to enjoying this facility for a long, long time.”