Last week Metro joined Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Washington County and others to celebrate the opening of Plambeck Gardens — the first affordable apartment community to be built in Tualatin using dollars from Metro's affordable housing bond. The voter-approved funding contributed nearly $15 million to the complex's $69 million in construction costs.
Plambeck Gardens is named in honor of the late Doug Plambeck, who championed affordable housing development in greater Portland as a founding member of Community Partners for Affordable Housing and board treasurer for over 25 years. Plambeck was committed to bringing more affordable housing to Tualatin — where he and his family lived for many years — and he played a key role in helping CPAH acquire the land for this development.
The new apartment community has 47 deeply affordable apartments reserved for households with incomes at or below 30% of the area median income ($35,400 for a household of four). The remaining 67 are available for households with incomes ranging from 31-60% AMI ($70,800 for a household of four).
Residents will have access to a community center, green spaces, communal gardens and a playground. The site is also located near the Basalt Creek Natural Area for recreation opportunities. With apartment sizes ranging from one to four bedrooms, Plambeck Gardens is designed to meet the needs of households of all sizes.
Community Action, Lifeworks NW, Centro Cultural, Worksystems, Inc., and Neighborhood Health Center will offer resident support, including culturally responsive services and assistance in accessing employment and health resources.
The opening celebration featured remarks from project partners, state and federal elected officials and Plambeck’s family. According to Beth Walk, Plambeck’s daughter, her dad “understood on a deeper level than most that for a society to prosper it must take care of its people; particularly the vulnerable and marginalized.”
Reflecting on his father’s legacy, Andrew Plambeck imagined the generations of residents who will call the apartment community home over the years. “We will all be long gone before the totality of the impact of this place is felt,” he said. “There’s no one in this room who will live to see all of the kids and grandkids who will live better lives than their parents because of the opportunity to live and grow up in this place.”
Doug Plambeck’s vision of a more affordable Portland region lives on in Plambeck Gardens and the many other affordable apartment communities CPAH have brought to life. Three other CPAH developments are in the pre-construction stage with Metro bond funds: Jamii Court in Portland, Meadowlark in Beaverton and Woodland Hearth in Tigard.
To date, Metro’s voter-approved housing bond has supported the creation of over 2,200 new homes across greater Portland. In total, the bond is expected to bring about 5,700 new homes to the region — 1,700 more than promised in the 2018 ballot measure.