5 minute read
Reed's Crossing: South Hillsboro’s Premier, Master Planned, New Home Community
Advertisement
Hillsboro’s job market is booming and while, for business owners, it’s been wonderful to see, the need for housing in Washington County has risen dramatically, radically outpacing supply. Reed’s Crossing, a new, mixed-use, master planned community by Newland, answers that need by offering a variety of housing options, picturesque streetscapes and a planned town center that will serve as a community hub for residents and non-residents alike. Over the project’s 10 year lifespan, Reed’s Crossing plans to turn 463 acres into approximately 3,500 new homes. But what does this mean for Hillsboro? The benefits might surprise you!
WHAT IS A MASTER-PLANNED COMMUNITY? Master-planned communities are designed to create an optimal mix of residential homes, businesses and parks ¬– where all of the community’s key elements have been carefully planned and considered long before the first home is ever built. While older master-planned communities might have centered around a large amenity like a golf course, newer master-planned communities are more focused on millennial homebuyers and their desire for city-like conveniences—at an affordable price point. In the case of Reed’s Crossing by Newland, the community will offer a variety of housing options, miles of trails, open space, parks, community gathering areas, an elementary school and learning centers, along with planned community events and a proposed Town Center, with shops, restaurants and services, that is slated to break ground in 2020.
Newland has a lengthy record of success in new markets by creating neighborhoods that are intentionally designed and created with homeowners in mind and that only get better with time. Over the lifespan of a community, Newland re-envisions plans and program mixes to adapt to changing market demand, family formations, and changing buyer preferences, incorporating lifestyle amenities, neighborhood centers, office parks, schools, and civic uses. Extensive research uncovers what homebuyers want in a community, neighborhood, and home, what matters to them, and how they want to live. “A key factor in choosing the site for Reed’s Crossing was the under supply of housing in Hillsboro,” says David Brentlinger, VP of Operations for Reed’s Crossing by Newland. “We have the luxury of solid employers like Nike and Intel nearby and there are currently more jobs in the area than available homes. Through our research we were able to determine¬ how far people were commuting and realized that if we could provide housing close to these booming employment centers, employees’ commutes would be reduced quite a bit, thereby increasing the quality of life.”
PROTECTING THE ECO SYSTEM WITH INNOVATIVE DESIGN Building new housing is by nature a disruptive process, that’s why every phase of development in Reed’s Crossing is informed by sustainable, best practices. Running right through the heart of the community is a 23-acre Greenway, connecting neighborhoods through a variety of multi-modal trails. This natural amenity offers much more than just open space – within the Greenway there are several wetland ponds, hand-planted with 200,000+ plugs of native grasses to promote water quality and biodiversity, while creating a habitat inviting to local wildlife. You’ll also find a pollinator garden designed to attract butterflies, bees, birds, and other pollinators that the local ecosystem depends on.
The Greenway also helps protect against flooding and maintains the local watershed by filtering and cleaning runoff from streets and homes before it enters nearby Gordon Creek. Strict guidelines have been established to preserve topsoil and to keep pollutants out of the water system.
SMART HOMES BUILT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS By requiring sustainable and energy efficient construction practices, Reed’s Crossing improves Hillsboro’s livability, while reducing waste and benefiting the environment. Every home at Reed’s Crossing will be built to Earth Advantage Silver home certification standards or greater. This means strict, green building regulations are being met in five different categories: energy efficiency, healthy indoor air quality, resource efficiency, environmental responsibility, and water conservation.
In addition, each residential home offers smart home technology to reduce energy consumption while greatly increasing convenience for those who live there. Smart thermostats and water heaters that can be easily programmed and adjusted to reduce unnecessary energy expenditure are available in each home.
Also, the homes are built to be solar ready, allowing for the efficient installation of solar power systems. All homes are also designed to be ready for advanced battery-based energy storage systems and for an electric vehicle charging station, all of which can reduce electricity bills and carbon footprints.
Education Meets Innovation Sustainability also means educating future generations. The Hillsboro School District currently owns 40 acres in Reed’s Crossing and is planning to build two or three elementary schools and one middle school. The first proposed elementary school is anticipated to be completed by 2022, and early residents of the community will be able to have their children be part of bringing this resource to life.
In addition, Reed’s Crossing is working with the Hillsboro School District to design an outdoor S.T.E.A.M. education area to help young people learn about being a good partner for the ecosystem we all share.
THE TOWN CENTER: BRINGING CONVENIENCE TO THE COMMUNITY For many years to come, Reed’s Crossing will benefit both residents and the region through community-focused and innovative design initiatives. The proposed Town Center is planned to bring shopping, dining, entertainment, and a vibrant way of living day and night to the Hillsboro community. There are plans to have places to get groceries, meet up for coffee, go out for a drink, or even see a doctor. This upcoming retail space will bring convenient services, living wage jobs and reduced regional traffic as the Town Center will be located within walking distance of Reeds Crossing.
A BENEFICIAL ADDITION TO HILLSBORO As Hillsboro continues to grow, Reed’s Crossing is committed to growing along with it – in ways that are both seen and oftentimes, unseen. For instance, with the addition of new Hillsboro residents, the growing tax base will benefit the Hillsboro School District, our city’s first responders and all city and county services that depend on tax dollars for funding.
And how about that traffic? The addition of a housing community like Reed’s Crossing will help reduce commute times for the large number of employees driving to work from outside of Hillsboro. Living at Reed’s Crossing allows those commuters to spend more time doing what they enjoy, rather than fighting traffic.
How will this affect local business? Throughout the development of Reed’s Crossing, Newland has remained committed to improving the economy by hiring local workers. From contractors to consultants to construction workers, upwards of 95% of the employees working to build Reed’s Crossing are from the surrounding areas, stimulating the local economy and circulating money back into Hillsboro businesses.
Win. Win. Win.
