Massive Eagle Landing Development - Happy Valley. Thoughts? (Portland, Tigard: 2015, apartment complex)

[drewmoto]

Hello ladies and gents of CD! First time poster, long time reader. I am being transferred from my job (yes, the Bay Area) to Portland in a few months. I am married and have a small child, with another on the way. We are looking to move in Jan17 and have been looking really hard at Happy Valley. My wife and I like the relative safety of the area and seemingly good schools. My job is located in the Pearl District and I would most likely be taking the Max Green Line in from the Clackamas station which I believe is off of Sunnyside.

I have been reading the threads for all the pros and cons of West vs East as well as the possible long commute so thats not my question/topic but please feel free to throw your thoughts in positive or negative on either. I have visited Portland a number of times and have traveled to Tigard, East and West Portland, HV, and Milwaukee.

My question and curiosity lies more around a large development that is slated to open in 2021 in Happy Valley called the Eagle Landing Development. It is a mixed use development of Office, Condos, a high end hotel, and restaurants. I came across it when looking at Happy Valley's govt page
eagle landing | Search Results | Happy Valley

I have not seen a lot of writeups or talk about the project outside of a few articles from early 2015 on the Oregonian.

I am looking to see what the 'natives' think of the project and if it is a welcome addition to the area or not. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

Thx all!

[PNWdreamin]

Well, I'm not the native Oregonian you're looking for, as I've only been living in the Happy Valley area for about 5 months (just moved from Santa Clarita, CA), but this is the first I've heard of it. I've been watching a huge new Fred Meyer shopping center being built on the corner of Sunnyside and 172nd, and I've been excited about that opening next month. However, I have mixed feelings about development in this area. On one hand, since we are a little ways out from Portland over here, I'm always thinking it would be nice to have more shops, restaurants, etc. super close by. On the other hand, one of the reasons why I love this Happy Valley area, is because it is quieter, less chaotic than Portland, and on the edge of the city/country. Clackamas river in down the street, we are close to Mt Hood etc. But I've been watching tons of new housing developments progress around here, which I know means more people, traffic etc. I have a feeling that the Happy Valley area will eventually become built up like the west side suburbs. But for now, I definitely prefer and love it over here! And yes, the schools are great!

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by drewmoto

Hello ladies and gents of CD! First time poster, long time reader. I am being transferred from my job (yes, the Bay Area) to Portland in a few months. I am married and have a small child, with another on the way. We are looking to move in Jan17 and have been looking really hard at Happy Valley. My wife and I like the relative safety of the area and seemingly good schools. My job is located in the Pearl District and I would most likely be taking the Max Green Line in from the Clackamas station which I believe is off of Sunnyside.

I have been reading the threads for all the pros and cons of West vs East as well as the possible long commute so thats not my question/topic but please feel free to throw your thoughts in positive or negative on either. I have visited Portland a number of times and have traveled to Tigard, East and West Portland, HV, and Milwaukee.

My question and curiosity lies more around a large development that is slated to open in 2021 in Happy Valley called the Eagle Landing Development. It is a mixed use development of Office, Condos, a high end hotel, and restaurants. I came across it when looking at Happy Valley's govt page
eagle landing | Search Results | Happy Valley

I have not seen a lot of writeups or talk about the project outside of a few articles from early 2015 on the Oregonian.

I am looking to see what the 'natives' think of the project and if it is a welcome addition to the area or not. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

Thx all!

Not a native / here a year (from Bay area as well) but my Portlandia partner and his circle are either natives or have been here for more than 20 years--
anyways I hear a lot about how things used to be, different areas they all have lived in or do live in - from the up and coming Curry/ Hawthorne areas to Foster Powell, etc... as well as Happy valley area (we like the Trader Joes and big Fred Meyers there)...
I think renting in the area us a good idea,and to echo the thoughts of the Poster who likes the less congestion, further out, quietness of their area--

You might look into SE Portland, I found it quieter, with families raising their kids and enjoying the parks as well as proximity to family friendly restaurants, pubs, venues...

[AnotherPDXGuy]

That development has been in discussion for a long time and who knows when/if/what form it will eventually take. Unless you're looking to live right by it, it should effect you as it is also up on a hill and kind of out of the way. Long story short, I wouldn't count on it happening by 2021 or looking anything like they imagine it now.

The Happy Valley area is all basically pretty new and has grown like crazy since 2000. I doubt any one there has strong feelings about another new development.

[princessgrace79]

First I've heard of it, and I live in SE Portland and drive up that way for big box shopping.

My parents both live off Sunnyside and have since the 90s, I went to the old Clavkamas high school.

I think the project looks nice. It's kind of a nothing use of land right now, with one of those giant churches and a random 90s apartment complex. Seems like a much better use of the space and makes sense to build that kind of development near light rail. Happy valley kind of suffers from the bland suburb problem of chain strip malls and a sea of same looking houses dropped on clear cut hills (I get to say this bc I am native ha!) so any deviation from that towards a bit more city vibe is welcome in my opinion.

[snlisook]

Dear Sir:

I wish you the best in your move to the Portland area and will assure you it is an excellent place to live. with direct reference to your request for information on the Eagle Landing project, I have attached a letter I sent to the Happy Valley administration as public input. We have thoroughly enjoyed living in the Sunnyside area since 1976 but have concerns that the Eagle Landing project, as currently proposed, will snarl traffic badly. On the other hand, this project has been talked about for 15+ years and still appears to be in a major state of flux with no real deadlines yet established. Hope this helps with some perspective in your search for a home. I'm sure you'll find Portland an excellent choice for home.

Steve Lisook

November 14, 2016

12444 SE Ashley Street
Clackamas, OR 97015


City of Happy Valley
16000 SE Misty Drive
Happy Valley, OR 97086

Re: Eagle Landing Development Master Plan Application
File #: MP-01-16/ERP-10-16/ERP-11-16

Dear Planning Board, City of Happy Valley:

I wish to voice my opposition to the current proposed Eagle Landing project now before the Happy Valley Planning District and City Council. I express my opposition as a residential and business owner in the Sunnyside corridor. Simply put, the project is too large. As proposed, it is dropping almost a small city onto 36 acres of a suburban community that has seen steady but controlled, progressive growth since I first moved into the Sunnyside area in 1976. My comments are after thoughtful review of the 375 page application and the most recent revised traffic impact study.

As currently proposed, the project entails almost 700,00 square feet of offices, over 1,000 residential units, greater than 400,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, another 250,00 square feet of a “Wellness Center”, and a 125 bed hotel, all of which will require conservatively 5,600 parking spaces. I wish to review briefly a few key items in the newly revised traffic study report prepared by David Evans and Associates, Inc. dated 11/2015 for the applicant, Neil Nedelisky dab Verias Investment Company, LLC.

With at AM Street Peak Hour simulated trips (Table 7-A), it is proposed that this project will generate 714 vehicle trips entering and 106 vehicle trips exiting all for the office space (695,000 sq ft). For comparison, I built in 1988 a family medical practice building of 6,000 sq. ft. at the corner of Sunnyside Road and Valley View Terrace (112th Ave) which, in actual fact, generated 180 trips/day. I do not have a breakdown of exact peaks hour movement at my office but most employees and many patients entered and exited during the 3 key times of peak AM, midday and peak PM times. Simple math extrapolation for this particular known office space traffic generator would show that the proposed office space needs alone would generate approximately 20,600 vehicle trips/day. The above common sense overview does not even begin to take into account all of the residential units and 400,000 sq. ft. of commercial businesses, proposed 30 restaurants, businesses for banking, food, etc. I understand there are many confounding variables including internal circulation mitigation, pedestrians uses, effect of mass transit that may affect my scenario, but still the total amount of newly generated trips will be monumental for the relative land mass.

If additional trips for the commercial area of 400,000 sq. ft.(12,000 trips), health facilities of 250,000 sq. ft. (7,500 trips), hotel (400 trips) and then 1,000 residential units (2,000 trips), the number of trips for the proposed square footage could be as high as 42,500 daily!
The location of the project is at a major transportation arterial intersections of Stevens Road, Sunnyside Road, and Interstate 205. While the above affected roads generally meet traffic volumes currently, those of us who drive Sunnyside Road regularly will attest to marked congestion and traffic stacking at times already without the large influx of additional vehicles this project would necessitate. It is only logical from observation and reasoned common sense that the project, at its current huge scale, will stagnate the road transportation system for all of the residents and business along the Sunnyside corridor if additional vehicle trips are following the pattern of existing office spaces.


The existing parameters in the current application allow for no more than weekday AM peak hour trips of 1700, weekday midday peak hour trips of 1900, and weekday PM peak hour trips and no more than weekday PM peak hour trips of 2600 vehicles. The applicant’s Traffic Impact Study details the need for 5,600 parking spaces even with all the internal pedestrian movement and mass transit mitigation. And the applicant’s traffic study shows 714 AM peak entering trips and 106 exiting trips for the office space? Really? This for 695,000 sq. ft. of office space? Despite projections the applicant has used from simulated programs, it is not logical. Practical experience and common sense tells those of us who drive the Sunnyside corridor daily that these numbers are wishful and overly optimistic.


I understand as a citizen and business professional the need to effectively utilize land for a communities needs, a growing tax base, and providing services not readily available elsewhere. However, this proposed project is so densely planned as to severely and permanently damage the Sunnyside-Clackamas community with marked traffic congestion that would translate to a poor livability climate so different from what has been enjoyed for decades upon decades. I ask that you deny THIS proposed Eagle Landing application as submitted and reconsider a much more modest project on the order of perhaps 1/5 of this proposed density which could allow growth of our tax base and reasonable use of the developer’s land. The need to maintain livability in our community is key to continued success and controlled growth for our home community. I am not asking that we should return to the days when Sunnyside Road was Market Road 29, but this project, if approved as submitted, will forever change the entire Sunnyside corridor for the worse.

Respectfully submitted,




Steve Lisook

[Larry Caldwell]

Oregon has fiercely discussed urban growth boundaries. Once an area is included in an urban growth boundary and zoned for development, there is no realistic way to stop it. You can look at the area in the Metro UGB if you are curious.

Urban growth boundary | Metro

[Sassy01]

I'm surprised they went ahead and finally built the Fred Meyers out there, there was talk of that way back in the mid 80's that I can remember. I know my parents aren't all that happy about the Fred Meyers as it adds significant traffic and complicated even getting onto Vogel Rd now.

As for Eagle Landing. Just what that area needs, more apartments that the people can't afford .

And if you think that area is quiet now, should have been out there even 30 yrs ago.

[mark71177]

Dear sir (mover),
I currently own a nice Condo that is 50 yards from where the development project is going in. My family lived there until a few months ago when I took another job in Idaho. Where we lived was nested in a great spot and very quiet, yet super convenient to the max line and local retail. it was the best of both worlds to be honest. I have known about the development project ever since it was a thought 8-9 years ago. I know the developer and am close friends that are working with him closely on the project. If you would like more details about Happy Valley or the area or project, feel free to email me at my personal address as I probably won't get on this site again. I just happened to run across it after a google search on the project for recent news.

Blessings,
Mark
[email]proverbs.3vs5.6@gmail.com[/email]

[OneTimeSEALover]

Love these names: Happy Valley. Sunnyside (ironic in the Portland area). Thinking the names don't derive from the same types of sources as "Sellwood" and "Eastmoreland" or "Ardenwald" (names of my own youth).