The Fields

Project Details

Project Description

Otak and DBG Properties delivered affordable housing development, The Fields, to meet the mandates of the City of Tigard, Oregon, Washington County Housing Authority, and residents of the 40-year-old neighborhood. Creative and constructive design, tied to effective collaboration between all parties, resulted in multi-family living that offers urban convenience in a natural wooded setting.

The majority of the entire 17-acre property had been zoned commercial with a mandate of being able to provide 280+ jobs, however, a portion of the property had been set aside for residential development. The original plan was to build office space along the street and push the residential development to the back of the property, however, the housing project was to be developed first. When Otak was brought into the project, their designers moved the residential section to the front and the commercial to the back. The backlot was larger so commercial development could include one large building or several smaller, and with the residential in the front, there was greater opportunity to integrate the structure into the hillside and take advantage of the natural area and sweeping views.

A key decision in meeting the challenge of the location’s steep hillside was to cut into the slope so that all the units could have daylight and views. The buildings are four-story with three having bridges to an upper parking area. Because the site keeps sloping down, even the first floor buildings will be higher than anything developed next door, yet all buildings retain a low profile.

The completed project includes a green roof on the clubhouse, further blending the development into the hillside, and surrounding trees and nature, and a one-hundred-foot natural buffer was preserved along the eastern property line that backed up to the neighboring homes.

Other design considerations revolved around the City’s mandate for a connection from the adjacent neighborhood, onto and across the property, and ultimately to future development to the west. The city also wanted to put in a sky bridge connection from the site over neighboring rail lines to a trail system on the other side that eventually connects to the Tigard City Hall and Library.

With 264 units of mixed one, two, and three-bedroom units geared towards families, sweeping views, a clubhouse integrated with nature, and a walkable trail system connected to neighborhoods and urban transit, The Fields is an example of what modern affordable housing can look like. It is also an example of how a collaborative approach working with the community can lead to innovative solutions and positive outcomes that benefit all parties.