Smaller Cities in Portland Region Have Own Appeal
Published Mar 24, 2008
Vancouvercenter has helped revitalize the central city in Vancouver, Wash.
Dee Wescott is not your average 80-year-old.
On the road to becoming mayor of Damascus – a satellite community on Portland’s southeast side – Wescott owned high-performance automotive firms and glimpsed a vision of what his town of 10,000 could become – an oasis in a land of opportunity.
“I want Damascus to be intense pods of development amidst green spaces,” says Wescott, whose town incorporated in 2004. “It would be more like the European style, where you have cities surrounded by the countryside.”
Pastoral but primed for growth, Damascus has litter patrols that keep the town as clean as a New England hamlet. It’s a safe haven, too: In a recent month, police recorded five traffic accidents, three burglaries, no assaults.
Also in Clackamas County but closer to Portland, Milwaukie boasts five enterprise zones that yield such incentives as a state property tax exemption for three years, no sales or inventory tax, and exemptions for creating jobs with above-average wages.
One beneficiary is Bob’s Red Mill, which takes classic millstones, adds cutting-edge technology and produces hundreds of healthy grain-based foods. Owner Bob Moore recently tripled his manufacturing space by moving into a 325,000-square-foot former warehouse.
The decision to remain in Milwaukie was easy, he says. “It’s a place where the city really values local businesses.”
On Portland’s east flank, Gresham welcomed the region’s first MAX light-rail service a generation ago. The line spawned transit-oriented developments as Gresham grew to 100,000 people.
“We have a lot to offer, and one of the keys is our business district,” Mayor Shane Bemis says. “We have a wonderful Main Street district at the heart of our city, and we have a lot of pride.”
Gresham is building a $1.5 million public plaza that will preface a $20 million performing arts hall. And private development is prolific. “We have about five new projects under way that all have a residential component as well as retail,” Bemis says.
West of Portland, Hillsboro has grown sixfold since 1970.
Hillsboro draws raves for accommodating growth wisely. It’s common to see lampposts and subdivisions on one side of a street, farmland and barns on the other. Less than 20 percent of Hillsboro’s workforce commutes to Portland because of the high-tech job growth in Washington County, says City Manager Tim Erwert.
Vibrant downtown, cultural and recreational offerings make the city a popular choice. “Even though Hillsboro has grown this much, there’s still a certain kind of hometown feel to the community,” Erwert says.
After Portland, Vancouver on the Washington side of the Columbia River is the region’s largest city, with a population of 160,000. The two states’ tax structures appeal to different industries, says Bart Phillips, president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council. “Companies from outside of the area look at the region, then they look at a location that may benefit them,” he says.
Mayor Royce Pollard predicts that attractive schools and housing will catapult Vancouver into becoming the Washington’s second-biggest city, behind Seattle.
Story by Gary Perilloux
Photo by staff
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