Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Building slump is sparing few

Wilsonville-area development slowed considerably in 2009

• By: Patrick Johnson  
• Published: 2/18/2010 1:19:22 PM

The final numbers are in, and 2009 looks to be near a record low for development in Wilsonville.
During 2009, approximately $42 million in development, both residential and non-residential took place in the city.

Last year’s tally of $42,941,622 worth of construction is similar to 1999, when $42,761,621 worth of projects were issued building permits. However, 2009 valuation numbers include the non-profit Creekside Woods senior apartment housing project, which will qualify for a property tax waiver, Gary Wallis, city finance director said.

“It is a non-profit, and may times in projects like this they apply for and receive a property tax waive to keep the cost of the rents lower for the residents,” Wallis said. “Since it is lower income housing, I would expect it will be done on this project.”

To help the financing of the project, the city waived $272,030 in building fees, but did require Northwest Housing Alternatives, the non-profit responsible for the project, to pay approximately $550,000 in system development charges.

The Creekside Woods project is valued at $14,651,000 according to Becky White, permit technician. This would bring the value of the taxable development in 2009 down to $28,290,622, by far the lowest since 1997 and down more than 31-percent from 2008.

Wallis said the valuations are the estimated real market value of the projects and that the assessed value that will be taxed was normally 60 to 65 percent below the market value.

“There are also a lot of the projects that are located in urban renewal districts, so the money will be going to the district,” Wallis said. “That is true of development in Villebois and other areas of the city.”
Wallis also said that 2009 was a “record low in residential building.”

According to the valuation report, 2009 saw $7,303,327 in residential buildings, down from a high in 2006 of $37,530,571 – an 80 percent decrease.

Wallis said this trend is one of the reason the city has laid off one building department staffer and continues to monitor the amount of development going on in the community.

“We are currently working on the next budget and we are in contacted with building to see what applications are in and what we should plan on for revenue,” Wallis said.

Some development underway
Despite last year’s valuation numbers, residential valuation is up so far in 2010. In January 2009 there was $4,400 in construction for residential properties, including remodels. The January 2010 numbers, released last week, look much more promising, with $589,777 in development planned. However, the non-residential numbers are down, with $124,042 in January down from the $1,183,787 in January 2009.

“We are seeing some development, it’s coming back slowly,” said Chris Neamtzu, planning director.

According to planning records, two other non-residential projects have been submitted for Development Review Board hearings.

The first is a 20,536 square foot Goodwill Store in Town Center Shopping Center along Courtside Drive. The second, Wilsonville Road Business Park, will be built at the corner of Kinsman Road and Wilsonville Road and includes five buildings in two phases. The bulk of the project is industrial space, but there is also space for retail and commercial offices.

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