Hillsboro Civic Center
Encyclopedia
The Hillsboro Civic Center is a government-built, mixed-use development in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon
, United States
. The development includes the city hall
for the county seat of Washington County
, located west of Portland, Oregon
. Covering 6 acres (24,281.2 m²), the Civic Center has a total of over 165000 square feet (15,329 m²) in the complex. The total of six stories for the main structure makes the building the tallest in the city, tied with Tuality Community Hospital
. In addition to government
offices, the Civic Center includes retail space, public plazas, and residential housing. The complex was built to centralize city government functions under one roof.
Design of the complex began in 2002, with construction beginning in 2003. After completion in 2005, the building was awarded the LEED Gold certification
for sustainability, the second city hall in the United States to earn that distinction. Environmentally friendly
technologies used include occupancy sensors, ventilation that monitors carbon dioxide levels to determine when to activate, high performance exterior glass to reduce heat loss, and solar panels to generate electricity.
of the downtown core that would reinvigorate downtown. This included the plan to turn the area into an a zone with 18 hours of activity each day, instead of businesses closing at 5:00 pm when the city and county governments closed. Additionally, conference space was planned to accommodate use by both city and county governments, and by private groups.
In April 2002, Specht Properties was selected as the developer of the project after scoring higher with the council appointed committee formed to rate each of three developer's proposals, with Gerding/Edlen Development and Trammell Crow Company
losing out to Specht. Construction on the complex began in June 2003 when an old grain store at the site was demolished to make room for the center. A total of eight buildings were torn down to make room the complex as part of a redevelopment of a brownfield
site.
Plans also called for retail space, housing units, and a library
branch. Though the library section was built, a library branch did not open at the site. LRS Architects designed the complex with Skanska USA
serving as the general contractor
. The structural engineering was done by KPFF Consulting Engineers, services engineering was completed by Interface Engineering, and civil engineering for the project was handled by WRG Design.
The building was finished in January 2005 with city officials and employees moving into the buildings by the end of March. A public grand opening was held on July 16, 2005, to officially open the center. Total cost of the public portion of the project was $34 million, with construction totaling $23.5 million. Prior to completion the city leased space in several downtown buildings, including the county's Public Services Building where Hillsboro also held city council meetings. Later in 2005 a coffee shop was added as a tenant in part of the retail space, and in 2007 the restaurant space in the building was leased to NW Hayden Enterprises for a restaurant scheduled to open in 2008. In April 2009, the plaza was renamed as the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza in honor of former mayor Tom Hughes
who was mayor when the building was constructed.
trees located across the street at the Washington County Courthouse
, with the trees dating back to the 1880s.
At a total of six stories tall, the building is tied for the tallest building in Hillsboro with Tuality Community Hospital
standing 78 feet (23.8 m) tall. Inside the building features high ceilings on the first floor and a large, open public space. Daylight and exterior views are present in 90% of the offices in city hall.
for 2005 from Northwest Construction magazine for the general contractor Skanska USA.
It is the first municipal headquarters in Oregon to meet all its energy needs with renewable sources.
During development, the project first aimed for attaining a Silver certification from the United States Green Building Council
. Instead, the project was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Gold certification for environmental sustainability
by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership. This was the second Gold rating given to a city hall in the U.S. after Seattle’s city hall earned the distinction, and the seventh building in Oregon to earn that level of certification.
Contributing factors leading to this award included that during construction, 92% of construction waste was recycled, and non-wood wheat board was used in some of the walls. Additionally, 18 solar panels were installed on the building to generate power for use in the building, with the city purchasing all additional power through renewable power sources, funded in part by Portland General Electric
and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, while the building is 42% more energy efficient than comparable buildings. Other environmental friendly amenities include occupancy sensors, ventilation that monitors carbon dioxide levels to determine when to activate, high performance exterior glass to reduce heat loss, infrared bathroom fixtures, and the use of recycled building materials among other items.
The Civic Center was built over three city blocks in downtown. The complex has a total of 168436 square feet (15,648.2 m²). The complex has two plaza
s, with the northern plaza designed to create an outdoor amphitheater with seating for 700. Dedicated as the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza, the buildings of the Civic Center serve as a backdrop to the amphitheater, and by using Main Street to increase the space, the amphitheater can accommodate crowds of 5,000 people. South Plaza connects the government portions of the complex to the 120 unit residential component of the development to the south. Both plazas have water features, including a fountain in the 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) North Plaza.
On the ground floor is a Starbucks
coffee shop in a 1600 square feet (148.6 m²) space, while the 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) designed for the library branch remain open for future government use. In the government areas there is a 3800 square feet (353 m²) conference center and the city council chambers. This includes a 250 seat auditorium. The Civic Center hosts the seasonal, weekly farmer’s market on Saturdays, and a marketplace on Tuesdays that features various vendors, both utilizing the center’s plaza area. Plans call for an upscale restaurant in a 3800 square feet (353 m²) space. City services at the site include the Administration Department, city planning, the office of the city recorder, and the municipal court among others. The Civic Center also houses the office of the mayor and is the site of the twice-monthly city council
meetings.
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The development includes the city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
for the county seat of Washington County
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
, located west of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Covering 6 acres (24,281.2 m²), the Civic Center has a total of over 165000 square feet (15,329 m²) in the complex. The total of six stories for the main structure makes the building the tallest in the city, tied with Tuality Community Hospital
Tuality Community Hospital
Tuality Community Hospital is a non-profit, general care medical facility located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The 167-bed facility was founded in 1918 in downtown, and is the only hospital in Hillsboro, Washington County’s most populous city. Tuality has partnerships with both Pacific...
. In addition to government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
offices, the Civic Center includes retail space, public plazas, and residential housing. The complex was built to centralize city government functions under one roof.
Design of the complex began in 2002, with construction beginning in 2003. After completion in 2005, the building was awarded the LEED Gold certification
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
for sustainability, the second city hall in the United States to earn that distinction. Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
technologies used include occupancy sensors, ventilation that monitors carbon dioxide levels to determine when to activate, high performance exterior glass to reduce heat loss, and solar panels to generate electricity.
History
Plans for the 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) complex began as part of the city’s 2020 comprehensive plan. Development plans from six teams of developers and architects were submitted to the city in October 2001. These plans included designs for public plazas, a library branch, residential units, retail space, and a new city hall. Formal design proposals were submitted in early 2002. The project was designed to consolidate city government and to anchor redevelopmentUrban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
of the downtown core that would reinvigorate downtown. This included the plan to turn the area into an a zone with 18 hours of activity each day, instead of businesses closing at 5:00 pm when the city and county governments closed. Additionally, conference space was planned to accommodate use by both city and county governments, and by private groups.
In April 2002, Specht Properties was selected as the developer of the project after scoring higher with the council appointed committee formed to rate each of three developer's proposals, with Gerding/Edlen Development and Trammell Crow Company
Trammell Crow Company
Trammell Crow Company is a Dallas-based real estate development, investment and operations company founded by the late Trammell Crow, and operated as an independent subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis. It was founded by Trammell Crow in 1948 and purchased in late 2006...
losing out to Specht. Construction on the complex began in June 2003 when an old grain store at the site was demolished to make room for the center. A total of eight buildings were torn down to make room the complex as part of a redevelopment of a brownfield
Brownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
site.
Plans also called for retail space, housing units, and a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
branch. Though the library section was built, a library branch did not open at the site. LRS Architects designed the complex with Skanska USA
Skanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
serving as the general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
. The structural engineering was done by KPFF Consulting Engineers, services engineering was completed by Interface Engineering, and civil engineering for the project was handled by WRG Design.
The building was finished in January 2005 with city officials and employees moving into the buildings by the end of March. A public grand opening was held on July 16, 2005, to officially open the center. Total cost of the public portion of the project was $34 million, with construction totaling $23.5 million. Prior to completion the city leased space in several downtown buildings, including the county's Public Services Building where Hillsboro also held city council meetings. Later in 2005 a coffee shop was added as a tenant in part of the retail space, and in 2007 the restaurant space in the building was leased to NW Hayden Enterprises for a restaurant scheduled to open in 2008. In April 2009, the plaza was renamed as the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza in honor of former mayor Tom Hughes
Tom Hughes (Oregon politician)
Tom Hughes is a politician and former educator in the U.S. state of Oregon. He is the president of Metro, a regional government in the Portland metropolitan area. A native of Hillsboro, he served as on that city's planning commission and city council before serving two terms as mayor from 2001 to...
who was mayor when the building was constructed.
Architecture
Hillsboro's Civic Center is a modern glass building with a stone base and brick highlights. There are two main buildings, the Civic Center housing government offices and the Plaza Building housing retail space. The plazas surrounding the structures contain an inlaid quartzite river, basalt planters, and Victorian style benches. Additionally, it was designed with large windows facing the north in order to reflect the giant sequoiaSequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...
trees located across the street at the Washington County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse (Oregon)
The Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro, Oregon is the courthouse for Washington County, Oregon, in the United States. Washington County was established in 1843 and the first government building was finished in 1852. The current courthouse was built in 1928 with an addition and renovations to...
, with the trees dating back to the 1880s.
Tuality Community Hospital
Tuality Community Hospital is a non-profit, general care medical facility located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The 167-bed facility was founded in 1918 in downtown, and is the only hospital in Hillsboro, Washington County’s most populous city. Tuality has partnerships with both Pacific...
standing 78 feet (23.8 m) tall. Inside the building features high ceilings on the first floor and a large, open public space. Daylight and exterior views are present in 90% of the offices in city hall.
Awards
Hillsboro Civic Center won the award for Best Public Project in the state of OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
for 2005 from Northwest Construction magazine for the general contractor Skanska USA.
It is the first municipal headquarters in Oregon to meet all its energy needs with renewable sources.
During development, the project first aimed for attaining a Silver certification from the United States Green Building Council
United States Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council , co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated...
. Instead, the project was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
Gold certification for environmental sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership. This was the second Gold rating given to a city hall in the U.S. after Seattle’s city hall earned the distinction, and the seventh building in Oregon to earn that level of certification.
Contributing factors leading to this award included that during construction, 92% of construction waste was recycled, and non-wood wheat board was used in some of the walls. Additionally, 18 solar panels were installed on the building to generate power for use in the building, with the city purchasing all additional power through renewable power sources, funded in part by Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric is an electrical utility based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - half of the inhabitants of Oregon...
and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, while the building is 42% more energy efficient than comparable buildings. Other environmental friendly amenities include occupancy sensors, ventilation that monitors carbon dioxide levels to determine when to activate, high performance exterior glass to reduce heat loss, infrared bathroom fixtures, and the use of recycled building materials among other items.
Amenities and use
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
s, with the northern plaza designed to create an outdoor amphitheater with seating for 700. Dedicated as the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza, the buildings of the Civic Center serve as a backdrop to the amphitheater, and by using Main Street to increase the space, the amphitheater can accommodate crowds of 5,000 people. South Plaza connects the government portions of the complex to the 120 unit residential component of the development to the south. Both plazas have water features, including a fountain in the 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) North Plaza.
On the ground floor is a Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
coffee shop in a 1600 square feet (148.6 m²) space, while the 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) designed for the library branch remain open for future government use. In the government areas there is a 3800 square feet (353 m²) conference center and the city council chambers. This includes a 250 seat auditorium. The Civic Center hosts the seasonal, weekly farmer’s market on Saturdays, and a marketplace on Tuesdays that features various vendors, both utilizing the center’s plaza area. Plans call for an upscale restaurant in a 3800 square feet (353 m²) space. City services at the site include the Administration Department, city planning, the office of the city recorder, and the municipal court among others. The Civic Center also houses the office of the mayor and is the site of the twice-monthly city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
meetings.