Rockwood Village is a promise fulfilled – a community nexus where every individual is seen, valued, and empowered. Developed in collaboration with Community Development Partners (CDP) and Hacienda CDC, this neighborhood redefines a sense of belonging. Inspired by historic town squares, the design cultivates access to nature, spontaneous discoveries, and daily rituals. Communal spaces – grand and intimate – embrace shared experience under the towering evergreens where the rhythm of life unfolds – morning walks, afternoon play, and evening celebrations beneath the stars.
A Civic Heartbeat | Welcoming Public Realm
Buildings frame a vibrant civic common, with art- and tree-lined corridors linking the neighborhood to the 185th Avenue Greenway, regional transit, downtown Rockwood, and Vance Park Natural Area. In a city shaped by movement, Rockwood Village prioritizes the pedestrian experience. It ensures safe, intuitive, and joyful passage through a network of streets designed for walking, gathering, and lingering.
A pedestrian loop also envisioned as an exercise track, seamlessly unites homes, schools, businesses, and public services. Enhancing the residents’ quality of life, convenient parking offers lessons in sustainable design utilizing cost-effective stormwater solutions and permeable pavers, showcasing resilience as a beautiful, functional, and attainable amenity. The sequence of outdoor spaces is a mosaic of shaded picnic groves, meandering trails, a flexible play field, an engaging play hub, and a thriving community garden bursting with life.
A Garden | Cultivating Food, Culture and Future Generations
Through robust engagement, residents imagined the Neighbors Park, a lush, communal gathering space for celebration, recreation, and exchange. The park embodies the pride, culture, and aspirations of those who call this place home.
Near the north entrance, the garden bursts with color – flowers in bloom, greens ripe for harvest. A partnership with Mudbone Grown, a Black-owned farming enterprise, brings intergenerational knowledge and food security to the heart of Rockwood Village. Here, hands in the soil cultivate resilience. Youth and communities of color gain skills in farming, entrepreneurship, and self-sufficiency, while after-school programs and job training nurture friendships. Each seed planted is more than sustenance – a step toward homeownership, empowerment, and generational wealth.
The community center, a place of unity and convergence, serves as a hub for cultural events, educational workshops, and social gatherings, featuring a full kitchen and a flexible lounge.
A Workforce Housing Model I Neighborhood Homecoming
The state-subsidized workforce housing model ensures that opportunity is not a privilege, but a right. By lowering income eligibility to 30% AMI, the Village is a sanctuary of opportunity for the diverse, hardworking families of Rockwood, where over 30 languages are spoken and nearly 70% of residents identify as people of color. With every path, every tree, and every connection made, this beloved place stands as the heartbeat of the community, pulsing with a sense of place, purpose, and harmony.
Rockwood Village is a homecoming – a testament that no matter where your journey begins, you deserve a place to feel safe, seen, and embraced. A place where the earth remembers your footsteps, trees stand as quiet guardians, and every path unfolds toward a future filled with resilience, belonging, and home.
• Project typology:
Affordable housing, park and plaza, community garden
• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:
PLACE
• All architecture offices involved in the design:
Waechter Architecture
• Other credits:
Community Development Partners
Hacienda CDC
LMC Construction
KPFF
GEO Consultants Northwest
Kittelson & Associates
Little Fish Lighting
Multnomah Tree Experts
