Nueva Esperanza

A place to call home

Nueva Esperanza, meaning “new hope” in Spanish, is an affordable housing development that will add 150 new apartment homes to the heart of Hillsboro, Oregon. Bienestar’s goal is to build quality, affordable housing that will serve the diverse population who live and work in this area – this community aims to foster a sense of belonging and place. SEA’s design divides the development’s buildings into three distinct neighborhoods, or colonias, and each has an outdoor space with a unique identity. This project is targeting Earth Advantage Gold certification.

Client
Bienestar
HDC

Location
Hillsboro, OR

Size
150 Apartments

Year
Coming Fall 2023

Achievements
2022 AIAS Reverse Crit “Most Inclusive”
Housing Oregon's 2022 Golden Hammer Award for best new multi-family

Aerial rendering of entire apartment complex — Nueva Esperanza’s site is approximately 6.12 acres and will have 169 parking stalls.

Historically, the farmlands surrounding the Nueva Esperanza relied on Latinx farmworkers, and our inspiration draws from this context. To foster connections in this over 6-acre site, buildings are separated into three colonias. The colonias are linked together by a common design element, the paseo, a path that starts at one edge of the site and ends at the community building.

Render of two apartment buildings with courtyard in between with playground and seating — View from paseo into a colonia plaza.

The project is targeting Earth Advantage Gold certification. The site was designed to prioritize the preservation of many of the existing mature trees, which also supports our client’s goal to incorporate nature into the development. This continues with the hardscape areas, such as plazas and parking lots, which will have landscaping, planters, and filtration systems that will filter stormwater and reduce run‐off into the storm sewers.

The project is designed to exceed Clean Water Services standards including following the Low Impact Development Approaches Handbook which promotes sustainable development practices for the Tualatin River Watershed. Our team will perform energy modeling of the buildings to confirm system efficiency and durable, efficient materials and appliances will be used. Nueva Esperanza is also designed to be solar-ready.