Willamette View breaks ground on $90M tower as 89 of 92 apartments sell

By Elizabeth Hayes – Staff Reporter, Portland Business Journal
Aug 7, 2026

Construction will soon begin on an eight-story tower in the Oak Grove area, as part of the ongoing expansion of the Willamette View retirement community. 

Groundbreaking for the Skyline building is scheduled for September, with a projected opening in 2028. Already, 89 of the 92 planned apartments have been sold, some to buyers who have been on Willamette View’s wait list “a long time,” said CEO Craig Van Valkenburg.
The 500-member community, sprawling over 27 acres on the west side of River Road overlooking the Willamette River, was founded in 1955. Today, it offers a range of living and care options for people 55 and older, including independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care.

Willamette View sits just north of Rose Villa, another retirement community that has also grown dramatically over the past decade, creating something of a senior living corridor along River Road.

Willamette View’s $90 million Skyline tower will rise at the site of the Plaza building, built in the early 1960s and housing 24 apartments, as well as a café and corporate offices. The Plaza was recently demolished to make way for the new construction.

About 15 years ago, the community (which is in unincorporated Clackamas County, just outside Milwaukie) kicked off a strategic planning and master plan process, in light of growth in the senior population.

“We started down that path and identified a market need for more independent living apartments,” Van Valkenburg said. Between 2010 and 2020, the 65-plus population in the U.S. logged the “largest and fastest growth” in any decade since 1880 to 1890, reaching 55.8 million, or nearly 17% of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2030, seniors are projected to make up 21% of the population, outnumbering children for the first time in American history.

At Willamette View, about 10% of the inventory turns over every year, with the average resident age at around 77, Van Valkenburg said. The community has added more townhomes and apartments in several stages over the years. In 2019, Willamette View added North Pointe, which has 47 apartments and sold out before construction was complete. Another 17 “Heron Heights” cottages across River Road began opening last year. “Incremental growth is what we’re after, not just a broad sweeping tear down and building new, so people could acclimate and become part of the community,” Van Valkenburg said.

The Skyline building will feature 23 different floor plans, including one and two bedrooms and den options ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet, each with its own private balcony. It will include an activity room, private dining room and underground parking. 

Willamette View’s volunteer Sustainability and Resilience Workgroup consulted on design features, including adding solar and orienting the building to maximize river views and to minimize sun exposure. A resident committee will curate artwork that will hang throughout the building, as it does throughout the community. “It’s a big project for Willamette View,” Van Valkenburg said. “From a timing standpoint, nobody else in the nonprofit senior living community is building anything now.”