HIVE Construction Begins in Newberg

HIVE's Building and Engineering team cuts the ceremonial ribbon at HIVE on June 1, 2026.

After years of vision and planning, the Housing Innovation Village Experience (HIVE) officially broke ground in Newberg on June 1, 2026.

The ribbon cutting ceremony on North College Street brought together community leaders, city officials, sponsors, and supporters to mark a moment that's been years in the making. Newberg City Councilor Elise Yarnell Hollamon, SEDCOR's Abisha Romano, and our own Nathan Wildfire, Ryan Olsen, and Amy Snyder spoke to the crowd about what this project means for Newberg, for the workforce housing crisis, and for what's possible when a community decides to say yes.

Speed That Surprised Even Us

The road to breaking ground included some milestones worth celebrating on their own. In just two months, we submitted our land use application, received subdivision approval, obtained public improvement permits, and started utility installation, a pace that's essentially unprecedented for a subdivision of this kind.

That speed didn't happen by accident. As Ryan Olsen put it during the ceremony, the City of Newberg consistently asked, "How can we make this work?" rather than "Why can't this work?" That partnership made all the difference.

Why Newberg. Why Now.

HIVE was born out of a need to create more attainable housing for our workforce. While affordable housing efforts typically focus on those earning below 80% of area median income (AMI), workers earning between 80% and 120% of AMI - teachers, nurses, tradespeople, the people keeping Newberg's employers like George Fox University, A-dec, Providence, and Friendsview running - have been largely left out of the housing conversation.

"When we started this project, it came down to asking a question of, 'What would it take to keep these people here,'" said SEDCOR's Abisha Romano. "It always came down to workforce housing."

HIVE features 10 homes on a flag lot at 3509 N. College St., ranging from 800 to 1,470 square feet with two to three bedrooms, built using modular techniques, cross-laminated timber, and carbon-negative concrete. Homes will start in the high $300,000s, designed to be attainable for the workers Newberg needs most.

MMHF CEO, Nate Wildfire, welcomes the crowd at HIVE.

What's Next

With hardhats on and shovels in the ground, construction is officially underway. Site prep and foundation work come first; once foundations are poured, the modular homes can be assembled in under two weeks. We're aiming to have homes ready to show this October.

Interested in owning a home at HIVE? Properties won't go on the market until late June, but you can reach out to Realtor Ben Nelson at Assurance Team Real Estate to inquire and reserve your spot now at ben@assuranceteamrealestate.com.

Thank You

None of this happens without the people who showed up, with funding, expertise, and belief in what we're building together.

A special thank you to our sponsors: SEDCOR, Summit Bank, PGE, AKS Engineering, Sum Design Studio, CamDo, Perkins Coie, Harper Houf Peterson Righelis, and Higgins Signs. If you would like to get involved as a HIVE sponsor, please reach out to us today @ Amy.snyder@missingmiddlehousing.fund.

And thank you to everyone who came out to the ceremony, stood in the sunshine, and chose to be part of this community before a single home was complete. That's the spirit HIVE is built on.

We'll see you in October.