Nothing happened during the recession of the 1980s, but more recently a number of apartment buildings have been built adjacent to the line. For example, a 90-unit apartment complex was recently completed adjacent to the Gresham Central station. This project uses 0.58 acre of land acquired by Tri-Met for the light rail project plus 2 adjacent acres. The project includes a pedestrian promenade connecting the apartments to the station. The only large vacant tract of land along the eastside light rail is a 130-acre parcel west of Gresham City Hall.
Development is now underway.
Public policy has supported and encouraged development near the light rail system. When the eastside line was planned, Tri-Met, the cities, county and Metro jointly conducted market studies and developed plans for all the stations. Some stations were moved during this process to better capture development potential or to eliminate pressure to develop in single-family neighborhoods. The result was station area zoning that allowed higher density development near many of the stations and regulated building set-backs, parking lot locations and sidewalks. This planning made it possible for transit-oriented development to occur, but did not guarantee that it would.