By John Laney | Realtor, Newberg, Oregon | John Knows Newberg
It’s not often that a small city in wine country becomes the testing ground for a nationally significant housing idea — but that’s exactly what’s happening right now in Newberg. The Housing Innovation Village Experience, or HIVE, broke ground on December 5, 2025, at 3509 N. College Street, and project leaders will tell you plainly: this has never been done anywhere in the country before.
As a Newberg realtor, investor, and someone deeply embedded in the local housing market, I’ve been paying close attention to HIVE since it started taking shape. This project matters — not just as a real estate story, but as a signal of how serious Newberg is about tackling the housing challenge that’s been squeezing workforce families for years.
What Is the “Missing Middle” — and Why Does It Matter?
To understand HIVE, you first have to understand the problem it’s solving.
When people talk about affordable housing, the conversation usually centers on low-income households — those earning less than 80% of the area median income, who can access subsidized programs and housing assistance. On the other end, market-rate housing serves higher-income buyers who can compete for traditional listings.
The middle is where things break down. Households earning roughly 80% to 120% of the area median income — teachers, healthcare workers, tradespeople, service workers, young professionals — earn too much to qualify for housing assistance but not enough to comfortably compete in today’s market. In Newberg, where the area median income is approximately $113,750, that’s a wide band of hardworking people who are being priced out of homeownership.
This segment is called the “missing middle,” and it’s the least-served by traditional housing production because the economics are difficult. There are no subsidies, and land, labor, and material costs make it hard to build at price points these buyers can reach. HIVE exists to crack that problem — using construction innovation to drive down time and cost enough to make it viable.
What Is HIVE?
The Housing Innovation Village Experience is a cluster of 10 homes at 3509 N. College Street in Newberg, near George Fox University and Friendsview. The development is designed as a micro-village: eight units arranged in a horseshoe around a large central courtyard, plus a dedicated community center building. The courtyard includes a fire pit, rooftop deck, and community gardens — spaces designed intentionally to encourage the kind of neighbor connection that makes a place feel like a community rather than just a collection of houses.
The design philosophy was inspired by the book The Village Effect, which explores the health and wellbeing benefits of multigenerational, village-style living. Project lead Ryan Olsen, who co-developed the concept with the Missing Middle Housing Fund, says that community design isn’t an afterthought — it’s built into the DNA of the project.
“The other point of HIVE is to create a micro village,” Olsen said. “The community is a welcoming, nonthreatening space that’s got a fire pit, rooftop deck, community gardens — plenty of places for people to spread out and be alone if they want, but with the option for community connection when they need it.”
Units range from 800 to approximately 1,500 square feet, offering 2 to 3 bedrooms and two parking spaces each. Pricing is targeted from the high $300,000s to the high $400,000s — attainable price points for middle-income buyers that are rarely achievable with conventional construction methods in today’s cost environment.
The Construction Innovation That Makes It Possible
HIVE isn’t just a housing development — it’s a construction showcase. Six housing technology companies, each working on cutting-edge building systems, are each constructing at least one unit at the site, turning HIVE into a live demonstration of what the future of homebuilding could look like.
The partners include CedarStone Design & Build (prefabricated mass timber), Mahonia NW (panelized construction and sustainable cottage cluster design), Mods PDX/HONE Modular (mass plywood panels integrated into modular construction), Humankind Homes (carbon-negative concrete with automated assembly and fire resistance), Elemental Building Technologies (steel frame modular, also fire-resistant), and Unbrick USA (next-generation factory-built housing).
Half of HIVE’s units will be built with prefabricated and modular mass timber products — a material that has gained significant momentum in Oregon thanks to the state’s forest industry roots and a growing coalition of mass timber advocates. Oregon’s Department of Forestry and the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition are among the supporters who see HIVE as a proving ground for mass timber in residential construction.
The speed numbers are remarkable. Project organizers say HIVE will be the fastest subdivision ever developed in Oregon — with homes going from utility installation to completion in approximately five months across the full project. Individual units are expected to reach move-in ready status in as little as two weeks for some construction methods, with most completing within a month. For context, conventional new construction in Oregon routinely takes six months to a year or more.
“You can’t build a car by hand and make it affordable,” Olsen said. “It’s why the assembly line was invented. But if I can illustrate that I built the car, show how we can scale, and then show the returns, then we’re on to something. It’s a grand experiment.”
Who Is Behind It
HIVE is a collaboration between the Newberg Workforce Housing Consortium, the Missing Middle Housing Fund — a nonprofit dedicated to reducing barriers to workforce housing production — and SEDCOR, the economic development organization serving the mid-Willamette Valley. The project also has backing from Oregon House Representative Anna Scharf, who championed the legislation that secured $3 million in state funding through a revolving investment fund managed by the Workforce Housing Investment Fund. That fund is designed to finance predevelopment costs for workforce housing, with returns reinvested into future projects.
On March 19, 2026, the project’s “Coalition of the Enthusiastic” filled the room at Autodesk’s sixth floor in Portland to hear a progress update — standing room only, with business leaders, elected officials, community partners, and housing innovators all in attendance. The energy around HIVE at the regional level is real.
The Timeline: Fall 2026 Is the Moment
As of spring 2026, HIVE is on track. Site and utility work is scheduled to begin by June 2026, with all 10 units expected to be complete by September or October. The project is planning a Fall 2026 Home Tour and Show — the first home show in the nation focused exclusively on housing innovation at middle-income price points.
This is a genuine opportunity to see the future of homebuilding up close, right here in Newberg.
What This Means for the Newberg Real Estate Market
HIVE isn’t happening in a vacuum — it’s part of a broader story about Newberg’s housing market, and it carries real implications for buyers, sellers, and investors.
For buyers in the $300,000–$500,000 range, HIVE represents a unique product: new construction, community-oriented design, innovative building materials, and middle-income pricing in a walkable location near George Fox University. If you’ve been struggling to find new construction at an attainable price in Newberg, this is worth watching closely.
For sellers, the project signals continued demand for Newberg housing across income segments. The workforce that HIVE aims to house — teachers, healthcare workers, service sector employees — are also the buyers who show up for established neighborhoods. A healthier housing ecosystem for middle-income earners strengthens the broader market.
For investors and developers, HIVE is most significant as a proof of concept. If modular and prefabricated construction methods can deliver quality homes in the $300s and $400s while still generating viable returns, it opens up a new playbook for workforce housing development across the Willamette Valley and beyond. HIVE’s organizers have been explicit about the goal: replicate this model in communities across Oregon and the country.
I’m an active real estate investor here in Newberg, and I host the only investor meetup in the Chehalem Valley. Projects like HIVE are exactly what we discuss — not just for the housing they produce, but for the construction and development models they validate. If you want to be part of those conversations, you can find our upcoming meetup events at Newberg Investor Meetup on Eventbrite.
My Team Is Part of This Project
Here’s something worth knowing: the Assurance Team Real Estate — my team — is directly involved in HIVE. Realtor Ben Nelson at Assurance Team Real Estate is the agent representing HIVE’s homes for sale. That means if you want real, insider information on availability, pricing, and what it’s like to buy in this development, you’re already talking to the right team.
This isn’t just a development I’m covering from the outside. My team is embedded in it — and that’s what John Knows Newberg looks like in practice.
How to Get Involved
HIVE is actively looking for buyers, investors, financing partners, and sponsors. If you’re a middle-income buyer in the $300,000–$450,000 range looking for new construction in Newberg, reach out to learn more about availability. If you’re an investor interested in the housing innovation companies participating in HIVE, the project offers direct investment opportunities in those firms and their projects. HIVE is also seeking approximately $2.5 million in financing support and $500,000 in sponsorships to support the Fall 2026 Home Show.
To learn more about the development itself, visit letsbuildhive.org.
To ask about buying a home at HIVE, call or text me and I’ll connect you with the right person on our team:
📞 503-217-4229
John Knows Newberg
Connect with John Laney | John Knows Newberg
🌐 Website: AssuranceTeamRealEstate.com 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/JohnKnowsNewberg 📸 Instagram: @JohnKnowsNewberg 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/JohnLaneyRealtor ▶️ YouTube: Watch John’s Videos
📞 Call or text John directly: 503-217-4229 📧 john@assuranceteamrealestate.com
John Laney is a licensed Oregon REALTOR® with Epique Realty / Assurance Team Real Estate, specializing in seller representation, investor properties, and commercial real estate in Newberg and the Chehalem Valley.
Sources: Newsberg — Developers Test Middle Housing Solution HIVE in Newberg (Feb. 2026) | Missing Middle Housing Fund — HIVE is ALIVE (April 2026) | Let’s Build HIVE | Missing Middle Housing Fund — Newberg Workforce Housing Consortium
