Wilsonville, OR

The Milken Institute recently released its annual report of the nation's "best performing" cities and the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area (which includes Portland, Beaverton and Vancouver) ranked No. 37 and Salem, Oregon ranked 58 out of 200 large U.S. metropolitan areas.

The Milken report ranks cities on a variety of factors, including job and salary growth over a given time period as well as the strength of their high-tech industries. Last year, the Portland area ranked No. 28 and Salem ranked No. 66 on the list.

Wilsonville, Oregon, resides about halfway between the city of Portland and the city of Salem. Known as the gateway to both Oregon's rich, horticultural wine country and its urban area, Wilsonville is certainly a special city.

Located along the scenic Willamette River, Wilsonville is home to a number of high-tech companies, such as Mentor Graphics and Xerox, as well as acres of public parks and gardens, including Town Center Park - an attraction with activities for all ages.

Not only is Wilsonville a great place to work and play, it's a great place to learn, too: the town is known for it's superior schools, libraries and earth-friendly initiatives, including a public transit system, a state-of-the-art water treatment facility and a comprehensive urban forestry plan.

Last but not least, the city is an exceptional place to live as well. Home to the award-winning Villebois neighborhood, residents living in Wilsonville love their city.

For more information about the city of Wilsonville or the Villebois community, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com. You may also visit ChangeHowYouLive.com.

From retirees and grandparents to young couples and families, the Villebois Village Center in Wilsonville, Oregon, is perfect for people of all ages and lifestyles to live, work, play and learn.

At the heart of the neighborhood will be a bustling mix of row homes, loft-style condominiums, shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafés that will embody the character of a European village. The community is far more than a place to live. It is a place that can actually change how you live.

For more information about the Villebois community, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com. You may also visit ChangeHowYouLive.com to learn more about this exceptional new neighborhood.

Allied Waste of Wilsonville is starting a new recycling program in the Villebois community in Wilsonville, Oregon. Allied Waste will be delivering 32-gallon roll carts the week of November 16, 2009, dropping-off the carts at the end of your driveway. Collection of recycling materials will start the following week.

What should I do with the two bins I use now for recycling? You will need to keep one bin to recycle glass. Allied Waste will pick-up the other bin on the day recycling material is collected, or you can keep the bin to store items you may use once in a while. If you want Allied Wasteto pick-up the bin, please set it at the curb, empty of waste, next to the new roll cart.

Instructions for what can and cannot go into the new roll cart will be attached to your new roll cart. Our community now keeps between 55-60 percent of its waste out of the landfill. The new roll carts will enable you to keep even more waste out of the landfill.

If you want a larger, 60-gallon roll cart, call Allied Waste in December at 503.682.0336. The company will exchange your cart at no charge.

For more information about the new recycling program introduced in Wilsonville or the Villebois community's commitment to sustainability, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com. You may also visit ChangeHowYouLive.com.

The Wilsonville Spokesman, a community newspaper serving residents living in the award-winning Villebois neighborhood, recently covered the Wilsonville City Council's approval of a new co-mingled roll cart recycling program in the small community just south of Portland, Oregon. Until now, Wilsonville was the only city in the metropolitan area not using co-mingled recycling carts.

Allied Waste anticipates delivering carts to Wilsonville residents in November with pickup starting the first week in December. For this new service, garbage customers will see only an additional $2.50 per month - $5 per bill - pay for the carts and equipment necessary to get the program started.

This new recycling program fits in well with the Villebois neighborhood's commitment to sustainable living. From the building materials and the natural amenities on-site to the community designs and transportation options, Costa Pacific Communities - the community's developer - creates unique places like Villebois that people love to live.

In developing the Villebois community, Costa Pacific launched a rainwater management plan funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that filters and redistributes rainwater back into the ground, reducing the amount of pollutants released into the area's streams and rivers.

With eco-friendly building techniques-including redeveloping existing building sites, and recycling up to 90 percent of the buildings that were demolished during the construction process-Costa Pacific lowered its impact on the natural environment. The company was also careful to preserve existing trees and open green space as well as incorporate native plants into the landscaping within the Villebois community, further validating its emphasis on environmental-consciousness.

Additionally, while working through the process of ensuring its homes meet Earth Advantage sustainability guidelines, Costa Pacific learned to build a higher quality home that maximizes energy efficiency and in turn minimizes the company's impact on the environment. All 2,600 homes that will be built within the Villebois community will meet Earth Advantage standards.

As a transit-oriented development, Costa Pacific's Villebois community gives residents the opportunity to commute from home via Trimet's new West Side Express Service serving the Portland metropolitan area's west side. This too allows Villebois residents to reduce their carbon footprint by spending less time on the road.

For more information about the new recycling program introduced in Wilsonville or the Villebois community's commitment to sustainability, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com.

The Villebois Sunday Market has been fortunate enough to attract a number of high-quality vendors, and with the help of Costa Pacific Communities and Arbor Custom Homes, Wilsonville, Oregon's farmers market was able to expand onto a gravel area off Villebois Drive in the heart of the award-winning Villebois neighborhood.

Unfortunately, gravel is not wheelchair-accessible, and so the Villebois Sunday Market has had to restructure its market map, reducing the number of available spaces to vendors.

The Villebois Sunday Market is committed to standing by its founding objectives:

- To provide an informal, social gathering place in an open-air setting;
- To provide a community-building event in Wilsonville's Villebois Village Center;
- To give the community access to a wide variety of fresh, local, in-season farm products direct from the producer; and
- To give local producers a centralized location to provide customers with a wide variety of fresh, local, in-season farm products.

This means that the Villebois Sunday Market has had to re-evaluate some of its non-farmer vendors, so that the market could make more space for farmers who sell produce. So, if you are missing a vendor who is no longer at the market, please feel free to contact the Villebois Sunday Market Manager at villeboissundaymarket@gmail.com, and she will do her best to put you into contact with the vendor you miss.

Speaking of vendors... Don't miss the fresh strawberries that are currently for sale in the Villebois Sunday Market. Visit the United Farm booth next to Café Fratelli's coffee stand. United Farm picks its strawberries fresh every Sunday morning before the market, so you can rest assured you are getting the very freshest fruit possible!

Take advantage of the local farmers market in the beautiful Villebois community before it closes for the winter on October 18^th. For more information about the Villebois Sunday Market, visit VilleboisSundayMarket.com. You may also call 866.580.2836 or email villeboissundaymarket@gmail.com.