Cedar Mill

NW Cornell Road has been Cedar Mill's commercial spine since before the area had a name. The Cedar Mill Business District between NW 107th and NW 118th has a real, functioning commercial strip: QFC for groceries, a handful of independent restaurants, a library branch, and enough services that most weekly errands can happen within a half mile. It's not a lifestyle district — nobody's doing a Saturday morning wander here — but it works, and it's been working for 40 years without requiring a major redevelopment plan to survive.

The housing is 1960s and 1970s ranches, split-levels, and two-stories on generous lots. Mature firs and alders line most residential streets, and the setbacks are large enough that neighbors aren't looking into each other's living rooms. Beaverton School District serves the entire community — there's no cross-district boundary confusion here. Sunset High School is the main high school feed, and it consistently tests above state averages. NW Cornell connects westward to Portland's NW district in about 15 minutes in normal traffic, which gives Cedar Mill residents reasonable access to Portland restaurants and culture without the city tax bill.

Cedar Mill sits in unincorporated Washington County, which means no Portland or Beaverton city income taxes. That's the financial argument, and it's straightforward. The honest limitation is that Cedar Mill is suburban in a way that neither Portland nor the newer Bethany development tries to be — the streets don't have sidewalks on every block, MAX doesn't come anywhere near it, and dinner options beyond the Cornell corridor require a drive. For buyers who want a newer-ish house on a big lot, good schools, and a short drive to both Portland and the Intel/Nike campuses, Cedar Mill delivers without pretending to be something it's not.