McMinnville leaders review preferred plan for 190‑acre Innovation Campus; work on design standards continues

McMinnville city staff and their consultants presented a preferred master plan and draft design and development standards for a 190‑acre “Innovation Campus” during a joint City Council and Planning Commission work session, saying the effort is intended to set public infrastructure expectations that will enable future private development.

The presentation on the concept master plan—led by Heather Richards, the city’s community development director, Jody Christiansen, the city’s special projects manager, and consultants from Walker Macy and JET Planning—described a site framed by a walkable retail town center adjacent to Highway 18, large flexible blocks intended for employment‑focused uses, a central public plaza called the Landing Commons and a proposed five‑acre neighborhood park near the hospital. Richards said the project is funded with city ARPA funds and two state grants from Business Oregon.

Richards said the planning effort dates to early 2017 and emerged from the city’s Three Mile Lane area planning work. “We started this effort back in 02/2017,” she said. The consultants said the master plan is intended…