Hearings on plans for 500+ housing units and 200K square feet of commercial and retail space expected in the spring
By Craig Breon for Ashland.news
More than 60 people turned out for a look at the proposed Ashland Mill mega-project during an open house Wednesday night at the Historic Ashland Armory. Planned on the former Croman Mill site on 60-plus acres of the city’s southeast side, what’s now known as the Ashland Mill project represents the largest development proposal in the city’s history, with more than 550 housing units and 200,000 square feet of retail and commercial spaces, as well as pathways, small parks and open spaces.
The gathering represented the first opportunity for the public to hear about the plans since a complete application was filed with the city in November. If the application process remains on track, Planning Commission and City Council hearings will be scheduled for this coming spring with possible approval sometime next summer.
Participants at the open house first saw a presentation of the overall project proposal from representatives of Townmakers LLC, the developers of the site, then broke down into smaller groups to discuss key elements of the plan, including housing, transportation and mobility, retail/commercial/light industrial spaces, and health and wellness.
The Townmakers’ presentation repeatedly returned to themes of creating a “complete community” and a project that will be “of Ashland and for Ashland.”
The term “complete community” encapsulates several planning concepts: mixing rather than segregating homes, businesses, shops and recreation; creating spaces that encourage walking, biking and transit over the automobile; increasing density of development to more efficiently use land while placing disparate destinations in close interaction; and creating a space where diverse elements of a community can mix and, ideally, form a shared sense of place.
In a folksy manner, Townmakers’ presentation communicated the complete community concept with slogans such as, “Live, work, shop, create, learn, play…within a five-minute walk from home.”
The “of Ashland and for Ashland” concept attempts to tailor the more generalized complete community planning elements to Ashland-specific character traits. So, the site plan includes a proposed Wellness Center to house shops or businesses catering to a holistic view of health. The city’s greatly popular Central Bike Path would be extended from its current terminus at Ashland Street near Shop’n Kart to and through the northern edge of the Ashland Mill site. And Townmakers is attempting to incorporate a car-share program and solar energy.
During the break-out sessions, the evening’s attendees had an opportunity to provide more detailed responses and suggestions on elements of the overall plan.
The housing break-out, for example, was largely populated by affordability advocates, reflecting the likelihood that housing, especially affordable housing, will be the most intensely discussed element of the Ashland Mill proposal.
Jessica Therkelsen, executive director of Trusted Homes, extolled the benefits of a community land trust model, where the trust owns the land while homes are owned by the residents. The trust can then control resale, theoretically ensuring that the homes stay affordable over time. Therkelsen warned that if market forces dominate the Ashland Mill discussions, the city, “will continue to be the retirement community for San Francisco,” a perspective shared by others at the table.
In a parallel sentiment, Jerryck Murray, founder of the housing benefits platform Annum, asserted, “It’s ultimately about the people … (knowing) how to reach out to people who qualify.” He noted recent news of 1,900 affordable and subsidized apartments in Portland sitting empty and rents for affordable units approaching those of market-rate units in some communities.
Mike Weinstock, head of Townmakers, noted that his company and team intend to develop the multi-family housing themselves, likely in cooperation with local affordable housing builders, while the single-family housing areas would be sold to other development companies for final planning and construction.
For more than three years now, since their first open house on the Ashland Mill concepts, the importance of this planning effort has echoed through the community as well as the Planning Commission and City Council that will make the ultimate decision. Previous commission and council study sessions on Ashland Mill — formerly called Croman Mill after the timber mill on site for decades — generated considerable enthusiasm, and some trepidation.
“Please help us to build a great Ashland community,” Townmakers planner Michael Mehaffy urged the open house participants.
Rogue Valley Transportation District board member Denise Krause summed up her thoughts with, “We don’t have a lot of extra space in Ashland. This is one of the last good spots.”
Email Jackson County resident, consultant and former environmental law instructor Craig Breon at [email protected].
Related stories:
Open house scheduled for Ashland Mill project (Nov. 24, 2025)
Formal application filed for former Croman Mill site development (Nov. 9, 2025)
Study could serve as a guide for future Ashland business development (April 24, 2025)
Ashland’s Climate Friendly Area discussion focuses on Railroad Property and Transit Triangle (Oct. 29, 2024)
Public open house Tuesday focuses on Climate Friendly Areas (Sept. 15, 2024)
Council agrees: A denser Ashland would make more city more ‘liveable’ (July 18, 2024)
Council Corner: We need to develop the city’s Southside (March 15, 2024)
Croman Mill development moving briskly forward (Feb. 10, 2024)
Council looks at progress on key Croman Mill site (Nov. 8, 2023)
Ashland close to designating Climate Friendly Areas for development (Sept. 15, 2023)
Croman Mill site needs cleanup, but figures to be major new Ashland neighborhood — eventually (Aug. 7, 2023)
Ashland’s ‘Climate Friendly Neighborhood’ focus falls on Croman Mill, railroad properties (April 15, 2023)
Ashland Past Times: A town of many mills (May 23, 2022)
