Hazel Dell

Remnants of the Clark County Poor Farm at Hazel Dell Park – which gave indigent Vancouverites a place to live and work from 1873 to 1943 – shed light on how far Northeast Hazel Dell has come in the past 60 to 70 years. As it filled up with residential subdivisions in the early 1960s, this agricultural community was split from its neighbor, West Hazel Dell, by the construction of Interstate 5. And today, it has a variety of houses close to parks, schools, and shopping that are just 20 minutes from downtown Portland.<br><br>Most of Northeast Hazel Dell’s streets are lined with Ranch-style and split-level houses built for the waves of new residents who flooded into Vancouver and other parts of the Portland Metropolitan area in the decades following World War II. These houses, along with the occasional Craftsman bungalow from the 1920s, sit atop 8,000 to 10,000-square-foot lots, leaving plenty of room for a backyard pool, a raised bed garden, a driveway, and a few mature trees or bushes. The neighborhood also has a few pockets of newer construction where you’ll find contemporary homes and Millennial mansions on much smaller lots that make the best use of limited space. These old and new houses fetch $350,000 to $600,000. Sidewalks and protected bike lanes are rare on this neighborhood’s winding streets, so expect to need a car for the simplest of errands.<br><br>Students in the northern part of the neighborhood will attend Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School and Jefferson Middle School before moving on to Hudson’s Bay High School. Those in its southern end will attend Hazel Dell Elementary and Jason Lee Middle School before going to Hudson’s Bay. All five schools received between a B-plus and a C-plus on Niche.com. The website also named Hudson's Bay the 18th most diverse high school in the Portland Metro.<br><br>And regardless of where they go to school, the neighborhood’s children can continue learning about their neighborhood’s history by touring the Clark County Poor Farm’s grounds and cemetery at Hazel Dell Park. They can also head to the Luke Jensen Sports Park, where the Salmon Creek Little League and Vancouver West Soccer Club play or perfect their skateboarding tricks at the Tenny Creek Neighborhood Park’s skate spot. And to cap the day’s adventures, try a Monte Cristo crepe from C’Est La Vie French café, a carnivore pizza from the Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, or some beef bulgogi from the K-Town Korean BBQ and Restaurant. You’ll find these places among the grocery and department stores surrounding the interstate and the Hazel Dell Marketplace Shopping Mall.<br><br>From its humble beginnings as the site of a poor farm, Northeast Hazel Dell has grown into a rich community with housing, parks, schools, and restaurants. Add these features to the neighborhood’s location on an interstate just 20 minutes from Portland, and you have more than enough reasons to make this place your next home.

Before World War II, Hazel Dell was an agricultural community best known for hosting the Clark County Poor Farm from 1873 to 1943. It quickly filled up with residential subdivisions after the war that were built to house the thousands of new people who moved to Vancouver to work in its factories and shipyards. Hazel Dell is now split in half by Interstate 5, with West Hazel Dell bordering Burnt Bridge Creek, just east of Lake Vancouver. “Living here means you’re just a few minutes away from downtown Vancouver and the Columbia River waterfront,” says Kelly Monfort, a local real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty. “Folks can also take I-5 straight to downtown Portland, so it’s a desirable area among commuters.” <br><br>Today, the streets of West Hazel Dell are lined with ranch-style homes and split-levels that were largely built throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Home prices here are a bit more affordable compared to nearby neighborhoods like Northwest Vancouver and Lake Shore, with an average listing price of $475,000. For less than $350,000 homebuyers can snag a two-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot condo. While many of the community’s single-family homes were built over 70 years ago, a large number hit the market with recent renovations and updates. On the neighborhood’s south side, there is a selection of four-bedroom homes built in the past 10 years with attached two-car garages and modern appliances. Most houses sit close together on quarter-acre lots, while those sitting on the west side of Overlook Drive have half-acre, private lots with back yards full of mature trees. <br><br>Popular grocery options include Fred Meyer, Walmart, Safeway and WinCo Foods. The area is dotted with popular chains and fast-food dining options, including numerous spots for Mexican cuisine, like El Tapatio and Muchas Gracias Mexican Food. Locals can also take the short drive south to Main Street to savor southern-style comfort foods like chicken-fried oysters or the barbecue pork sandwich from the Frontier Public House for dinner before continuing the drive towards downtown Vancouver and the city’s port district. “On the weekends, patrons gather at the public house to listen to live music,” Monfort says. <br><br>Hazel Dell Elementary and Jason Lee Middle School both earn B overall grades from Niche. Those living on the neighborhood’s east side are within a short walk of the elementary school, which ranks 4th on Niche’s list of standout elementary schools in the greater Portland area. Jason Lee Middle serves around 600 students and has a student-to-teacher ratio of 18-1. To finish out their K-12 career, learners can head to Hudson’s Bay High School, which earns a C-plus overall grade and B ratings on its extracurricular offerings and college preparatory initiatives. The high school offers around 20 club options for students to consider, with topics ranging from drama to Dungeons & Dragons. <br><br>At Jorgenson Woods Neighborhood Park, neighborhood residents can bring their kids to use the play equipment, enjoy packed lunches on the picnic tables and walk along the shaded quarter-mile path. The Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway borders the neighborhood’s residential streets to the southwest and hikers can access 8 miles of wooded trails from the Stewart Glen access point. <br><br>Interstate 5 borders West Hazel Dell to the east and can take residents 3 miles south to downtown Vancouver or 12 miles to Portland’s city center. “You’re also really close to Portland International Airport,” says Monfort. “It’s just a 20-minute drive away, so in terms of transportation, residents have a lot of accessible amenities.” <br><br>After a full day in the city, folks can return home to West Hazel Dell’s quiet streets and natural scenery.