CEE Beginnings

Every place has an origin story, and the lucky ones often have a person of vision who has an idea and the ability to make that idea into a thriving community. 

At Club Estates East, that person was William J. Cooley, president of Cooley Construction Company. According to a TriMet.org brochure about development in SE Portland, “The neighborhood to the south of Main Street was built by developer William J. Cooley. William Cooley often bought local fields from old farmers and agreed to let them live out the rest of their lives on the land before starting development.”

In 1966, Mr. Cooley included the following statement in a letter to the new owner-members (as they were referred to in the documents of the time): “Club Estates East is a composite of 80 individual families and the attitude of those individuals will eventually create the attitude of the community. Your capacity for patience, understanding, intellectual growth and lessons in the democratic procedure will be put to the test in making a community.”

HOA meeting notes from the 70s,80s, 90s and into the 21st century are a testament to owners putting patience, understanding, intellect, and the democratic process to work in building a vibrant and sustainable community.

His idea was not without risk, however, as condos were a new concept on the west coast in the 1960s, with the first American condominium complex being built in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1960. This means that those first 80 owners were early adopters, blazing a trail in the finest of Oregon traditions.

Construction on the 80 homes he envisioned becoming a community were estimated to cost $1,100,000 and that construction began in March of 1965 with an estimated completion date of September 1965.

By June of 1965, approximately 30% of the units had been sold. The average 2-bedroom condo cost $13,000 but add-on items such as storm-screen doors at a cost of $43.50 and trim for 5 interior doors costing $12.50 were available.

The average FHA loan in 1965 was 1.2276%. The first year HOA fees for a 2-bedroom unit in 1965/1966 were $56.72 monthly. In 2023 terms, that would equal $545.82!

Today, CEE honors Mr. Cooley’s ideas of a composite community with 80 unique and diverse households, working together as owners to maintain and build upon the legacy of those original owners.