City Sets Focus Groups to Inform Town Center Priorities

October 20, 2025 — In pursuit of progress toward the City Council’s two-year goal to engage the community in conversation about the 2019 Town Center Plan’s priorities and potential funding mechanisms, the City has commissioned Portland-based DHM Research to conduct a series of professional focus groups.

Three focus groups, each to be composed of about 10-12 Wilsonville residents, are scheduled to take place this week. Participants in these focus groups are being randomly selected by DHM Research to ensure a diverse participant pool that is representative of the City’s population. This process allows DHM to collect meaningful qualitative data representative of the community’s desires, questions, and concerns about future development within and adjacent to Town Center Loop. 

“We’re pleased to build renewed awareness of the community-led Town Center Plan, to confirm our residents’ desire for new restaurants and retail amenities, and to learn what new questions must be addressed to build further consensus and begin realizing the community’s vision for a more vibrant downtown,” said City Manager Bryan Cosgrove.

These focus groups represent the City’s second major effort to gather and analyze input that will help shape future Town Center development and infrastructure funding plans. Previously, in September, Portland-based CFM Advocates completed lengthy interviews with each member of the City Council to collect their questions, concerns, and aspirations regarding Town Center.  

The City’s intention is to use data collected from the City Council and the focus groups to inform future activities that will take place in the coming months to collect the sentiments of the broader community. These opportunities — which could include surveys, workshops, meetings, etc. — will be announced on the City’s communication channels (Boones Ferry Messenger, social media, website, etc.) as they become available.

The Wilsonville Town Center Plan was adopted unanimously by the City Council in 2019 following two years of extensive public engagement. The Plan details the community’s expressed desire for a Town Center that is a vibrant, walkable destination that inspires people to come together and socialize, shop, live, and work in the heart of Wilsonville. 

Subsequently, Town Center development has been stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, and the narrow defeat of a May 2024 advisory vote to gauge community sentiment for funding new public infrastructure development through tax increment financing.

For more information on the plan, click here.

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