"Because it is quite a ways from any existing sewer, in order for them to flush a single toilet they need to run some piping a long way to get to their site." Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan was talking about Amazon Web Services when he said that at the Hermiston City Council meeting on Sept. 28, 2026.
That piping matters more to Hermiston's housing future than anything a buyer will see on a listing sheet this fall. The city expects the same sewer main AWS is mostly paying for to open up to 500 acres of land already zoned for homes. Morgan estimated that land could hold as many as 2,500 houses.
So here's the main thing to know about new construction in Hermiston right now. The next big wave of single-family lots is waiting on a pipe, and that pipe is due in fall 2027. Until it's finished, buyers are choosing among homes on land that already has service, and in recent years that land has filled in with denser housing than many people expect from a town this size.
What the Council Approved on Sept. 28
The agreement with AWS has three parts: a permanent drinking water supply, permanent sanitary sewer service, and temporary acceptance of cooling water discharge. The volumes are small. Drinking water is capped at 7,500 gallons per day, and Morgan noted that the average car wash uses about 9,000. Sewer discharge has the same 7,500-gallon daily cap. Cooling water is limited to 75 gallons per minute, and the city will accept it for up to two years while the company finishes another discharge option outside Hermiston's utility.
The sewer service is the expensive part. It requires a 13,000-foot main along Feedville Road and Highway 207 that costs $6.2 million. AWS is covering 73.6% of that. The city is paying the rest with state financing, and Morgan expects part of that loan to be forgivable. The East Oregonian's report says plainly that the agreement "will eventually allow for more housing in the city," with completion expected by fall 2027.
The Land Was Zoned Long Before It Could Be Served
It's easy to mix up two land decisions here. In fall 2025, the council approved expanding Hermiston's urban growth boundary and annexing roughly 800 acres south of Feedville Road, and that became official in January 2026. That land is industrial and set aside for potential large data centers. It isn't for housing.
The 500 residential acres are a separate tract. They're already zoned for homes. What they've been missing is a sewer connection. For anyone thinking about where Hermiston will grow, that changes the question. The constraint has been infrastructure, and part of that infrastructure is now being paid for by the industry that's driving local job growth.
The job numbers explain the demand. Umatilla County has added more than 3,200 jobs since 2012, and 91% of them landed in the Greater Hermiston area. The county's Information sector, once mostly newspapers and radio, grew from 170 jobs in 2018 to 880 by June 2025, and those are permanent operating positions. City officials trace the surge to data center construction and operations that started in 2019.
What Got Built on Land That Already Had Service
While that tract waited, building kept going on land that could already be served. Hermiston approved 130 new single-family homes in 2025 and 767 housing units in total since 2020. Morgan told the Hermiston Herald that total includes income-restricted apartments and manufactured housing as well as single-family homes. Here's what the named projects look like.
| Project | Housing type | Scale | Last reported status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upland Meadows | Single-family | 270 planned homes | Full buildout forecast in four to five years as of May 2025 |
| Diamond Run, Diagonal Road | Duplexes | Originally planned as 150 single-family homes, shifted to 300-plus duplexes and townhomes | Almost entirely duplexes as of June 2026 |
| Santiago Estates | Manufactured homes | Capacity for 180 units | 20 to 30 homes a year expected over five to 10 years, per May 2025 |
| Henry K's Place, east of Blue Mountain Community College | Not reported | Not reported | Faster construction expected in 2025 |
| The Hub Hermiston | Market-rate apartments | 276 units | Broke ground March 2026, first tenants targeted by end of 2026 |
| Horizon Court, 197 E. Theater Lane | Affordable rentals | 22 units | Construction start planned for late spring or early summer 2026 |
| Liberty Village, 588 E. Newport Ave. | Affordable apartments | 17 units | Broke ground May 2026, completion expected spring 2027 |
Diamond Run shows the pattern most clearly. City Planner Clint Spencer said the subdivision has been built out almost entirely with duplexes, which Hermiston has allowed in single-family zones since Oregon's House Bill 2001 passed seven years ago. The Hub tells a similar story from the rental side. I&E Construction of Wilsonville is building the $50 million complex. It follows the first market-rate apartment development the city had approved in more than a decade, and the incentive agreement reimburses a declining share of the developer's property taxes through 2031. City officials said the shortage of market-rate apartments had been sending workers to the Tri-Cities.
Upland Meadows is the main single-family option on the list. MonteVista Homes' community page currently shows a new phase with advertised base prices from $310,000 to $447,000. That builder page is updated live, so ask for current pricing before you rely on it.
Two Questions to Ask Before You Commit to a Lot
Is there a road assessment coming? In June 2026, city staff said 475 housing units were under construction in the East Jennie Avenue area, next to a mobile home park. The city started forming a local improvement district to pay for a $1.206 million extension of East Jennie from NE Eighth to NE 10th, with property owners proposed to cover 76% of the cost. A public hearing was scheduled for July 27. We found no later report confirming the final outcome. If you're buying a home or lot in that area, ask the seller, the builder and your title company whether an assessment is pending or already recorded.
What can be built next door? According to the East Oregonian, Hermiston has about 20,296 residents and is still a few years short of the 25,000 population mark that would require it to allow triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses and cottage clusters in single-family zones. The city plans to update its code ahead of that anyway. As of June 2026, a planning commission work session and a public hearing were still to come. If you're buying in a single-family zone, follow the hearing schedule so you know what the zoning will allow on nearby lots.
What Today's Market Looks Like While the Pipe Is Built
The current market gives buyers more room than they had a year ago. In September 2026, Umatilla County had 249 active listings, 21.17% more than in September 2025. The county's median listing price that month was $344,950, down 4.51% year over year. Median days on market was 58 in August 2026, unchanged from August 2025. These are asking prices and listing counts from the Federal Reserve's FRED county series. They aren't closed sales, and we found no Hermiston-specific median sale price for July through September 2026.
Together, those figures help with the build-or-wait decision. The county's median asking price falls inside Upland Meadows' advertised base range, so a new build and a resale home can be compared directly at the low end. Rising inventory and softer asking prices give buyers more room to negotiate today. The land release that could reshape the edge of town is a 2027-or-later event, and homes built there would come after that.
The dates line up like this:
- Fall 2025: Council approves the industrial UGB expansion and annexation.
- January 2026: The expansion becomes official.
- March 2026: The council approves the $6.2 million sewer main, and The Hub breaks ground.
- Sept. 28, 2026: The council approves the AWS water and sewer agreement.
- By end of 2026: The Hub's first tenants are targeted.
- Spring 2027: Liberty Village is expected to be finished.
- Fall 2027: The Feedville Road and Highway 207 sewer main is expected to be finished.
FAQ
Will 2,500 homes be built in Hermiston by 2027? No. Fall 2027 is the target for finishing the sewer main. The 2,500 figure is Morgan's estimate of how many homes the 500 residential acres could eventually hold once they have sewer service.
Is the new industrial land near Feedville Road available for homes? No. The roughly 810-acre expansion adds industrial land for potential data centers.
Does AWS pay for the whole sewer main? AWS covers 73.6% of the $6.2 million cost. The city pays the rest with state financing, part of which Morgan expects to be forgivable.
If you're comparing a lot in Upland Meadows with a resale home across town, or trying to figure out whether a Jennie Avenue address carries a road assessment, Amanda Hart and the Hive can go through builder pricing, recorded assessments and the city's 2027 timeline with you, one lot at a time. Book a Free Consultation and we'll map out your Hermiston build-or-buy options together.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
