The Evolution of the Highlands at Manzanita

A researched, source-cited history of the North Oregon Coast's most talked-about residential development — from its original concept to the homes standing today and the plans still taking shape.

The Short Version

The Highlands at Manzanita sits on a roughly 70-acre property on the eastern, elevated edge of Manzanita — land that for decades was associated with the Manzanita Golf Course and its never-built “back nine.” Over the past several years it has grown from an ambitious master-plan concept into an established, built community of coastal homes and homesites, with an affordable-housing component now under construction. This page traces that arc — the original vision, the community conversation that shaped it, the neighborhood as it actually stands, and what the master plan still contemplates for the future.

Part One

The Vision

Who is behind the Highlands?

The master developer is Encore Investments, LLC, an Oregon company formed in 2015 by principals Jim Pentz and Rick Hinkes.¹ Pentz, an Oregon native, moved into real estate development after a career in manufacturing; Hinkes, a longtime business partner, joined him on the Manzanita project.¹ Pentz's connection to the site runs deep — by his own account, his pump company installed the original irrigation system for the Manzanita Golf Course back in the late 1970s, and he continued to maintain it for decades.²

Before the Highlands, Pentz developed Classic Street Cottages, a 32-unit “pocket neighborhood” completed in Manzanita in 2018 and an immediate neighbor of the Highlands site.¹ That new-urbanist project was, in the developers' telling, well received by the community and set the design tone for what would follow.¹

The original concept: “The Village at Manzanita”

The first public vision for the property was big. Presented in 2017 as “The Village at Manzanita,” it proposed 300-plus homes over roughly a decade on the 70-acre site bordered by Necarney Road and Classic Street — the acreage originally intended to become the golf course's second nine holes.³ The plan imagined a mix of housing from small cottages to large custom homes, plus a compact commercial “village center” with a general store, restaurants, and a bakery, alongside shared amenities such as a clubhouse, fitness center, and activity barn.⁴

The developers framed it as an open, walkable community in keeping with local character. “There is a strong village culture in Manzanita,” Hinkes told the Planning Commission. “We want this to reflect that culture, this is not a gated community.”³ Encore noted that under existing zoning the site could have accommodated roughly 400-plus homes, but the company proposed fewer, with a large share of the land — more than 40% — kept as open space with walking and bike paths.³

The concept drew intense local interest. The first Planning Commission review, in June 2017, filled the Pine Grove Community House beyond its 140-person capacity, with attendees turned away at the door.³

Part Two

The Community Conversation

What questions did the community raise?

A development of this scale naturally generated discussion, and the public meetings surfaced a range of considerations — infrastructure and water capacity among them. At the June 2017 hearing, neighboring Wheeler's mayor raised questions about the shared regional water supply, given that Manzanita's water travels miles from wells at Roy Creek.³ Residents along the existing golf course also voiced a wish that the course be preserved.³

One element drew particular attention: short-term rentals. The City of Manzanita caps the number of homes that may operate as short-term (vacation) rentals at 17.5% of the total housing inventory.³ Encore's original proposal sought an exemption from that cap for the development, and the developers' economists described a favorable rental allowance as important to the project's financial viability and absorption rate.³

How did the plan change in response?

The Planning Commission asked Encore to rework the concept.⁵ Hinkes acknowledged the feedback publicly and signaled flexibility, noting the team would reconsider aspects of the plan after hearing from the commission, while affirming the company's intent to develop the privately owned, appropriately zoned land in some form.⁵

What emerged from that process is, in the developers' own description, the community as it exists today: the ambitious mixed-use “Village” concept was scaled back toward a ridge-top neighborhood of homesites — marketed as the Highlands at Manzanita — together with an affordable-housing component on a lower portion of the parcel.⁶ The short-term-rental exemption that had been part of the original ask did not carry forward into what was built; STR licensing in the community is governed by the city's standard rules. (For how that applies to a specific home or lot today, see the FAQ below and confirm directly with the City of Manzanita.)

Part Three

The Project as It Stands

What has actually been built?

Rather than arriving all at once, the Highlands has come online in recorded phases. Early subdivision work proceeded under the “Pacific Dunes” plat names in 2019–2020,⁷ and the community has since been platted through successive phases — Highlands 1 through Highlands 5 — recorded with Tillamook County between 2020 and 2023.⁸ The result is the walkable, modern coastal neighborhood standing today, organized around its named areas of Sea View, Meadows, and Hilltop.

The community is governed by recorded Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions and an established homeowners association, with architectural standards enforced through an Architectural Review Committee.⁹ (Full detail on pricing, lots, the HOA, and build standards lives on our main Highlands at Manzanita guide.)

What is Spruce Point, the affordable-housing project?

Now under construction on a lower portion of the same 70-acre master plan is Spruce Point, an affordable-housing community. According to the developers, the affordable element was part of the original development vision; Hinkes has said he and Pentz remained committed to including it throughout.⁶

The verified details: Spruce Point will deliver 60 apartments across five buildings (three three-story and two two-story), with a community building and 96 parking spaces.¹⁰ The unit mix is 14 one-bedroom, 23 two-bedroom, and 23 three-bedroom apartments; 48 units are set for households at or below 60% of area median income and 12 for households at or below 30%.¹⁰ The project is led by Home First Development Partners, supported by a $21.4 million grant from Oregon Housing and Community Services along with Tillamook County affordable-housing grants.¹¹ Ground was broken in August, served by a new street, Legacy Place, off Necarney City Road between Clipper Court and Pine Ridge Lane, with residents anticipated in fall 2026.¹¹

In the City of Manzanita's own planning records, the project appears as a Planned Unit Development application for a “60-unit affordable, multi-family housing project.”¹² (Note: the city file references the project under the name “Manzanita Pines”; the developers market it as “Spruce Point.” Both refer to the same 60-unit development.)

Home First's CEO, Ben Pray, described the design intent in keeping with the area: “We've spent a lot of time thinking about how this project, how these buildings look and feel, and we want them to fit the character of Manzanita.”⁶

Part Four

What Comes Next

Is the master plan complete?

Not entirely. Public records from the subdivision approvals noted that portions of the original tax lot “may be developed at a later time,”⁷ and the property has continued to move through the city's planning process as phases are platted and, in some cases, as zoning is updated. Manzanita has also recently revised its residential zoning framework under Oregon's statewide middle-housing rules, replacing older zone names with new “Middle Housing” designations — a change that affects how remaining and future parcels may be developed.¹³

Because these matters are active and subject to city review, anyone evaluating the future of a specific parcel should rely on current City of Manzanita planning records rather than older reporting. We're glad to help point you to the right city contacts and documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. “Developers — Highlands at Manzanita,” highlandsatmanzanita.com. Encore Investments formation, principals, and Classic Street Cottages background. ↩
2. “Proposed Village at Manzanita — Preliminary Planning Commission Review,” Tillamook County Pioneer, June 2017. Pentz's golf-course irrigation history. ↩
3. “Packed House for Manzanita Planning Commission Preliminary Review … ‘Village at Manzanita,’” Tillamook County Pioneer, 2017. Meeting attendance, scope, open-space and STR-cap-exemption details, public comments. ↩
4. “Major Development Proposed for Manzanita,” Tillamook County Pioneer. Site description, village-center components, back-nine history, open-space share. ↩
5. “Planning Commission directs Village at Manzanita rework,” Tillamook Headlight Herald, August 2017. Commission direction and Hinkes's response. ↩
6. “Home First begins affordable development in Manzanita,” North Coast Citizen, July 2025. Scale-back narrative, affordable-element commitment, Home First selection, Pray quote. ↩
7. “Developer Returns to Manzanita with Revised Project Proposal,” Tillamook County Pioneer, July 2019. Pacific Dunes No. 8 subdivision; remainder “may be developed at a later time.” ↩
8. Recorded plats, Highlands 4 (Tillamook County, 2022) and Highlands 5 (recorded January 2023), and CC&Rs referencing Highlands 1 plat recorded September 30, 2020 (Instrument 2020-6726). Tillamook County records. ↩
9. “Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Easements and Restrictions for Highlands at Manzanita,” recorded Tillamook County, Instrument 2020-07303 (October 2020), and associated Bylaws. ↩
10. “Spruce Point apartments at halfway point,” Tillamook Headlight Herald, 2026. Building count, 96 parking spaces, unit mix, AMI breakdown. ↩
11. “Spruce Point construction underway in Manzanita,” Tillamook Headlight Herald, 2026. Home First lead, $21.4M OHCS grant, Legacy Place, groundbreaking, fall 2026 timeline. ↩
12. “Manzanita Pines 60-Unit Affordable Housing,” City of Manzanita planning records — PUD application notice. ↩
13. City of Manzanita, Short-Term Rentals page and zoning map updates, ci.manzanita.or.us. Middle-housing zoning revisions. ↩

Additional reporting consulted: “60 Affordable Housing Units Coming to Manzanita,” Tillamook County Pioneer, July 2025; Home First Development; Green Light Development; Polyphon Architecture.