On May 14, the public will get a first-hand look at the City of Bend’s new Public Works campus on NW Talus Place. The project, completed late last year, came in below the project’s $130 million budget.
At the open house celebration, community members will be able to peruse the city’s water testing labs, check on where City workers maintain their vehicles and survey the lots where sludge from storm sewers is processed. The event includes food, drink and an opportunity to meet organizers, architects and artists whose artwork is featured at the campus.
“We did a lot around sustainability, making sure that we are building a campus that will last a really long time. Really looking into the lifespan of anything and everything that went into this campus to make sure that it will be here for decades to come,” said Jo Wells, facilities architect and principal manager for the City of Bend.
Wells told the Source that ensuring the building was operating with net-zero solar energy was a core mission to the project. Developers wanted to ensure that they were generating as much energy as they were expending.
Fiscal responsibility was also key, they said, so designers created aspects of the campus with multiple uses. Solar panels on some parking lots double as shaded areas where cars could stay cool, for example.
Although the public will get a chance to tour the new campus this Thursday, it has been fully operational since November 2025. Staff have been congregating in what’s called the Intersection open space, and the Bend City Council has been meeting in meeting rooms on the second floor since the campus’ completion last fall.
Around 1% of the budget to complete the project was used to fund the creation and installation of the commissioned work of four artists. The pieces can be seen at various locations around campus and all feature designs inspired by the High Desert and Public Works workers.
“It’s really beautiful to see and work with artists and see what their vision is and then see it come to reality,” Wells says. “We work really closely with the architects and the contractors to make sure that we had the right supports for the art all over the campus.”
The open house will be a celebratory event for the public but will also have an educational component reminding visitors of all the work that goes into running and managing a city.
“Giving the public an opportunity to see a lot of the behind the scenes work they don’t necessarily realize happens in the city is a great opportunity,” Wells says. “I think it’s important to show the public that we really were responsible with every dollar we spend and that we spent, and that it doesn’t cost more money to build beautiful.”
Public Works Open House
May 14, 4-7pm
Bend Public Works
21051 Talus Place, Bend
https://bendoregon.gov/event/public-works-grand-opening-and-public-art-exhibition/
Free
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