City of Bend
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New 6-Story Housing Development Coming to West Bend

A multi-unit apartment with a “Central-Oregon” inspired design should break ground soon
Avatar photoBy Jesse Coronado

Developer, PCP Voyager, recently applied for a modification to an already approved plan for an apartment complex at 1081 SW Mt. Bachelor Drive north of the Reed Market roundabout. The modifications bring changes to the shape and design of the complex, reduces the number of units by two, adds sauna and steam buildings and increases […]

Posted inLocal News

What Went Wrong with Hawthorne Bridge? 

$5M overrun forces Bend to reconsider project scope
Avatar photo by Sarah Isak-Goode

The cost of Bend’s planned Hawthorne Overcrossing bridge has jumped by $5 million, throwing a wrench into the City of Bend’s timeline and design plans for the project.  The City reports that the Oregon Department of Transportation recently informed them of the cost hike. ODOT is managing the design and construction due to federal funding […]

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County Reneges on Planned Managed Camp

Commissioners Adair and DeBone backed out of a collaboration with the City that would’ve established a managed camp for displaced Hunnell Road residents
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The Deschutes County Commissioners backed out of a plan to hire a contractor to manage a safe parking campsite on a 1-acre parcel of land on Murphy Road in south Bend after a two-to-one vote. At a meeting on March 8, Commissioners Tony DeBone and Patti Adair said complaints from neighbors, proximity to unmanaged camps […]

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The Slow Boat to Recovery

On the last weekend of June, the occupancy rate at local hotels and short-term rentals was at 92%. Will tourism keep Bend’s economy and city budget afloat?
Laurel Brauns

During the Great Recession, some believed tourism in Bend rescued the local economy. Travelers poured money into Central Oregon’s restaurants and coffeeshops, millhouses were transformed into profitable vacation rentals and national sports events attracted first-time visitors. Some visitors decided to relocate to the area, which reinvigorated the real estate market and construction industry. “As far […]

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City Predicts Millions in Budget Shortfalls

With hotels empty for months and no one to ticket for speeding, the City gets creative on cuts and leaves most of its reserves in the bank
Laurel Brauns

Sharon Wojda, the City of Bend chief financial officer, told the City Council Wednesday night that the city might come up $14.5 million short at the end of its budget cycle in July 2021. She recommended the city aim to cut $20.5. Before the coronavirus hit, the city planned to spend approximately $128 million over […]

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City Pauses Homeless Camp Evictions

The City of Bend planned to post 30-day notices to vacate Juniper Ridge this week. Instead, they may establish a managed camp.
Laurel Brauns

The City of Bend is backing off plans to post 30-day eviction notices at Juniper Ridge, an encampment for people without homes in northeast Bend. The camp has become a semi-permanent refuge for dozens of unhoused people over the last decade. The City wants to build a sewer pipeline directly through an established tent village […]

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City of Bend Cancels Some Meetings and Events

Advisory committee meetings, project-based public meetings canceled
Laurel Brauns

Anne Aurand, Communications Director for the City of Bend, announced this afternoon that in accordance with State guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Central Oregon, numerous meetings and open houses are canceled today through April 8. The first presumed case of COVID-19 in Deschutes County was reported March 11 by Deschutes County Public […]

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Room Tax Rift

The City of Bend may be losing out on hundreds of thousands of room tax dollars from unreported vacation rentals
Laurel Brauns

Data from market research firm AirDNA reveals that the City of Bend may not be getting all the tax dollars it’s entitled to from vacation rental operators. AirDNA listed 1,411 active rentals on Airbnb or VRBO within Bend city limits as of last month. Eighty-five percent, or 1,200, are reported as whole-house rentals. City of […]

Posted inNews

Homeless Camp Evictions

The City of Bend plans to remove the people who live on Juniper Ridge, but where will they go?
Laurel Brauns

Eviction is sometimes caricatured as a cruel act by fat-cat landlords, pushing low-income families out into the bitter cold in the dead of winter. But what happens when the landlord is the public itself, in the form of the City of Bend, and the people being forced out already live outside? During the Feb. 5 […]

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