Bend subdivisions still on the upswing

Published 5:00 am Friday, October 17, 2003

Despite a lagging regional economy, continued demand for homes in Bend has led to an increase in applications to build housing subdivisions.

The city of Bend’s planning office has received 17 more applications for housing subdivision projects so far this year than it did in the same time period last year. From January to September, 55 applications for subdivisions were submitted to the city, up from 38 from 2002.

”Bend still seems to be an enclave which is growing in population despite a negative trend in the Northwest and Oregon,” said Alex Robertson, a commercial broker with John L. Scott Real Estate. ”The demand is outstripping the supply and raising land prices.”

Robertson said he has seen an influx of developers coming to Bend from Corvallis, Eugene and from out of state, in addition to the more common Seattle and Portland developers.

The boom in growth in Bend over the last few years has prompted the city to begin conversations about extending the city’s residential growth boundary to keep pace with future development.

Since the end of September, about 31 of the subdivision applications have been approved.

But more than half a dozen are still waiting to be given the green light from the city, and new applications continue to come in.

OTAK Incorporated is awaiting approval for a 210-lot subdivision called Aspen Ridge.

The 42-acre piece of land is north of Brookswood Boulevard and to the south and east of Hollygrape Street.

Eileen Obermiller, a landscape architect and a planner for OTAK, said site plans call for three different types of lot sizes ranging in size from 4,500 square feet to 12,900 square feet.

The houses will be one- and two-story with unattached garages either in front or in the back and accessible by an alley.

Preliminary site plans also include a 4-acre parcel of open space in the middle of the neighborhood.

”There will be sidewalks and picnic tables and barbecues in the central open space,” Obermiller said.

If all goes well with the city, Obermiller said, building could begin as early as spring.

Just a few streets away, at the intersection of Hollygrape Street and Lodgepole Drive, Tucker Mayberry has submitted an application for a 20-lot subdivision, with 18 duplex lots and two single-family dwelling lots on a 3.42-acre-piece of land.

In the same neighborhood, Hayden Enterprises has submitted plans for a 21-lot residential subdivision called Deschutes River Crossing North.

The 3.94-acre property is at the northeast corner of Lodgepole Drive and Brookswood Boulevard.

Just south of the Old Mill District, Viking Builders Inc. has submitted plans to divide a 2.94 acre parcel into 16 residential lots. Old Mill Terrace is located at 20065 McClellan Road.

On Bend’s east side, Bob Munson has submitted site plans for a 7.55-acre subdivision on the northwest side of Butler Market Road and on the northeast and southeast sides of Brinson Boulevard.

The 23 lots will range in size from 13,473 to 5,040 square feet.

Munson said for smaller developers like him and his partner, finding parcels of land for sale isn’t difficult but what is difficult is being able to afford them.

”It seems like the are still small parcels around, but if it is competitively priced it gets snapped up quick,” Munson said.

”It’,s a battle, things are ratcheting up.”

Munson said that many times he sees land prices that are much higher than the actual appraised value of the parcel.

Robertson, the commercial real estate broker, said it all goes back to the fact that Bend is a desirable place that is known throughout the Northwest.

Another proposed subdivision on the east side is a 4.75 acre parcel called Oakview, Phase 9.

Pinnacle Productions has submitted a site plan for a 30-lot residential subdivision. According to plans, the lots will range between 4,000 square feet and 5,155 square feet.

Other proposed subdivisions include the Brosterhous Road Subdivision submitted by Larry Kine and William and Betty Martin. The 46 lots range in size from 4,675 square feet to 7,737 square feet.

Parkhurst LLC and Golden Crest Development Inc. have submitted plans for a 51-lot subdivision with lots ranging in size from 5,200 square feet to 7,200 square feet.

The property is at 63125 Boyd Acres Road and is located southeast of Fred Meyers Road and north of Empire Avenue.

Kristy Hessman can be reached at 541-383-0350 or at khessman@bendbulletin.com.