It’s countdown time for REI’s new Bend store.

Work is progressing on the business, which is set to open Nov. 18, nearly a year after the outdoor retail cooperative announced it was coming. REI will be located in the 28,000-square-foot former lumber mill powerhouse in the Old Mill District.

It will be the fifth Oregon store for Seattle-based REI, formally identified as Recreational Equipment Inc. It will follow by three months the opening of another large outdoor store in Bend, Sportsman’s Warehouse. That store, however, is devoted mostly to hunting and fishing.

REI’s grand opening will include pro ski and snowboarding performances sponsored by Salomon Ski Co. from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 and 19.

Bend pro snowboarder Josh Dirksen will participate in the event. Performers will use a manmade snow slope constructed from snow trucked from either Mount Hood or Mount Bachelor, a Salomon spokesperson said.

The renovated mill building will keep much of the historic charm of the original architecture, said Mike Foley, REI senior public relations associate.

”We are trying to leave as much of the original structure as possible,” Foley said. ”You will see as much of the building’s actual brick walls and beams as possible.”

Exposed steel, bare brick walls and unfinished wood beams are among the bits of Old Mill character the new REI building will incorporate.

Foley said this method of using existing structural materials is an environmentally friendly way of building because fewer new materials, paints and other toxic products will be used in the remodeling.

Currently, construction includes landscaping and finishing the interior of the building, said Susan Neaton, REI architectural projects manager. REI employees, at a temporary location on Southwest Industrial Way, have not yet toured the building.

The company eventually will hire 70 employees, said Bend store manager Michelle Hall. The hiring process is almost complete.

REI will join a retail market already rich with outdoor clothing and gear stores.

”We want to be a part of the community that’s already thriving in Bend,” Foley said. ”We want to contribute to the growing part of outdoor recreation within Bend and be a part in drawing visitors to ski and hike and kayak and camp.”

REI has always been a leader in the outdoor industry, Foley said, especially in the Northwest. The company began in Seattle, opening its first store in 1938. The first REI store in Oregon opened in 1976 outside Portland.

Existing Bend recreation store owners say the giant retailer doesn’t threaten them. Instead, they say REI may help the recreation retail industry locally.

”They’re a proactive business … they want to be leaders in the industry and help promote growth in the marketplace for specialty outdoor retailers,” said Dan McGarigle, owner of Pine Mountain Sports in Bend.

If there’s one large retailer he doesn’t mind sharing the market with, it’s REI, he said.

McGarigle has met with REI’s local management several times to discuss plans for growing the outdoor marketplace and he has made changes to his selection to differentiate Pine Mountain from REI.

Kim Pursell, manager of Mountain Supply of Oregon, isn’t worried about REI hurting business.

”REI should be worried about us,” Pursell joked.

REI may instead bring more customers to the area, said employee Erin McClesky.

”We have great customer service, we’re locally owned and operated for 25 years and we hope to keep our return customers,” McClesky said.