Red Cross will move office

Published 5:00 am Sunday, April 8, 2012

Starting April 30, blood donors visiting the Red Cross office in Bend will no longer have to grapple with limited parking and a claustrophobic atmosphere.

“If you’ve ever been down here on a day when it’s full, you know that it gets pretty darn crowded,” said Jen Collins, the sponsor donor development representative with the American Red Cross’ Oregon Mountain River Chapter. “We needed a place that could better accommodate our growth.”

The American Red Cross donation center in Bend will move from Northeast Twin Knolls Road to a new building at 815 S.W. Bond St. in the Old Mill District later this month. The chapter, which had been at the Twin Knolls Road location for about seven years, serves Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.

Red Cross officials say the move is necessary to better accommodate the 200 to 300 donors who visit the office each week.

“The new office is designed to be a donor center,” Collins said. “The configuration is specifically designed for traffic flow and donor comfort.”

The organization not only needs more room for donors, but also for blood processing and storage. The new Southwest Bond Street location has about 1,000 more square feet than the current facility.

Tom Farley, the executive director of the local chapter of the Red Cross, believes the Old Mill location will attract more interest from the community, as the office will have higher visibility. The organization plans to place a large sign along Southwest Bond Street once the move is complete.

“I think one of the reasons the Old Mill is working so well commercially is because of its centrality in the community,” Farley said. “We’re hoping the office will be more user-friendly in that area, and that people will be able to access it better.”

Another issue that factored in the decision to move is the limited amount of parking at the Twin Knolls Road office. Red Cross staff often have to park on the street so that patrons can park in the few spaces available.

Donors will still be able to give blood at the east-side location through April 27.

A grand opening of the Old Mill site will be held May 11 from 4 to 8 p.m.