Two new supermarkets and a pair of office buildings could bring major changes to the strip of land between Northwest Colorado and Arizona avenues between the Bend Parkway and the Deschutes River.

Eugene-based Market of Choice, a family-owned grocery chain, filed pre-application documents with the city of Bend on Sept. 26 for a 44,800-square-foot grocery at Colorado and Lava Road.

A different Eugene developer filed a pre-application Oct. 1 for two commercial office buildings, just east of the proposed Market of Choice.

Those plans came on the heels of a Colorado-based developer’s Aug. 31 pre-application filing for a 16,000-square-foot grocery store,at the Western edge of the strip, closer to the river.

Pre-applications are the first step for developers looking to build a project in Bend. None of the filings with Bend’s Community Development Department mention time lines, and two of the developers did not respond to requests for comment.

But Colorado Avenue is clearly in for some changes.

And Bend city officials say those changes could give the whole area an economic shot in the arm, while bridging the geographical gap between the city’s two commercial hubs: downtown and the Old Mill District.

Market of Choice made its plans alongside the developers of the planned office buildings, Willamette Valley Co., said Paul Rudinsky, a real estate developer who partners with Willamette Valley Co. on real estate projects.

“Working in conjunction with Market of Choice, we see these as great developments with great long-term potential,” Rudinsky said.

Market of Choice blueprints filed with the city in May, showed a building with a 34,860-square-foot ground floor and a 6,350-square-foot second level mezzanine. A parking lot with about 110 spaces would be built just east of the market.

For the office development, blueprints show two buildings, each with drive-through lanes that would make them ideal for a bank, cafe or fast food restaurant, Rudinsky said.

A 7,900-square-foot building would go up just east of the planned Market of Choice building, and a 3,000 square-foot building would be constructed next to the first building.

Plans also call for Northwest Sisemore Street to be extended to Arizona, documents show, and about 40 parking spaces added.

Willamette Valley Co. is in talks with several com- panies about becoming tenants, Rudinsky said, though he declined to give details.

“We would love to see a bank or a credit union, or something of that sort,” he said.

Officials with Market of Choice did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week. But company president and CEO Rick Wright told The Bulletin in June that a finished market could be up to three years away.

Representatives from Leadership Circle LLC, the Montrose, Colo. company that wants to build the other, yet-to-be-named market, also did not respond to requests for comment.

But a handful of city officials noted that an enhanced business presence for the strip of Colorado, starting at the intersection with Southwest Industrial Way and stretching east alongside Northwest Arizona Avenue, has long been part of the city’s plan. Much of Colorado Avenue in the area is zoned as commercial or mixed residential, allowing houses and businesses.

“I think the general idea has been to have more commercial development along that stretch,” said Bend Mayor Jeff Eager.

The addition of grocery stores and office buildings is a logical step for that part of town, a continuation of Bend’s shift out of a timber economy and toward tourism and retail, Councilor Jim Clinton said.

That stretch of Colorado Avenue was once an industrial area on the outer stretches of the city limits, after all. But rapid growth in the 1990s and 2000s, coupled with development of the Old Mill District, has changed the area.

Arizona Avenue, which runs parallel to Colorado Avenue, opened in 2003, as city officials worked to provide easier access between downtown and the Old Mill District.

“You do see that a lot of land (along Colorado Avenue) looks under-developed,” Clinton said. “I think developing that area is logical, and would be a nice addition to the city.”

The grocery store plans are seen by some as a potential boon for the city’s downtown-area residents, with no major grocery store within a mile or so of the Market of Choice site.

Several residents of the nearby Old Bend Neighborhood wrote letters to the city voicing concerns over noise and traffic the Market of Choice and office buildings would bring. The Old Bend Neighborhood lies just north of the planned developments.

But the neighborhood association’s board members endorsed the proposal following an Aug. 1 public meeting, though they added that city officials would hopefully take resident concerns into account.

And builders are excited about the potential impact of new commercial activity in Bend.

For the Central Oregon Builders Association, big building projects meanjobs.

That’s the hope of Andy High, COBA’s vice president of government affairs. He said the group would reach out to Market of Choice in the coming months to try and get as many local subcontractors, like roofers and electricians, in on the project as possible.

“On a job of that size, you’re looking at somewhere from 40 to 60 subcontractors working. It could be a huge jobs impact,” High said.