Homes proposed west of Bend

A new company created by several well-known Bend developers and business owners announced plans on Monday to develop homes on land just west of the Bend city limits.

The new company, The Tree Farm LLC, is jointly owned by the Miller family, of Miller Lumber Co., and West Bend Property Co. II, which is jointly owned by Brooks Resources, Mike Tennant and others. Brooks Resources and Tennant Family Limited Partnership developed NorthWest Crossing.

The Tree Farm plans to build a cluster development of 50 homes on 500 acres, stretching, roughly, from around Miller Elementary School to Shevlin Park, according to a news release.

First, however, the company needs to obtain land use approval, with construction likely in 2015.

The vision for the land, which is owned by the Miller family, is to keep a large portion of it open to the public and accessible to trails, according to the news release.

“People will essentially have trail access right directly to Shevlin Park from NorthWest Crossing,” said Miller Lumber President Charley Miller. “Right now, this is a fenced-in area. This will become a large (area of) public land.”

In 1999, the Miller family sold 482 acres to West Bend Property Co. for NorthWest Crossing.

West Bend Property Co. II also has an option to buy an additional 280 acres immediately west of Summit High School.

If the city of Bend brings the land into the urban growth boundary, it could lead to the continuation of NorthWest Crossing-type development, according to the release.

Diabetes drug cleared by FDA

Avandia, a controversial diabetes drug that was thought to increase patients’ risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems, has been cleared for widespread use by the Food and Drug Administration.

Federal regulators said Monday that the drug was no more dangerous than other diabetes medications and that it should be available to all patients without its current restrictions.

“Our actions today reflect the most current scientific knowledge about the risks and benefits of this drug,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “Given these new results, our level of concern is considerably reduced.”

GlaxoSmithKline, the company that makes Avandia, said it welcomed the FDA’s decision.

“GSK maintains its view that Avandia is a safe and effective treatment for Type 2 diabetes when used appropriately,” the London-based company said in a statement.

Avandia was initially approved in 1999.

— From staffand wire reports