The location of the proposed OSU-Cascades campus in west Bend is sparking divided response from Central Oregonians.

Leaders from across Central Oregon have requested $2 million in state funding to support the development of transit services and a business incubator for OSU-Cascades.

The two proposals were drafted by the Central Oregon Regional Solutions Center, which is made up of representatives from Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties who work with the state government to coordinate regional projects. Earlier, the organization identified the creation of a four-year OSU-Cascades campus as its top priority. The two proposals, which will have to be included in the 2015-17 biennial budget before they are realized, call for a major investment in Bend’s bus infrastructure and the creation of a business incubator to be housed at the university.

The “Central Oregon Transformational Transportation Network” entails the purchase of two new buses for the Cascades East Transit system to serve OSU-Cascades and Central Oregon Community College.

Riders would be accommodated with new park-and-ride lots and bus stops equipped with heating and Wi-Fi. The project would also include pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure upgrades, such as the creation of bike share hubs and additional bike racks across the city.

Transit goals

“It’s our stated goal to promote the most sustainable campus we can possibly build and to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road,” said Kelly Sparks, the university’s associate vice president for finance and strategic planning. “This is a way for us to improve transit to our campus and for the entire community.”

Bend City Councilor and Regional Solutions advisory committee member Victor Chudowsky said the transit project is a way “to raise the profile” of CET, using OSU-Cascades as “a cornerstone for that growth.”

The system could use a raised profile, according to Brooks Resources CEO and Regional Solutions advisory committee convener Mike Hollern, who said there’s demand across Central Oregon for greater transit.

“For the people who have been studying transportation over a long period of years, we’re in agreement there’s a need for a more robust system,” Hollern said. “But obviously our population is scattered and not very dense, so that would be expensive. Most people like the idea of more transit; they just don’t want to spend a nickel on it. They don’t see the benefits, which exist even for those who won’t ride the bus, including reduced congestion and more economic development.”

Hollern said he strongly advocated for the Regional Solutions Center to support such a large-scale project, instead of “20,000 little ideas so that everyone gets a sidewalk.”

“I wanted to make a real difference and leverage other government and private funds,” Hollern said, noting the project ties into a state-funded study of transit on Bend’s west side.

Hollern said he hopes the project will serve as an example of “a visible transit system that can deliver results, making the populace more favorable to funding a robust system.”

Sparks said the project is greater than a $1 million effort, and the university has committed to supporting its development and to recruiting funding partners. Part of the challenge, she said, will be finding a way to finance the bus routes over the long term, noting that having a bus system in place is central to the university’s mission.

Business incubator

While the bus system is meant to indirectly stimulate the economy, the second project is meant to directly jump-start private businesses. The Regional Solutions Center’s second request calls for $1 million to support the “Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs,” which will be housed in the university’s existing Graduate and Research Center off SW Colorado Avenue.

The funding would be used to convert 8,000 square feet of space that had previously been rented to outside groups into classrooms and an event space.

There would also be room for outside businesses to lease and a bioscience lab. The university will add capacity by renting 3,000 square feet in an adjacent building to host student startups and an additional classroom.

“This means we will really be able to expand our business, computer science and biology programming,” Sparks said.

The university has pledged $200,000 to support the project and is hoping to receive additional funding from a partner with the Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute, which operates the state’s only bioscience-specific incubator in Portland.

“This one is really a jobs-creation grant,” Sparks said. “It’s an opportunity to have businesses, faculty and students coming together in the same place to share ideas.”

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, tleeds@bendbulletin.com