McMenamins building new lodges in Bend

Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 26, 2015

Owner: McMenamins Inc.

General Contractor: Pacific Crest Construction Inc.

Architect: Ankrom Moisan Architects, Portland

Contact: 503-669-8570

Details: McMenamins Old St. Francis School has started construction on two new buildings for lodging on its property in downtown Bend.

The project will bring 41 new rooms to the property that fronts NW Bond Street for a total of 65 rooms at the hotel, restaurant and entertainment center. Construction of the new, three-story buildings with 19,368 total square feet is scheduled for completion in July, said Joe Vondrak, president of Pacific Crest Construction. One building will have 17 rooms; the second will have 24.

“We’ve done all their work for many years,” Vondrak said of his firm’s relationship with McMenamins.

Pacific Crest renovated the St. Francis School into the McMenamins complex it is today, including the three houses originally on the site that were used as guest accommodations by McMenamins, he said. The three homes were moved in May to Sunriver, where they became vacation rentals under new ownership.

The building project presented opportunities for novel techniques.

“One interesting thing we’re doing is pre-fabbing all the walls,” Vondrak said Wednesday. “You’ll see stacks of wall panels there; they’re built off-site (by Timber Technologies LLC, in Sandy) in a weather-controlled environment.”

He said the building site, at NW Louisiana Avenue and NW Lava Road, is a tight space, and the buildings themselves fairly complicated structures.

“It’s not a basic box. We’re trying to blend them into the neighborhood; it’s pretty fun to watch,” he said. “The only other challenge is trying to do what we’re doing in the middle of winter.”

— Joseph Ditzler