Bend Research buys north-side property

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Bend Research plans to expand its new facility on Builders Street someday on an adjacent lot the company recently purchased, company representatives said Tuesday.

A subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Capsugel Dosage Form Solutions, Bend Research paid the previous owner, Murray Road I LLC, $1.2 million for the 2.94-acre property in September, according to Deschutes County property records. Jim Nightingale, managing director of Bend Research, said in an email Tuesday that the company is “actively evaluating plans” for the property. Last year, Bend Research finished construction of a $25 million, 5,872-square-foot pharmaceutical commercial manufacturing facility.

“Since Capsugel purchased Bend Research in 2013, the company has continued to expand our site’s capabilities and capacity as a center of excellence for bioavailability enhancement, modified release, other technology platforms and pharmaceutical (research and development),” Nightingale wrote.

Phoenix Barringer, a spokeswoman for Bend Research, said Tuesday the company intends to build on the site but has no plans it can disclose. The site may be a temporary parking lot, she said.

Murray Road I LLC is a creation of Brad and Melissa Kent, who purchased the former Fuqua Homes plant, at 20495 Murray Road, and the three adjacent lots for $2.7 million in December 2013. The lot purchased by Bend Research is one of those three.

Now called the Murray Road Industrial Center, the 115,000-square-foot former factory for pre-fabricated homes was renovated and divided into 15 smaller, individual suites. Fratzke Commercial Real Estate, broker for the project, in April unveiled the renovated property for lease.

So far, one prospective tenant, Next Development Group Inc., with the Kents as managers, has filed a plan with the Bend Community Development Department to turn a 10,570 square-foot section of the building into a brewery and small-scale restaurant. No further progress has been made on the project, according to city records.

Jessica Biel, marketing director for Pinnacle Architecture Inc., of Bend, which filed the permit application in November, declined comment on those plans.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com