Two developers applied to build hundreds of homes on Bend’s 100-acre urban growth boundary expansion, a one-time chance to sidestep the arduous process for growing the city limits permitted by 2024 state legislation in an effort to boost Oregon’s housing production.

Now, it’s up to members of the Bend City Council to choose which proposal they prefer, with stated goals of housing affordability and connected transportation systems at top of mind. They’ll weigh a development promising to build 700 homes in southeast Bend near Caldera High School and another set to deliver 1,000 homes just north of U.S. Highway 20 in east Bend.

The City Council has the option to forgo the expansion if proposals aren’t suitable.

“This can’t be business as usual,” said Councilor Ariel Mendez. “This can’t be a regular expansion that’s going to add to congestion and sprawl.”

Bend Housing Director Lynne McConnell said recent data confirmed the city barely qualifies for expedited growth based on the terms of Senate Bill 1537. Only cities where at least one-quarter of renters are facing a rent-burden — paying a third or more of income to rent — qualify for the expansion.

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Developers square off over chance to build on Bend’s next 100 acres

The City Council will host a work session Nov. 20 and a public hearing Dec. 4, when it could make a decision on the applications. BreAnne Gale, senior planner with the city of Bend, said the city is working on creating an online open house for the public to comment on the proposals.

1,000 homes proposed for east Bend

SB 1537 limits the growth to 100 acres of land for homes, but total developments can be larger. The site 1½ miles east of Pilot Butte, called Jasper Ridge, encompasses 123 total acres, and would include more than 1,000 homes, 13 acres of parks, a little more than a mile of trails and a few acres of commercial space, including a new day care.

The southern portion of the site is adjacent to U.S. Highway 20 in between 27th Street and Hamby Road, and stretches to the southwest corner of Hamby Road and Neff Road.

Crandall Group, a Beaverton-based real estate company, submitted the site application.

The property was purchased in 2021 by CTH Investments and Te Amo Despacio LLC, which is owned by Hayden Watson, president and owner of regional Redmond-based developer Hayden Homes.

Matt Wellner, development director with Crandall Group, said owners knew the property just outside the urban growth boundary would be in the path of progress for Bend at some point. But it wasn’t clear when the land might become eligible for urban development. The city’s last growth boundary expansion, which added 2,000 acres, occurred in 2016, and another round is still years away.

But SB 1537 presented an immediate opportunity for building — though under specific conditions.

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The legislation sets minimum requirements at 30% affordable housing, 60-year deed restriction and a density of at least 10 units per acre. The affordable units must be attainable to earners below 130% median income, which is just above the upper bracket of middle-income.

The Jasper Ridge development plans to deliver 677 single-family homes and 335 multifamily homes; about 304 of the total would be affordable, according to the application.

Wellner said the development is meant to supply workforce housing.

“We want to deliver an affordable price point that is really approachable and attractive to all buyers,” Wellner said. “Through a mix of housing — both single-family homes and middle housing type designs — we are going to be able to do just that.”

The Jasper Ridge application says it would create pedestrian and bicycle routes to nearby destinations like Big Sky Park and St. Charles Bend.

“We’re hopeful the city sees us as the best option,” Wellner said. “I think we’ve got a great site and one that maximizes what the bill is trying to accomplish.”

Neighborhood could connect southeast Bend

In competition with the Jasper Ridge development is the 90-acre site called Caldera Ranch, which proposes to build 700 homes in southwest Bend just south of Caldera High School.

The property is owned by Caldera Holdings LLC, with development being managed by Dan Goodrich, founder of Structure Development, a Bend-based builder.

In 2023 the property was successfully rezoned from its former use as a surface mine.

A cinder cone was mined for aggregate material beginning in the late 1940s, forming what was known as the Shalex Pit and later the Miller Pit.

The mine has been reclaimed, according to county documents.

Now, developers see potential to fill a “notch” in the city’s perimeter by connecting subdivisions south of Knott Road to the high school, according to the application.

Planners saw the area as a candidate for growth during Bend’s 2016 expansion, but it was never selected.

The development would bring 366 single-family detached homes, 120 townhomes and 214 homes in a multiunit configuration.

That includes 238 homes deed-restricted as affordable, including 22 homes attainable to the lowest income earners and nearly 200 homes for people making 80% area median income or below.

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Development of 371 homes, including 125 affordable, planned for south Bend highway corridor

The neighborhoods would surround a 5-acre park, part of about 9 acres of open space in the development. The north part of the property, near Knott Road, would host a commercial plaza.

According to its application, Caldera Ranch would also add a new roundabout, a road extension, a network of trails and connect with the southern end of the Bend Bikeway Project, an ongoing city effort to build a bicycle system.

“It’s the most natural location for a UGB expansion that I’ve seen based on infrastructure and proximity to schools, trails, the Bend Bikeway, Alpenglow Park, and areas planned for commercial services and employment in Easton and the Southeast Area,” said Joey Shearer, an associate with AKS Engineering & Forestry, a consultant on the project, in an email.