For more than a decade, Abe Shehadeh has been toiling away at his winter product business making ski masks, quietly growing product lines and market share.

Like many startups, as BlackStrap Industries grew, so did the need for more space. Shehadeh has moved his business 10 times in 17 years.

But he won’t have to move any more. Shehadeh, founder and CEO, is building a 66,000-square-foot campus of three buildings at a cost of more than $16 million on the corner of SE Wilson Avenue and SE 9th Street that he’s calling the Midway Campus.

“The space is designed to support Bend’s thriving outdoor industries, entrepreneurs and creatives,” Shehadeh said.

In recent years, Bend has become a haven for entrepreneurs and remote workers seeking to live in a community that celebrates a work-life balance. In 2024, Bend was ranked No. 4 nationwide as a suitable location for remote workers, according to Design Rush, a brand marketing company. Only Boulder, Colorado, Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina and Austin, Texas were more favorable for remote workers, according to the survey taken from U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Communications Commission broadband data. Corvallis and Portland were also on the list, coming in at No. 6 and No. 8.

“For businesses to be able to grow and expand, and buy its own property without investors, is certainly a tribute to very good business practices being in place to manage essentials,” said James Darcey, U.S. Small Business Administration SCORE Central Oregon Chapter chairman. “Those would include tracking profits and expenses, effective customer care and retention, a positive culture for employees and the right marketing programs in place to develop new customers.”

The recent installation of the roundabout at SE Wilson Avenue and SE Ninth Street, and other roadway improvements, may have played a role in allowing for the construction of the Midway Campus, said Cyrus Mooney, city of Bend business advocate.

“The magnitude of an investment like this is encouraging for the growth and evolvement of the city,” Mooney said. “This neighborhood has its own unique characteristics and I’m personally excited for midtown to have amenities from this campus be so close and accessible.”

BlackStrap will occupy one of the three buildings, and the Work Collective, a NorthWest Crossing coworking space, will expand and take 7,000 square feet. Other tenants are being courted for the remaining space and preleasing will begin March 1, Shehadeh said.

The Work Collective Midway, as it will be called, will be similar to what’s offered in NorthWest Crossing, but with slightly larger offices,flexible work spaces and offer indoor and outdoor work areas, said Sara Odendahl, company founder.

The Work-Collective

Sara and Kent Odendahl opened their NorthWest Crossing coworking space in January 2020. Two months later the pandemic caused a shut down of business that stretched for months.

Despite that, the Odendahls made it through because of the shift to more remote work, as Bend experienced a population growth spurt, Sara Odendahl said.

Today there’s a wait list for office space, which made the expansion to the Ninth Street and Wilson Avenue location a must. The new location is a partnership of like-minded individuals, Odendahl said.

“When the opportunity to partner with BlackStrap to work with them on their space came up we had to jump,” Sara Odendahl said. “It was an area of town that our customers come from and that location will serve them.”

Odendahl is hoping that the building will be complete this summer. The new location will have the same vibe, she said, as the NorthWest Crossing location.

Typically from May to November is a busy time for the coworking space, as many workers come to town to enjoy the outdoors on vacation or come through town to spend several months of recreation and work, she said.

“We get a lot of nomads or extended vacationers coming in the summer months and need work space to plug in for a day or two while they’re here,” she said. “As this side of town expands and more families move into the new housing developments, a lot have remote work as their family work situation. BlackStrap is rooted in Bend and (is) a classic entrepreneur. We’re the same way.”

BlackStrap’s roots

When he designed the space, Shehadeh said he wanted to create a space where entrepreneurs could create and grow a business like he did and also have shared outdoor space for the community to come.

Shehadeh is interested in creating a community space on the campus. His vision even includes renaming the area as midtown, as the location is at the intersection of east and west Bend.

“We span the middle,“ Shehadeh said. “We are the constant in Bend. I moved to Bend like so many others coming to a rad place. It’s a good fit for who you are as a person and to be outside.”

BlackStrap began because when Shehadeh came here on a ski trip, he found his face mask to be uncomfortable. It wasn’t nearly as efficient at keeping him warm and dry as his outer wear.

That got him thinking and tinkering.

After purchasing a series of masks, he realized that the face mask needed to be an extension of the outerwear. Today using patented designs and fabrics, Shehadeh makes not only facemasks for skiers but other mid-layer clothing products. Shehadeh built the business out and is self-financed. He employs 45 people who manufacture, design, sample and create prototype designs.

“We’re expanding to be a full layering brand,” he said. “We see this new building as a spot where we can do more local events, more gatherings and building community. That’s what the brand stands for and we’re in the middle of Bend.”

Bend is the home of his business and his home, he said. During the pandemic he pivoted his company to create masks for healthcare workers. He donated more than $3.5 million worth of masks.

“This building was a way to elevate the midtown area and we could put our roots down on this side of town and give employees a cool place to work,” he said.