Sixteen single-family homes – many with accessory dwelling units – are slated for construction in the next few months in northwest Bend, marking the first development of Central Oregon Community College’s Campus Village, a 49-acre piece of property the college owns on the corner of NW Shevlin Park Road and NW Mt. Washington Drive that includes 15 acres of land zoned exclusively for residential use.
William Smith Properties, Inc. (WSPI), the Bend-based development group behind the Old Mill District and the Les Schwab Amphitheater, is the project’s master developer.
Named The Outcrop, after a section of rock outcroppings that will be preserved on the east border of the lots, the subdivision will occupy a 12-acre parcel on the southwest side of the Campus Village. Public meetings have already been held and permits have been issued for a model home. The first phase of construction, which calls for the initial 16 homes, will take place on approximately five acres.
Additional homes will likely be built once sales of the first 16 homes are complete. COCC will retain ownership of the land and sell the houses at prices lower than if the land costs were included.
Work has already begun on infrastructure — sewer connections were done in conjunction with the City of Bend’s recent maintenance of the Mt. Washington Drive/Shevlin Park Road roundabout — and home construction is anticipated later this year. Harcourts The Garner Group Real Estate will be the agents working on selling the homes.
A senior housing facility is also being planned for a three-acre parcel on the southeast corner of the roundabout. Mountain West Investment Corporation has signed a lease with COCC for an approximate 120-unit, 55-and-older building. Environmental and geotech studies are in progress and construction could begin as early as next spring.
COCC is continuing to work with WSPI on opportunities for development in the Campus Village in the northwest corner of the college’s property, near the Jungers Culinary Building. Those opportunities include retail, housing and offices and may occupy as many as 20-25 acres. The Campus Village project also expects to provide a steady and reliable income stream for the college.
Central Oregon Community College, the oldest two-year college in Oregon, was founded in 1949 as part of the Bend School District. It is the longest standing community college in Oregon. The College District was formed in 1959 and officially established as the Central Oregon Area Education District by a vote of residents in 1962 and provides comprehensive college services to the residents of its 10,000-square-mile district. The College’s main campus, which consists of 26 buildings, is located on the western edge of Bend, and its location affords spectacular views of the mountains from nearly every point on the 201-acre campus.
