(OSU-Cascades Innovation District | Rendering courtesy of Oregon State University – Cascades)
Planned Bend 24-Acre Collaborative Hub to Supercharge Workforce Development
Pace is gathering toward realizing the vision of a Bend-based Oregon State University – Cascades (OSU-Cascades) “Innovation District” initiative set to supercharge student and business opportunities by bringing academic resources and industry together.
Business and community leaders recently attended a market sounding meeting at the Edward J. Ray Hall on the OSU-Cascades campus, in-person and virtually, to explore the dynamics for a future integrated Innovation District touted as a powerful workforce and economic development tool.
Presenters included representatives from OSU-Cascades, Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) and Fratzke Commercial Real Estate Developers.
With a completed master plan for the Innovation District, the university held the forum to seek companies, real estate developers and community leaders interested in working with the institution to develop such a successful collaboration.
Innovation Districts — described by the Brookings Institute as “geographic areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with smaller companies, startups, business incubators and accelerators” — are known for being physically compact, transit accessible and technically wired. They offer mixed-use housing, office, retail and light industrial space.
The first phase of the planned Bend project will involve remediation of eight acres of the former Deschutes County landfill site as the next step in the expansion of OSU-Cascades, to catalyze a long-held dream of bringing people and ideas together to advance research, technology commercialization, incubation and economic development.
Partners in the district will collaborate with university faculty, researchers and students from a variety of fields, with access to many campus facilities and amenities and, at full capacity, the district will encompass 24 acres, with some 500,000 square feet of tech, light-industrial, office, commercial, experiential retail and multipurpose event and performing arts space, as well as workforce housing.
The concept was initially approved by the city of Bend as part of the overall campus planning effort in 2018, envisaged to bring university researchers and businesses together to accelerate the creation of technology, provide hands-on opportunities to enhance students’ career-readiness and contribute to the region’s economy and workforce.
The Innovation District will be located in the northeast corner of the eventual 128-acre university campus and include academic and commercial space, as well as restaurants and retail stores, event and performing arts spaces and housing and outdoor gathering areas.
During the Bend market exploratory meeting, participants heard how university-related innovation districts have significantly contributed to local economies in other communities around the country, including the Cortex Innovation Community in the Midtown neighborhood of Saint Louis, Missouri which has grown into a 200-acre hub for technology and biological science research, development and commercialization, and is the main location for the city’s technology startup companies.
Similarly, the University City District (UCD) in Philadelphia founded in 1997 by a partnership of world-renowned anchor institutions, small businesses and residents, has markedly improved economic vitality and quality of life there, with employer partners collaborating in promoting job growth and innovation.
On the local front, potential stakeholders in the prospective OSU-Cascades version heard about opportunities to develop real estate or locate a business within the Innovation District.
The initiative is fundamentally intended to provide on-campus internships and research projects for students, but also to be an economic anchor for the community, with industry partners to be selected based on their integration with the university programs.
Several key trade sectors targeted as a natural fit for further cultivating the evolving Central Oregon business environment have already been identified as potential partner tenants, including:
- High technology (software and hardware);
- Biotechnology (pharma and medical device);
- Recreational/outdoor equipment and apparel;
- Brewing and distilling;
- Food products;
- Aerospace;
- Tourism/hospitality (ecotourism);
- Wood products and natural resources.
Those who join the enterprise can expect to benefit from shared amenities and operational opportunities. The district will feature food and beverage locations, 10 miles of walking paths, an Innovation Café, art, the performing arts center, affordable workforce housing and public transportation in addition to being housed next to the university campus’ full range of amenities.
Lessees may also take advantage of shared energy services, printing, mailing, makerspaces, fabrication facilities, machine shops, lab space, communal conference services, shared custodial services, parking, fitness and childcare under shared operations agreements.
Kelly Sparks Associate VP, Finance & Strategic Planning for OSU-Cascades, said the Innovation District blueprint was built into the long-range development plan for the university’s Central Oregon branch campus and City master plan.
She said, “We originally had the option for a compact campus university of 50-60 acres, but as the opportunity to expand into adjacent property, which included the previous site of the landfill, became apparent we were able to switch to a more expansive 128-acre model, which could be more integrated and permeable with the community.
“As a public university our mission is first and foremost for the benefit of students, so a primary focus is cultivating opportunities for experiential learning and entering the workforce, including internship openings arising from co-location.
“We are community-serving as a public institution and look for ways to leverage community involvement, such as through communal use of space and access to maker resources.
“The Innovation District collaborative effort is instrumental in building our own high-quality, highly-educated workforce with targeted in-demand skills sets and expanding industries, including commercializing new ideas, and this can be a powerful economic generator for Central Oregon.”
Sparks said the next steps would involve agreeing upon the clean-up method for the land earmarked for the first phase of the Innovation District and identifying funding sources for the remediation and installation of basic infrastructure necessary for development, including site access.
The initial eight acres for the district are among the most challenging to remediate as there is some 100 ft depth of waste and it is the part of the former landfill site with most “pyrolytic” conditions — as in carrying high temperatures underground due to the chemical processes of decomposition over time.
Student-derived funds cannot be used for the development of the Innovation District so Sparks said the college will be pursuing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants — the caps for which were hopefully to be increased under the government’s new infrastructure bill framework — as well as state support and revenue bonding with secured real estate agreements.
OSU-Cascades estimates the buildout of the Innovation District to cost an additional $235M to realize the planned amount of public and private industry space anticipated.
Sparks added, “We are seeking ideally to secure funding this fiscal year for initial land development and then make further progress on the financial front over the next two years, with a view to starting construction on the first Innovation District buildings in 2025.
“We have strong support from Oregon senators, and state economic development agency Business Oregon has also been a valuable partner.
“There is incredible entrepreneurial activity in Bend already and active relocation of businesses to the area, and kudos to EDCO for their part in that continued success.
“Bolstered by the Innovation District, OSU-Cascades adds new opportunities for the commercialization of product ideas from the region and the supporting of industry with a highly educated workforce.
“We aim to be cultivators of innovation and co-working with the benefit of shared amenities, providing a built environment and increasing economic assets.”
Bend Area Director for EDCO Don Myll said, “Being located in our fast-growing city, the Innovation District will build upon the economic and geographic advantages of the region.
“Bend is a rapidly expanding remote work hotspot and is home to a number of tech, biotech, outdoor product, software and numerous other traded-sector companies where goods and services are multiplying the economic benefit effect.
“The Innovation District will be at the intersection of OSU-Cascades research and business development in a variety of targeted fields and will be a key component in cultivating the workforce of the future.
“It is a great boost to the community to help provide a highly educated, innovative potential workforce and provide resources to fuel entrepreneurialism. The proximity of the university should also speed up the process of workforce development and inform future curriculum directions.
“The bottom line is getting a four-year university was a long process and it’s here and it’s wonderful and the Innovation District will be something of a blue ribbon around it in completing the promise of what such an institution can do for economic development and the community, and we are excited for the long-term prospects.”
He added that the subject site was also located within the Enterprise Zone, making it even more attractive to prospective users in offering that program’s important incentives such as tax credits for capital investment, research and development, new jobs and hiring local workers
Myll observed that the structure of the local economy was significantly more balanced nowadays compared to a previous over-reliance on real estate and associated development, and sectors such as bioscience, software, outdoor activity and craft breweries had flourished, and more companies were pushing large plans and expanding.
He reported that in recent history, four or five major new consumer products companies had moved to the region, involved in shipping goods across the country and boosting the traded sector of the economy
Fellow presenter, commercial real estate specialist Brian Fratzke, President of Fratzke Commercial Real Estate Advisors, Inc., added, “Fratzke Commercial was hired to conduct a market analysis to determine the current inventory levels for office, flex/industrial, retail/restaurant and land available for development in Bend.
“Specifically, we were tasked with determining the total amount of move-in ready space within one mile of OSU-Cascades Campus. We also conducted a current market snapshot of all multifamily currently under development within 1.5 miles of OSU-Cascades Campus.
“At this time, there is no flex/industrial space for lease, and very little clinical medical space for lease within 1.0 miles of OSU-Cascades. There is an abundance of retail space and quite a bit of office space albeit much of the office space is more than 20 years old and may not fit the needs of today’s tenants given our new COVID/Social Distancing world.
“We believe that the Innovation District will offer Tenants wishing to locate in the development a huge upside to accessing a recently educated and a trained workforce. Students working to complete their degrees will have employers offering internships and career opportunities co-located on campus.”
On the wider front, current latest developments for the OSU-Cascades campus include formal design for the future Student Success Center beginning next month.
With a focus on student retention and development, it is slated to include advisory, administrative and health services that are proven to increase graduation rates, as well as housing veteran services, and connecting students to internship providers and employers.
The Oregon State Legislature approved $13.8 million in state-backed bonds for the Student Success Center at OSU-Cascades, with construction of the 22,500 square-foot building set to start in 2023 and anticipated to open to students in the 2024-2025 academic year.
The campus long range development plan has already earned an award for innovative design from the National Society for College and University Planning for outlining the transformation of underutilized land into a campus that meets the needs of future generations.
About OSU-Cascades: Oregon State University – Cascades (OSU-Cascades) first established a presence in Bend in 2001 through a shared campus with Central Oregon Community College (COCC). In 2013, the state legislature committed to building a four-year university in Bend, and OSU was awarded the opportunity. In 2016, OSU-Cascades opened its brand new ten-acre campus to students, making it the only four-year university within a 150-mile radius. The campus is located adjacent to a 46-acre pumice mine and 72-acre demolition landfill. Long range plans for campus expansion include remediation and reclamation of both adjacent properties, resulting in a 128-acre campus. OSU-Cascades prepared a ten-year capital plan forecast for campus expansion (2017-2027) totaling approximately $423.75M. Oregon State University’s campus in Bend brings higher education to Central Oregon, the fastest growing region in the state. Surrounded by 2.5 million acres of mountains and high desert, OSU-Cascades is a top-tier research university where small classes accelerate faculty-student mentoring. Degree programs meet industry and economic needs in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, natural ecosystems, health and wellness and arts and sciences, and prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges. OSU-Cascades is expanding to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students, building a campus with net-zero goals.
osucascades.edu/innovation-district • innovationdistrict@osucascades.edu • osucascades.edu
