(First CBN Front Page, September 1994 | Photo by Cascade Business News)
Cascade Business News (CBN) first published in September 1994. Launched by the late Pamela Hulse Andrews, the mission was to “enhance and promote the economic vitality of Central Oregon.” The very first edition featured a front-page photo of the Bend Title Company under construction; they later became AmeriTitle and still occupy the space at 15 NW Oregon Ave. in Bend.
The mid- to late-90s saw a boom of construction projects. The original sales manager for CBN created a “Building Feature” program where CBN would tour new facilities, interview everyone involved — from owner/developer to construction and design teams — and discuss the project vision, design elements and construction innovations and challenges. Ads were sold to willing participants, and the more ads sold, the larger the spread in the paper. These spreads became popular with both advertisers and readers. The ads sold helped offset the cost of producing and publishing the features.
When I came on board as the new sales manager in 1999, another boom was taking place. We were featuring new schools, office buildings, public works, etc., throughout Central Oregon on a monthly basis. These features sometimes took up two, four, even six pages depending on how many ads were sold. They made for great promotion for contractors, architects, engineers, subcontractors and suppliers across the region. Commercial real estate companies seeking tenants for new projects took notice and often joined in as well.
In the early to mid-2000s, contractors and developers began reaching out to CBN to request these spreads. There was never a “hard sell” on advertising — everyone involved in the project was listed in the article whether they bought an ad or not. Some loved the concept; some didn’t, and that was okay, as it is to this day.
In 2005, we started an all-slick magazine dedicated to the construction industry: Top Projects, an idea I borrowed from the Portland Business Journal during a business trip up north. I took the idea to our editorial board, and we decided that rather than making it a popularity contest or subjective award, we would base it on hard cost. The largest projects would be at the front of the magazine. It was well received by the design and construction industry and thrived until 2010, when the Great Recession hit Central Oregon hard. Projects slowed down along with the rest of the economy.
When things started picking up again, we brought Top Projects back — this time inside the rag rather than as a standalone magazine. It was more cost-effective and kept ad rates reasonable. While we still run features throughout the year, the main promotions are in our annual December edition, showcasing the projects building the core of our communities.
Again this year, we reached out to local builders, architects and engineers to send us their projects completed in 2025 within the tri-county region, with a hard cost of $1 million or more. We know there are many top projects under the $1 million mark, and we would love to cover them throughout the year. If you have one you’d like featured in an upcoming CBN, please reach out!
Thank you once again to all of the architects, contractors, developers, engineers and others for helping CBN acquire and publish the information gathered for this edition. It is our mission to include every company on every project, from start to finish. If you find you have been left off a project, please let us know.
