Construction Review
Despite the continued economic challenges of 2010, commercial construction continued, with fewer projects than in 2009, but, thanks to the Redmond Airport expansion, nearly twice the amount of construction costs incurred. 2010 Cascade Business News featured 18 new and refurbished facilities (22 last year) totaling slightly more than 624,000 square feet compared to 619,000 square feet of building space highlighted last year.
This year the projects featured included the $22 million Juniper Ridge Hydro project, which involved the careful coordination of engineers and contractors encasing over 2.5 miles of Central Oregon Irrigation District’s Pilot Butte Canal constructed primarily 9-foot steel pipe.
The projects featured in this newspaper in 2010 generated approximately $173 million into the Central Oregon economy (last year we covered $100 million in construction).
Nine public projects were funded by bonds, levies and other public funds totaling approximately $98.27 million: Barbara’s Place, Obsidian Junior High, Sage Elementary, 911 Dispatch Center, Madras Hangar, Rosland Elementary, Redmond Airport, Bend High Center of Technology & Design and La Pine High School.
See the following pages for a closer look at completed projects featured in Cascade Business News in 2010.
Barbara’s Place
Barbara’s Place Apartments is a new, permanent supportive housing project in Redmond.
The complex was partially funded by the State Department of Human Services, who helped acquire the site and Housing Works, the Central Oregon regional housing authority. It serves special needs clients of Mental Health Services and those who are homeless.
John Lester’s CS Construction was the contractor. Lester said: “The project is all Earth Advantage, using green building guidelines that utilize renewable resources for the wood, high-end R49 insulation, Energy Star appliances and low wattage light bulbs. The landscaping is very low-maintenance and we gave her a 40-year roof and a high efficiency gas water heater. All the best stuff.”
The structure’s basic footprint is 3,900 square feet and the second floor comes in right at 1,500. Peter Baer and Doug Alley of Pinnacle Architecture in Bend provided the efficient design work.
“I think it fits in well with the neighborhood and looks nice from the street,” remarked Baer. “It was drawn up for the special needs of the individuals who will live there. There’s privacy from the street and some common areas for them to enjoy. One of the key points was that it was Earth Advantage compliant and able to achieve that certification. CS Construction has done a fantastic job and was great to work with.”
US Bank West Bend
A new flagship US Bank location on Bend’s westside is welcomed on Century Drive, serving as an iconic landmark in front of the evolving Century Center mixed use development.
The latest addition to the burgeoning financial landscape is a slight departure from the prototypical US Bank look, with natural materials much in evidence as well as sensitivity to environmental concerns and sustainable practices.
In fact, the 3,000 square foot building is working towards achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
Project Manager Dave Watson of Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company said the branch, incorporating offices, teller stations and both a drive-through and “vacuum-assisted” teller, also features recycled source materials, including those derived from sustainable forests sanctioned by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Green-conscious and energy efficient features also include ‘daylight harvesting’ with sensors regulating use of powered, versus natural, light; low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emitting materials, recycled flooring products, a ‘cool’ roof with high insulative qualities, and solar generating capabilities.
US Bank Regional President Stacey Dodson said the construction project on SW Century was the culmination of a seven-year search for the right site for a new branch on Bend’s west side.
She noted: “During the boom period a few years ago, we must have looked at over 50 properties, but we took the time to get it right.
“We were looking for something that offered the optimal location regarding convenience and access with a presence near to a high concentration of west side homes.
“We are also excited to be part of a vibrant business community developing along Century Drive which has evolved as a major thoroughfare on that part of town and is the gateway to so many of the recreational opportunities in Central Oregon that we all enjoy so much.”
Project Architect Neal Huston, Principal of Neal Huston & Associates, said among the project challenges were optimizing access, signage and visibility. The site plan also needed creativity to accommodate the through access from Century Drive to the balance of the Century Center development to the east.
He added: “Drive-thru accommodations are often a challenge; they need to work with internal site vehicular traffic circulation, the functional layout of the interior of the bank; and the City of Bend prefers they not face the street.
“Also, though the parking areas are to the south and east and the entry is on the south southwest corner of the building, a clearly prominent and highly visible entry feature needed to be developed to create an orientation to Century Drive to the west.
“Other important factors were that the material and color palette needed to reflect the natural characters of the Central Oregon environment.
“The goal for the exterior form and character of the building was also to achieve a pedestrian orientation and the building signage needed to clearly identity the building, but not conflict with the architecture.
“There was a lot of creative collaboration but I think we achieved all the aims of the project compatibly
and successfully.”
Juniper Ridge Hydroelectric Project
A major feat of American engineering has sprung forth alongside Highway 97 north of Bend with the completion of the $22 million Juniper Ridge Hydroelectric Project.
Commuters between Bend and Redmond will have seen transformers sprouting up on a powerhouse building off Deschutes Market Road, but may be unaware of the scale and various undercurrents of a job which involved the careful coordination of engineers and contractors encasing over 2.5 miles of Central Oregon Irrigation District’s Pilot Butte Canal with primarily 9-foot steel pipe.
The groundbreaking project offers the dual benefits of water conservation and the production of renewable energy which will be sold to PacifiCorp.
COID District Manager Steve Johnson spent several years marshalling resources, including assembling federal stimulus funds and tax credits, to realize a vision which involved replacing a 13,500-ft stretch of open irrigation canal with underground steel pipe and an innovative 3.5 megawatt turbine-driven hydropower system.
By piping and conserving water supplies previously lost through seepage into the porous canal base, the Juniper Ridge Project will also benefit Deschutes River salmon and reintroduced steelhead.
Experts anticipate the project saving around 20 cubic feet of water per second – or around 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools a day – that would otherwise have been lost from the watershed.
Johnson added: “I can’t say enough about the contractors involved, including Slayden Construction, Jack Robinson & Sons and the other key members of a fantastic design and engineering team.”
The Juniper Ridge site met the criteria for elevation change and flow rate, as well as addressing a goal of water conservation – the open canal stretch primarily running over leaky basalt rock.
Piping means water previously diverted from the Deschutes River for irrigation purposes by COID will now be permanently returned to the river, increasing in-stream river flows for fish and wildlife species.
Johnson added: “There were a number of hurdles to negotiate, including navigating a mountain of regulations, state water law and land ownership issues, let alone the whole Request for Proposal (RFP) process for an Engineer Procure and Construct (EPC) project such as this.
The EPC process initiated in January 2009 led to the hiring of Slayden Construction Group – a Stayton-based company with a number of employees in Central Oregon, including its senior executive, and an exemplary track record involving large-scale public conservation and reclamation projects – followed by the rest of the design and engineering team.
Greg Huston, president of Slayden Construction Group, said: “One of the challenges was that the specialized generators manufactured in Ohio had lead times of over 12 months, so logistics had to be finely coordinated to make sure everything fit together.
“Also, we had a short window when the canal was shut down to drill and blast through solid rock and install seven million dollars worth of piping.
“Happily, this was a ‘made in America’ project with all of the materials produced in the U.S. and Northwest Pipe in Portland was literally running seven days a week to supply the pipe and would truck sections daily to the site for unloading into the ditch and full joint welding.
“Jack Robinson & Sons was also a key partner and were simultaneously able to recycle pretty much all materials on site as the rock removed was crushed and re-used as fill and pipe bedding, to add to the conservation emphasis of this project.
“I am also proud to say this project had a huge impact on the local economy, including over $3 million in payroll dollars.”
Huston, who lives in the Bend area along with a number of other Slayden employees, said the experience has been not only a professional achievement, but “personally gratifying” to work on a project that saves water and enhances the fish population while providing clean, renewable energy.
Obsidian Junior High Gets Facelift
As part of a $110 million school improvement bond approved by voters in May 2008, Obsidian Junior High School got a facelift that is expected to extend the life of the building by at least another 10 to 15 years.
“We have completed replacement of exterior siding, replaced the roof, replaced some boilers and updated the heating controls mechanical system,” said Doug Snyder, chief operations officer of the Redmond School District.
The building’s aging cedar siding was replaced with a metal veneer, and the new roof and updated heating system will reduce energy consumption and make the building more comfortable in the winter.
Of the $110 million bond, $10 million was set aside to update some of the school district’s oldest buildings, including Obsidian. According to the school district, six of its schools are more than 40 years old, and two are nearing 90.
The contractor on the 12,000 square foot project was Keeton-King Construction, Inc. and the architect was BBT Architects.
Sage Springs Elementary
Redmond’s newest school, the $10 million Sage Elementary opened its doors just in time for the new academic session, with staff and students excitedly adjusting to the replacement for the aging 1920’s era Evergreen site, which was shuttered last year.
Funds for the project came from the district’s $110 million 2008 bond issue, which is also financing a new high school in the pipeline for 2012.
Soaring windows blanket the 72,000 Sage building, which sits on 13 acres and also features many sustainable elements, together with an innovative new play area and surrounding green fields that can host a wide range of outdoor activities.
Principal Architect Ron Barber of BBT Architects said the original idea was to model the building after the successful Tom McCall Elementary in northwest Redmond, but improvisation was needed following the realization that the footprint would not fit on the new site off SW Wickiup Avenue.
He said: “We worked with Redmond School District and came up with a two-story scheme where classroom wings were stacked on top of each other, which reduced the building footprint while also meeting all the original goals.
“There is also much use of glass to bring in a lot of natural light and now that the school is open we have heard a lot of positive feedback.”
Building wings flanking a central administration and gymnasium area feature clusters of six classrooms on upper and lower floors located around a central activityor break-out space.
Barber said the consequent creation of four “neighborhoods” distinguished by features such as different color schemes provided more comfortable blocks of up to 150 students as part of a 600-capacity total 24 classrooms.
He added: “Each ‘neighborhood’ can function independently and takes on its individual personality in the mold of the old ‘school within a school’ concept.”
911 Dispatch Center
Operators moved into a state-of-the-art new $7 million building anticipated to meet Deschutes County 911 dispatch needs for the next two decades.
The transfer signaled a welcome switch for the telecommunications team which had been working out of a cramped 3,000-square-foot headquarters in the nearby county sheriff’s office for the last 15 years.
Now the 911 service district has over 15,000 square feet of upper floor space, featuring the latest in audio-visual technology, as wells as administrative offices, training and conference rooms incorporating a designated Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which can be utilized by multiple agencies in the event of a major disaster.
The first floor of the two-story building on Poe Sholes Drive is being rented by Oregon State Police to accommodate its local patrol and investigation needs – including a cutting edge new crime lab – previously based in a smaller building leased from the county. The site also features a 150-foot communication antenna tower and 6,000 square feet outbuilding for storage needs.
Approximately a third of the space is dedicated to an emergency operations center and houses the latest technology in audio/video display and emergency management tracking.
Essentially, all communications with police (excluding OSP which utilizes a Salem base) fire and emergency medical services are handled through Deschutes County 911 – a 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year operation covering 3,055 square miles of land and serving a population of over 160,000 residents.
The project’s general contractor, Boise, Idaho-based Engineered Structures, Inc. (ESI) and architect LCA – whose website bills it as “a recognized regional leader in the design of justice facilities” – were selected after a qualification process; with LCA also having been involved in the county’s original public safety complex including the jail, sheriff’s office and probation service.
Century Center
In an encouraging sign of Bend’s continuing evolution, another former west side mill site has been transformed into a mixed-use commercial and social center.
Following in the wake of pioneering forebear the Deschutes River-straddling Old Mill District and the more recent Mill Quarter off Colorado Avenue, the former Bright Wood Corporation base along Century Drive is the latest mill work plant to be reworked with a modern twist.
Property owner Dave Hill redeveloped a portion of the cluster of utilitarian buildings into commercial suites, while a new stand-alone 3,600 square foot U.S. Bank building incorporating a drive-through front the projects.
Demolition of an old structure which housed a Mail Boxes Etc. franchise made way for the bank pad and opened up access for the new retail mall to the rear, now housing the displaced MBE – to be renamed Pack, Ship and More in the fall – along with a growing roster of lifestyle co-tenants including the barre three fitness studio, Complements Home Interiors, Volcano Vineyards, Salon Envy and Backporch Coffee Roasters.
The retail-oriented center retains elements of the original industrial use, with robust beams and a cinder block exterior blending with subtle new enhancements such as skylights and metal-framed garage-style doors with glass panels, giving an overall artsy, eclectic feel.
A couple of warehouse-sized buildings have been renovated, with one currently home to the three-court West Bend Tennis Center.
Remaining structures totaling around 50,000 square feet on the corner of Century and Commerce Avenue – including a 10,000 square foot tilt-up concrete building with a Douglas Fir-beam interior – are likely to be redeveloped in the longer term.
Space left between building footprints forms a natural courtyard area that has also been spruced up with pavers and landscaping, providing a tranquil spot for special events, complemented by a contiguous 6,000 square foot indoor venue, complete with stage, sound system and lighting.
Suterra
Suterra, the innovative bioscience pioneer, opened its new $35 million world headquarters in the burgeoning Juniper Ridge development.
The 92,000 square foot facility sitting on some eight acres includes state-of-the-art laboratories, offices, storage and manufacturing space, together with expansion potential slated to accommodate the growing company’s needs for the foreseeable future.
Suterra is acknowledged as a leader in the field of “biorational” pest control products – which utilize naturally occurring compounds and biochemicals such as pheromones – generally considered a more environmentally sound alternative to traditional pesticides in being non-toxic to humans and animals, leaving no harmful residue, not contaminating groundwater and not disrupting beneficial insect populations.
The company originated as an offshoot of Bend Research, Inc. known as Consep – which employed proprietary membrane technology to coat, protect and mete out a constant supply of the active ingredient for maximum efficiency – and was re-named Suterra in 2001 after being acquired by Roll International, a privately held $2 billion corporation owned by California-based entrepreneurs and well-known philanthropists Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
Suterra’s new plant currently has 69 employees, with up to 15 additional jobs expected to be created in the next few months after the move from the former base of operations, which was less than half the size, across town on SW Columbia Street.
Roll International VP of Capital Projects Eric Johnson said: “There was a pressing need for more room as the previous location had accumulated a lot of new equipment and the layout was no longer efficiently accommodating the use.
“The new facility is designed to accommodate our ‘lean manufacturing’ flow philosophy to maximize efficiency while minimizing waste, and we have also allowed for future expansion potential.”
Johnson said the parent company had considered logically moving Suterra closer to its base of operations in Los Angeles, but decided to stick with Bend primarily due to the talent of the workforce and the attractiveness of the community.
Another factor in the decision was the diligence of groups like Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) which worked on the deal, and the City of Bend which fast-tracked a land sale to Suterra and assisted with facilitating necessary infrastructure and permitting for the Juniper Ridge site.
Black Butte Ranch
Last spring Black Butte Ranch’s homeowners approved a $3.5 million renovation project for the community’s Glaze Meadow Golf Course. Scott Huntsman, president and chief executive officer of Black Butte Ranch, said property owners “overwhelmingly approved plans for the renovation project” which began in September of this year and culminates with the opening of the “new” course in May 2012.
John Fought, president of John Fought Design and one of the country’s foremost golf course architects, was selected to lead the design efforts for the project.
Plans call for a comprehensive renovation of the Glaze Meadow Course, including a new irrigation system, the re-construction and repositioning of tee boxes, reshaping of and the addition of several fairway and greenside bunkers, resurfacing and rerouting of cart paths, and the thinning of some trees that have started to encroach on play over the past few years.
The project also will include the re-design and re-construction of several new green complexes, and the conversion of the existing 514-yard, par 5 first hole into a 395-yard, par 4, and the lengthening of the 401-yard, par 4 second hole into a 553-yard par 5.
In addition, Fought and his architectural team will also make several major improvements to Glaze Meadow’s practice facility, including the rebuilding of the existing practice tee, the addition of several new target greens, the construction of a new back tee for private lessons.
Madras Hangar.
An injection of public funding together with the ingenuity of a top flight construction and design team helped launch Oregon’s largest field aircraft hangar east of the Cascades in Madras.
The 39,000 square foot facility, including repair shops and offices, will be used by Butler Aircraft for maintenance of its DC-7 air tanker fleet, and future use of the supersized C-130 Hercules.
Founded in 1946 in Redmond, Butler Aircraft contracts with the Oregon Department of Forestry and the State of California for multi-engine aerial firefighting.
Illustrating the scale of the Hercules, Building Design Engineer Charlie Rowles, PE, of C. A. Rowles Engineering, said: “We’ve all seen them; they look like a flying boxcar with four engines. They are so big you can drive tanks into them.”
Deschutes Concrete Construction laid the groundwork for the project last summer, with 10,000 yards of concrete transported for the expansive slab inside three weeks. The ten inch thick base also contains some seven miles of PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) tubing providing in-floor radiant heat.
The pre-engineered steel building was supplied by Behlen Building Systems of Nebraska, and Larry Havniear, principal of general contractor Havniear Construction, said an “incredibly smooth” installation of the structure onto the slab was a testament to the quality of the pouring work undertaken by Deschutes Concrete.
The City of Madras orchestrated financing of the $3.65 million construction project with the help of a $2.1 million grant from the state lottery-backed Connect Oregon II initiative, which targets non-highway transportation infrastructure, and is leasing the purpose-built facility to Butler Aircraft.
Butler Aircraft Vice President/General Manager Nan Garnick said: “This really is a wonderful facility and the whole team did a great job of figuring out how to serve our needs optimally.”
Butler Aircraft has been based at the Roberts Field airport in Redmond since the company’s inception in 1946 and Garnick said it will retain that facility for functions such as fixed wing storage. Plans are also in the pipeline to expand the flight school division.
The air tanker portion of the business is transferring to the Madras building, which is mostly made up of hangar space but also has perimeter loading bays and shop space as well as administrative offices, which can be sealed off from the rest of the structure in the case of an emergency. Previously, in Redmond, the larger heavy aircraft could only be partially parked under roof.
The hangar features massive fully automated rolling doors – operated and protected by a series of sensors – which part from the center, together with a bi-fold opening above integrated into the assembly to allow for aircraft tail clearance.
Bend Memorial Clinic Redmond
The prognosis for broader access to medical services in Redmond now looks a lot rosier with the completion of a new 18,000 square foot Bend Memorial Clinic facility on Veterans Way.
The expanded state-of-the-art clinic near Fred Meyer is over three times the size of BMC’s former Redmond location on Canal Boulevard and includes advanced imaging, labs, urgent care and specialty practices. The move is seen as a progression of the group’s comprehensive patient-centered philosophy, branded “TotalCare” – which now extends to 100 providers and 350 staff offering treatment over five locations across Central Oregon.
BMC CEO Marvin Lein said: “This is an exciting time for us as we ready to better serve all of those who have been driving to Bend for care over the years, maybe have never established care with a local Redmond physicianor are simply looking for something new.
“For years we have been caring for Redmond patients. We are now able to bring our commitment to TotalCare closer to patients in their own community.”
After a thorough search, the management team and their real estate professionals identified the steel-frame, concrete masonry exterior constructed property at 865 SW Veterans Way, owned by local developers John and Jill Pavlicek, as the optimal fit.
The building featured two levels, designed for general commercial office use, which were in a shell condition awaiting tenant improvements, and a third floor housing residential condos.
BMC Chief Operating Officer Randall Avolio said: “The beautiful design and location really sold us on the building, especially as it is so accessible and close to population centers.
“The Pavliceks and the design and construction professionals were also wonderful to work with and helped ensure we achieved the best project possible.”
BMC selected local Central Oregon general contractor D.E. Rink to manage the construction project.
Lein said: “As a family owned business, D.E. Rink won the bid, combining both fair pricing and expertise in meeting a very tight timeline for opening. Their quality of work and attention to detail has been second to none and have kept us on schedule.
“In addition, there were a number of subcontractors on the job and at the height of the project 85 people were on the job site with another 50 or so in administration, engineering and other support roles backing them up. I’ve never seen so many contactors from different companies work so harmoniously together toward a common goal. It was truly impressive.”
A light approachable lobby featuring full length windows, earth-tone tile flooring and wood-paneled ceiling incorporates a color palette consistent with other BMC facilities, feeding into ground floor departments including urgent care, ophthalmology and imaging – which features an advanced diagnostic multi-slice CT scanner which, appropriately enough, resembles an oversized lifesaver.
The second floor accommodates fully-equipped exam rooms for specialist treatment and a spacious infusion room that also incorporates a balcony. An anti-coagulation department for cardiac patients, which often necessitates frequent visits, is also seen as a boon for local residents in comparison to multiple trips to Bend which were previously typical.
Project Architect Don Stevens of BBT Architects added: “There was something of a design challenge in fitting everything that the clinic needed into a relatively tight site, including accommodating the logistical needs of the advanced machinery within that geometry. But we were able to address all the requirements in a creative manner, including incorporating glass break-out areas to increase usable space.”
Rosland Elementary School in La Pine.
La Pine’s new $8.8 million elementary school is setting new standards for green building practices in the district.
Rosland Elementary utilizes Bend La Pine School District’s (BLPSD) latest generation prototypical design for up to 600 students, but will start with around half that number when pupils are welcomed in the fall. Future increased student rolls will be accommodated by expansion into two additional wings on the building, which sits on a 15-acre site.
Rosland Elementary is set to be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified grade school, and is aiming for a gold-level designation – as it builds on similar models employed by recent sister facilities William E. Miller and Pine Ridge in Bend.
Ron Barber of BBT Architects, who has worked on all three projects alongside general contractor Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, said: “We use the school district’s prototypical design as the template, but also worked with the committee at each site to give each facility its own unique identity, for example, in terms of different color palettes.
“Highly efficient sustainable design specifications are in place but also the smart, green elements incorporated into construction and operation have evolved with each project as the relevant technology advances.”
To that end, the Rosland School includes an extensive array of roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels that converts solar radiation into direct current electricity. An interesting linked feature is a touch screen monitor in the school’s entry area that indicates how much PV-generated power is being produced at any given time, which can also be used as an educational tool in the curriculum.
Other sustainable and energy efficient features include low-flush toilets and automatic waterless urinals, sustainable wood products, with site debris also recycled as bark chips, drought-friendly landscaping to save on irrigation needs – with retention ponds also dotted around the low-density site – and low or no VOC-emitting paints, floors, wood and furnishings.
Another, perhaps less obvious, element of LEED is acoustical considerations. Rosland features voluminous acoustical panels to dampen noise levels, while sliding floor-to-ceiling doors can isolate the adjoining gymnasium, stage and music room areas from each other in the central area of the school. Conversely, these sections can be opened up for larger events or performances, or to expand the music room area, which can also serve as a “green room” or changing facility for stage shows.
BLPSD Facilities Development Project Manager Nan Hall said: “One of the challenges of the project was the extent of off-site work, including the running of water lines along Burgess Road from downtown and upgrades to the sewer pump station.
“Also, the site was so flat that we had to raise the building pad to get sufficient drainage.
“But we worked through every point, and we had an excellent collaborative and professional team involved in ensuring this was a first-class project.”
Western Beverage
An even smoother flow for a host of popular drink products is in the pipeline following the unveiling of Western Beverage’s state-of-the-art new distribution center in Bend.
WB is the Oregon distributor for Anheuser-Busch and craft breweries such as Widmer, Red Hook and award-winning Firestone Walker, out of central California, as well as imports like Stella Artois.
Previously, the company operated out of a warehouse on SE Ninth Street, but decided to buy a site off 18th within Bend’s burgeoning North East industrial area to create a cutting-edge “cross-dock” facility to better serve a Central Oregon coverage area which stretches across a large swathe of the state – from Burns to the east, Hoodoo to the north and Diamond Lake Junction/Chemult to the south.
A cross-dock is a facility that transfers items between carriers or vehicles with minimal use of warehousing in between, which can prove valuable for increasing speed to market.
In WB’s new Bend branch this means products can be received overnight from the company’s Eugene base and be transferred across multiple loading bays directly on to local route trucks for delivery. The key element is stationing incoming and outgoing vehicles in close proximity and having a loading operator in place to meet high inventory velocity goals.
The team assembled for the “design-build” construction project included Bend-based HSW Builders and LB Engineering, who worked closely with WB and toured its Eugene headquarters in the early planning stages to help fine-tune ideas for optimal features and functions in the new branch.
The 10,000 square foot building features efficient concrete masonry unit (CMU) construction and pre-painted steel on the exterior and incorporates some 4,800 sq ft of offices, modeled after WB’s Eugene administrative headquarters, with subtle earth tones, ambient lighting, commercial grade carpet tiles and polished concrete hallway floors.
WB Bend Operations Manager Jason Rickley said: “When a customer is set up with an order, which can be transmitted wirelessly by our merchandisers, it is attached a sequence number and the corresponding products are picked and palletized in Eugene.
“The orders are loaded in reverse, so they can be unloaded directly on to local trucks in the correct sequence when they arrive at night in Bend.
Lennie Brant, principal of LB Engineering, who was involved in the design engineering component of the process and who has worked on a number of buildings in the north Bend industrial area, said: “WB were great clients and had looked for a custom-build opportunity as part of their plan for long-term growth and stability in Central Oregon.
“They were looking for this facility to be more efficient and functional and also wanted to continue to expand their involvement in the community. They are very positive people and a lot of credit goes to the whole team involved in this project in realizing the vision of what was a great project.”
Little Deschutes Lodge
Sustainability and affordability have proven natural bedfellows for a senior housing project in La Pine that is a shining example of exemplary green practices – from below ground to rooftop and everywhere in between.
The 26-unit Little Deschutes Lodge independent living community recently completed construction and opened its doors to an appreciative slate of 55-and-older residents meeting up to 60 percent of local median income threshold requirements.
The latest venture for Pacific Crest Affordable Housing, led by John Gilbert and Rob Roy, builds on the success of the group’s Mountain Laurel and Discovery Park Lodge projects in Bend.
A grid of trenches snaking around the two-plus acre site contains some 16,000 feet of looped pipes extracting natural underground heat which is then compressed and pumped through the building. The process is reversed to ensure consistent summer temperatures, while an exhaust/heat recovery ventilation system will also significantly reduce heating and cooling costs.
A solar panel array – supplying hot water to a centralized boiler and distribution system – is mounted on a ‘cold roof’ which includes high-heel trusses and two times the code specified ventilation. This design allows maximization of the R-50 ceiling insulation and prevents costly ice damming at the eaves.
Walls are of Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) construction, while Energy Star appliances and sola tube natural light fixtures are included throughout.
Roy said: “Sustainability is an important driver of this project, and as much as anything it makes sense from a practical point of view.”
The project, constructrd by SunWest Builders, was built on county-donated land and funded through a mix of government financing, tax breaks, and public financing. Rent is closely regulated, providing reassurance for residents as their rates are “not subject to the whims of the market.”
Project Architect Jim Landin of GGL Architecture said: “Given the budget constraints, we wanted to continue the successfully used ‘lodge feel’ theme and economically reflect that character.
“We also worked with the whole team to incorporate sustainable, energy-efficient elements. Of course, this is important in the affordable housing sector, to be able to pass on cost savings, but it also goes back to the fundamentals that it is just good design practice and this building will stand the test of time.”
Redmond Airport
If you haven’t been to Redmond Airport for a while you’re in for a horizon-expanding experience – following the near completion of a $40 million project that has taken the cozy but often cramped terminal from almost 23,000 square feet to over six times that size on three levels.
Inkeeping with its original style, the entrance to the terminal looks much the same, with its green roof and lodge-style rock walls, but subtle touches that aid the overall passenger comfort experience abound – such as added insulation, a roof trough to block snowfall from the exterior walkway and roomy revolving doors that also help minimize drafts commonplace via the old sliding set-up.
Once inside, the soaring entryway leads to a significantly wider ticketing area with spaces allocated for an increased surrounding concessions presence, set to also include news and gift shops and children’s play area. Some 20 check-in stations now allow each airline to have its own individual counter, with room for more carriers as necessary in the future.
A beefed-up security area incorporates post-9/11 requirements such as blast-resistant walls and reinforced safety glass, but one of the biggest transformations is in the pre-board passenger waiting area.
A sweeping curved staircase leads to an upper floor featuring expansive views of the airfield and skyline beyond, with additional concessionaires anticipated to include a bar/restaurant presence operated by Coyote Ranch.
The building incorporates much use of the underlying traditional structural steel and concrete components typical in an airport but in this case generally masked by the Northwest-style design aesthetics. Meanwhile, a number of environmental and energy-efficient highlights throughout the revamped terminal include solar panels, floor-based air displacement systems and “hydronic” water heating pipes embedded in concrete slab snaking around the building perimeter.
Principal Architect Terry Bulfin of HNTB Corporation said early discussions on the expansion master plan made it clear that there was a high degree of satisfaction with the look and comfort of the existing facility. With this in mind, there was care to continue that theme in the new iteration, reflected in the design and use of materials that fitted conceptually with the image of Central Oregon and the airport’s position as a ‘gateway’ to the area.
Bulfin paid tribute to the top-quality professional involvement of contractor Kirby Nagelhout Construction and on-the-ground architectural administrator Jim Barber, whose Bend-based BBT Architects firm was also involved in the prior facility’s design.
KNC Project Superintendent Dave Armstrong said one of the biggest challenges was working around an occupied facility and ensuring airport operations continued to run smoothly during construction.
He said: “There was a lot of improvisation and we carried out construction in phases to minimize disruption and ensure everyone from the airlines to airport staff, car rental carriers and the TSA, continued to be fully functional.
“This was an exciting project to be involved with and featured a great team approach. Everyone was wonderful to work with, including the design team, the City of Redmond, airport staff and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is a facility we can all be proud of.”
Bend High School Center of Technology & Design
Bend High School took a major step into the future with the unveiling of a $4.8 million Center of Technology and Design as the newest addition to the education facility’s evolving campus.
The 24,700 square foot complex, constructed by HSW Builders, welcomed students just in time for the academic year’s second semester, offering a cutting-edge environment for a wide range of vocational training – from “construction technology” and “material engineering” on the ground floor to visual design and communication arts on the upper level.
The terminology for the some of the trade-centered programs to be hosted by the building is seen as more reflective of the expanded scope offered by sectors like the burgeoning green, sustainable, energy and power industries than the previous traditional “wood, metal and auto” shop nomenclature.
The building embraces a functional modern industrial design in-keeping with its utilitarian objective and celebrates the form with features including polished concrete flooring, exposed ducting, a suspended ceiling and grand cable-hung staircase.
Borrowing references from structures such as the Pompidou Center art museum in Paris, the hi-tech architectural theme emphasizes a “nuts-and-bolts” technological look with its exposed skeleton of brightly colored tubes for mechanical systems inside, while the exterior blends a variety of concrete masonry block, recessed areas and metal accents.
The new tech center is part of the Bend-La Pine Schools District’s long-term sites and facilities plan and was funded through the 2006 community-approved bond issue.
BLPSD Project Manager Michael McLandress said: “This is part of the ‘big vision’ regarding program development and the curriculum planning process and ties in with a core aim of developing skill sets for our students.
“This project ups the ante in terms of boosting vocational training and providing a wonderful new facility to bolster existing programs, and is a great example of our High Schools stepping into the future.”
HSW Project Manager Scott Maxwell said one of the challenges was the tight timeframe for the project, which broke ground in May of last year.
He said: “We had a target date of the building being utilized by students in time for the start of the second semester and we made it right on schedule for the opening day, albeit through a temporary certificate of occupancy while we complete the balance of the exterior work.
“This was a wonderful cooperative effort by the whole team, including the school district and design professionals.
“It is always something of a challenge to carry out construction on an occupied campus, especially in terms of ensuring safety, but all the staff and students were very understanding and great to work with.”
La Pine High School Addition and Renovation Project
La Pine High School students are enjoying more elbow room after the completion of a $1.28 million construction project accommodating new classrooms and expanded gathering areas.
A new 6,596 square foot wing adds four new classrooms as part of a Bend La Pine Schools District initiative which also encompasses major renovations including a remodel of the commons and library entrance.
Funding came from the $119 million bond for capital projects passed by voters in 2006 and officials were delighted to report that the La Pine High project was delivered well under original budget estimates.
The new addition was designed to blend sympathetically with existing classrooms and has the added benefit of providing a number of additional exterior covered areas to shelter student traffic.
Contractor for the project was Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, with design provided by BBT Architects of Bend, which has won multiple accolades due to a reputation for combining aesthetics and functionality.
Principal architect Ron Barber worked on the original design for La Pine High, which was dedicated in 1981, and has been involved in the long-term development and expansion of the campus, including the school’s ‘black box’ theater installed several years ago.
The black box concept harks back to experimental theater’s roots of a simple, somewhat unadorned performance space, in this case a large square room with black walls and a flat floor, designed for flexible staging techniques.
Barber said: “As with previous elements that have been added, the goal with the new addition was to harmonize relatively seamlessly with the rest of the educational environment, while also offering a freshened up appearance, and I think that aim was achieved.
“This is a cool campus, making much use of natural vegetation on an expansive, relatively low density site, and we wanted to continue to build on the overall theme while also creating needed extra class space and more hang-out areas to offer even better amenity.”
Oxford Hotel
O can stand for many things – from original to outstanding, optimistic and (native) Oregonian all of which could be said to be embodied in the hip, stylish new Oxford Hotel which has upped the ante for Bend’s evolving and increasingly cosmopolitan downtown scene.
The $12 million 59-room upscale boutique hotel, fronting Minnesota Avenue between Lava and Bond, opened its doors to the public in January as the flagship facility of the family-run Oxford Hotel Group, which is headquartered in Bend and owns and operates the Oxford Inn and Suites chain.
The seven-story hotel, designed by GGL Architecture, features extensive use of exterior brick and stone on the lower levels, in keeping with the surrounding streetscape, with an art gallery and salon bookending the ground floor, while a more contemporary feel is displayed on the set-back upper three floors.
Any conceptions that the street level exterior motif implies general traditionalism are turned on their head as soon as guests enter and are struck by a chic urban lobby.
Oxford Group Design Coordinator Cheri Krogman has utilized an eclectic collage of materials throughout the interior, including metal art fixtures such as a silver tree stump table surrounded by white fabric chairs forming a cozy conversation area in front of a Zen-style fireplace in the lobby.
The hotel’s website bills The Oxford as a “hip urban oasis in the middle of the great outdoors” and that motto is borne out by the 75-seat restaurant, where lodge-type timber touches juxtapose stunningly with mod elements like ceramic antler-cluster chandelier light fixtures amid a palette of cool earth-tone, cream and mint green hues.
The large and luxurious executive suite-style rooms, many offering Cascade Mountain views, also feature urban, organic décor and a host of practical plusses, including spacious work desks, dual line cordless telephones with voicemail and complimentary local calls, individual in-room climate control, safes that can accommodate a lap top, and 42″ LCD flat screen TVs with premium cable television access.
Jim Landin, project architect with GGL, said his company first got involved with the project back in 2004, preparing schematics for the Baney family (owners of the Oxford Hotel Group) in response to a Request for Proposal from the City of Bend for redevelopment of the former municipal-owned site, which now adjoins the Centennial Parking Garage and the mixed-use Putnam Pointe project.
He said: “The City originally was looking to incorporate more retail and office on the site, but, as deliberations progressed, realized the merits of the hotel concept, especially in terms of room tax revenue.
“There were substantial design changes over time compared to the original concept, including going from six to seven stories and adding the basement.
“One of the challenges was the narrowness of the site; which necessitated essentially a one-sided building looking to the south, with single-loaded corridors and no openings to the parking structure side, while also allowing for larger rooms and extensive mountain views.
“Everyone involved was conscious that a boutique hotel needed to have a unique character and quality and this is like no other hotel product in Bend.
“Being owned by a local company, there was also a goal of putting an individual stamp on the project and I think there has been a tremendous amount incorporated into that building.”
Landin said the use of brick and stone at the base ensured that the building fitted contextually with the historic feel of other structures in the street – such as the St. Clair Place and Fire Hall developments – and the “heavier” elements of the lower levels were balanced with the lighter touch of the upper floors, and the relief between the “east and west wings” featuring much use of glass and recessing.
The Oxford Hotel’s General Manager Ben Perle said the facility was designed with a host of energy and resource saving benefits in mind, including dual-flush toilets and electrolyzed water replacing the majority of the previously chemical-based cleaning products.
He paid tribute to the design and execution of the Oxford’s concept, observing that it successfully provided a cosmopolitan ambience more commonly found in Europe or larger cities in the U.S., while also retaining numerous references to the Central Oregon area.
