Bend Park Board OKs Park-and-Ride Lot Buy

The Bend Park and Rec District board, deciding it was a bargain they couldn’t afford to pass up, voted Tuesday night to acquire the 11-acre former Mt. Bachelor Park and Ride lot for $2.5 million as the future site of an indoor recreation center and expansion of Oregon State University-Cascades.

The land at the corner of Colorado and Simpson avenues was sold by the ski resort several years ago to a developer who planned a mixed-use development on the property, according to an issue summary prepared by park district Executive Director Don Horton and attorney Neil Bryant.

?Because of the slowing economy, the development proposal became impractical and never took place,? they wrote. It?s now owned by a Washington firm, Springer Development LLC, a subsidiary of Banner Bank.

The property had been listed for sale for $6.7 million, but a park district appraisal pegged the value at $2.8 million.

The results of a community survey done this fall by the park district ?identify and support the need for additional recreation facilities, the two men said, noting that on Bend?s Eastside, the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center, renovated five years ago, ?is currently operating at near-capacity.?

?Available property large enough to site an indoor recreation center is scarce on the west side of Bend,? the issue summary stated.

?Though it may be several years before a new recreation facility is built, the opportunity to take advantage of a below-market price, the location in the part of town that is identified as lacking public indoor recreation space, and the adequate size of the site makes the Mt. Bachelor Park and Ride parcel particularly attractive,? Horton and Bryant noted.

In addition, the park district staff noted that OSU-Cascades has been working to expand its campus to the area, and is acquiring an existing building for administration and graduate classes.

Acquiring the property now, they said, ?will afford the opportunity to partner with the university for a joint campus that will offer quality recreation and educational opportunities for the community.?

The board also approved a draft memorandum of understanding outlining the partnership also will be before the board for review, with the two agencies sharing in the estimated $120,000 cost of funding a master development plan for the site, dealing with issues such as off-site improvements.

The board also will adopted a resolution revising the current fiscal year?s budget, transferring $1.4 million from the park district?s operating contingency to capital outlay in order to make the purchase.

Money to build a Westside rec center is another matter. Earlier this year, the park board reviewed a possible list of project to be funded by a future bond measure, and a $10 million indoor rec center was on that list.

In another matter, the park board postponed a decision on which of two options to proceed with on a pedestrian bridge across the Deschutes River between First Street Rapids Park and Davis Park at Revere Avenue. Residents in the area expressed concerns over the impact of the trail link on their neighborhood and existing recreational uses.