McMenamins Bend adding 40-plus hotel rooms

McMenamins Old St. Francis School is adding more than 40 hotel rooms to its downtown Bend property by moving out some old cottages that

The business takes up half a city block and currently has 19 hotel rooms and four cottages — and the hotel is booked consistently.

“A lot of times, the wait list I have is twice as long as the number of rooms I have,” hotel Manager Free Star Yost said Monday.

Hotel officials say that by adding two new buildings with a combined 43 new rooms, that wait list will go down.

But first, they are going to have to make space for the new buildings.

“I love our cottages, but it would make room for a lot more,” Yost said.

Some of the houses were built in the 1930s. “The Nunnery,” the “Art House” and the “Friary House” were bought by an unknown buyer. They will be moved to Sunriver and used as vacation homes.

“They’ve been there a long time,” Yost said.

The cabins will be kept intact for their trip to their new home, but there is concern among some neighbors in Bend about the changes to come.

“There goes the neighborhood,” said Meredith Dawson, an Old Bend Neighborhood resident.

Neighbors also are concerned with congestion.

“Where are they going to park? That is my question to you and to McMenimins,” Dawson said.

The Downtown Bend Business Association has faith that the business, with other urban locations like Portland, will consider those factors.

“Adding some capacity on Lava will really help add more people downtown who can shop and dine and enjoy downtown,” said Chuck Arnold with the Downtown Bend Business Association.

Currently, there are three hotels in downtown Bend, with about 170 rooms total. That number could be over 200 by the end of 2015.