‘First of its kind’ apartment complex with shared kitchens coming to NE Bend

(Update: Adding information and video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Hiatus Homes has been designing and building cottage-style tiny homes for nearly 10 years, but its new project is a first of its kind for Bend.

Hiatus Penn Flats, a three-story apartment complex with 40 lofted flats and four common kitchen/living room areas, is coming to Bend's midtown neighborhood, near the corner of NE Penn Avenue and Fifth Street.

“I think it will look unique in its design and will catch peoples' attention," Ryan Andrews, the chief financial officer for Hiatus Homes told NewsChannel 21 Thursday.

Andrews and Chief Executive Officer Jesse Russell helped develop the city's "micro-apartment" code that the complex will adhere to.

“We’ll be the first ones to try that code out," Russell said.

Rental prices have not yet been set, but Russell told NewsChannel 21 they will be relatively "inexpensive," compared to the direction rental prices are going in Bend.

Andrews said the design of the complex, which is set to break ground the first week of August, is catered toward a work-from-home audience that has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people out of their traditional offices.

“There’s definitely inspiration from the demographic shift we saw during the pandemic and COVID, and the way that pushed so many workers into a work-from-home situation," Andrews said.

The complex, expected to be completed by the end of next year, will also feature a rooftop patio. Because of the micro-apartment coder, it will only have 20 parking spots for the 40 units, along with a number of electrical bike charging stations.

While it may be the first one in Bend, Andrews told NewsChannel 21 it may not be the last.

“We don’t see this as a one-off project," Andrews said. "We see this as a new type and hopefully one of several.”