Pahlisch Homes confirms retail element of NE Bend’s Petrosa development has not been canceled
(Update: Adding video, residents' comments and statement from Pahlisch Homes)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Residents have been looking forward to the planned retail development by Pahlisch Homes at its Petrosa neighborhood in northeast Bend, called "The Markets as Petrosa." When signs advertising the project were taken down recently, concerns arose that it wasn't going to be built, but the developers have assured that's not the case.
“There were a couple of signs, one on this corner and one on the corner down there. And they've been up for over two years, maybe three years. And they were recently removed.” Ryan Cartmill said Thursday.
A website indicates The Markets at Petrosa is planned for the location near Butler Market and Deschutes Market roads.
"Grocery store was the anchor tenant, and then a number of other retail shops, restaurants -- that kind of thing." Cartmill said. "There's a large number of renderings online as part of Petrosa, as well as the literature -- it just feels like a little bit of a bait-switch.”
The plan for commercial development is what attracted Cartmill to living in the area. He said he can drive to other markets and retail areas in Bend, but he was looking forward to walking or riding his bike to The Markets at Petrosa.
A recent post on Reddit's Bend subreddit asked whether those plans had been "canceled," saying "it's been years and no new construction" at that site.
However, Mayor Melanie Kebler, a frequent commenter on the Bend Reddit page, noted that a map on the Petrosa website shows a commercial area, and she’s not aware of any request to change the commercial zoning in their master plan.
“It makes sense that commercial would go last, after the neighborhood is populated,” she wrote.
A local housing advocacy group voiced a similar view, saying commercial areas are usually the last to be developed in a new neighborhood, to assure an adequate market base.
"It is on the edge of town," David Welton of Bend YIMBY said. "Businesses depend on having a lot of customers nearby, so generally commercial development will go in well after homes go in."
In a statement provided Thursday to NewsChannel 21, Pahlisch Homes says there is still a master plan for development:
"The recent removal of on-site signage at Petrosa is a normal course of business, and new signs will be installed. This area remains slated for commercial development per the Petrosa Master Plan in the City of Bend Development Code 2.7.3900. Pahlisch Homes remains committed and excited about the future of these sites."
The company did not offer a timeline for when the retail development might begin.
