Saturday, October 08, 2005
And now for something...entirely different
Bend is a lovely location, right on the border of the Cascade's conifer forests and the sagebrush and juniper of the high desert. I can't help but think it deserves a better fate than to become simply another Vail or Aspen or Beverly Hills—but the developers and real estate hucksters and their assorted p.r. flacks sure do. That crowd looks at Bend and sees nothing but dollar signs. Too bad our local newspaper joined up with them, but thanks to Steve Duin and The Daily Oregonian for at least giving an objective article on what's happening around here.
Around Bend, expensive is in, eclectic out Third in a series
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The Oregonian
T he growth curve is so dramatic, the invasion of real estate agents so relentless, the panic over available lots so contagious, that a broad look at the Bend land rush is difficult at best. But for a sweet, little snapshot of the forces at work and the factors in play, you can't beat the downtown corner of Brooks Street and Newport Avenue.
In September, this block -- yards from the Deschutes River -- was an eclectic mix of hair salons, home decor and clothing stores, and an underground art gallery, gathered comfortably around the restaurant and patio of the Bend Brewing Company.
In October, the low-rent tenants are gone, many for good, as Eriksen Properties cleared the block -- most of it, anyway -- to ready the world for Northbrook on Mirror Pond, one of those "vibrant, urban neighborhoods" where the condos top $1 million and the retail vibe costs as much as $2.25 per square foot, plus trip net: fees, taxes and percentage of profits.
Bend's Mill Quarter has proved that some of the new arrivals to Central Oregon will pay seven figures for a downtown town house. The town continues to welcome new residents (the metro area is the sixth fastest growing in the nation), new money and new Realtors: the Central Oregon Association of Realtors has added 305 bodies, a 24 percent increase, in 2005 alone.
"Everyone," said Fred Johnson at The Hasson Co., "feels they have a million-dollar property in Bend."
Eriksen Properties, alas, has been forced to bend theirs around Bend Brewing after contentious and futile negotiations to buy the building from owners Wendi Day and Terry Standly.
Bend Brewing would seem to be an ideal complement to Northbrook, which features eight condos and 50,000 square feet of retail space, but Bruce and Brad Eriksen never made the company a reasonable offer, Day said. "Because we refused to work with them," Day added, the Eriksens planted a row of arborvitae in May 2004 that blocked the view of the river from the restaurant patio.
According to The Bulletin in Bend, Bruce Eriksen insisted the row of trees was meant to mitigate the fallout from construction, which, 17 months later, has yet to begin. The developers refused to come up with a better explanation for me.
Mayor Bill Friedman opposed the project, considering Northbrook too big for the property and an unfortunate screen of the river views.
But Northbrook's three-story brick boxes -- and the ongoing boom in lease rates -- draw mixed reviews from the very retailers they will displace.
Ariane Thomas, the owner of Voila -- "affordable clothing for local girls" -- said she couldn't afford the 300 percent increase in rent or the cost of relocating her shop downtown. "I would not only have had to pay more rent, but to hire more girls," Thomas said. "For me, that's insane."
But Thomas grew up in Bend and remembers how desperate she was to leave: "It was the people: Millworkers and ski bums. That's all there was. Now, we have an economy. You can go to a show. You can go dancing. It's just gotten hard to live here for people with no money."
Laurie Tellez is moving her salon, Chop Hair, to a part of town she said used to be known as "Heroin Heights." Her boyfriend, Reuben Valdivia, will once again use the building's basement to showcase local artists. Because both arrived from Los Angeles, they're taking the upheaval in stride.
"I watched Orange County change from oranges to 'The O.C.,' " Valdivia said. "We used to drive from L.A. to San Diego and there'd be change; now, it's just one gigantic city.
"Places don't stay the same. There's a lot of people on the planet, and the population is growing exponentially. That's how the math works when you're multiplying like rabbits."
And that's how the landscape along Highway 20 evolves.
Steve Duin: 503-221-8597; Steveduin@aol.com; 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
©2005 The Oregonian
Around Bend, expensive is in, eclectic out Third in a series
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The Oregonian
T he growth curve is so dramatic, the invasion of real estate agents so relentless, the panic over available lots so contagious, that a broad look at the Bend land rush is difficult at best. But for a sweet, little snapshot of the forces at work and the factors in play, you can't beat the downtown corner of Brooks Street and Newport Avenue.
In September, this block -- yards from the Deschutes River -- was an eclectic mix of hair salons, home decor and clothing stores, and an underground art gallery, gathered comfortably around the restaurant and patio of the Bend Brewing Company.
In October, the low-rent tenants are gone, many for good, as Eriksen Properties cleared the block -- most of it, anyway -- to ready the world for Northbrook on Mirror Pond, one of those "vibrant, urban neighborhoods" where the condos top $1 million and the retail vibe costs as much as $2.25 per square foot, plus trip net: fees, taxes and percentage of profits.
Bend's Mill Quarter has proved that some of the new arrivals to Central Oregon will pay seven figures for a downtown town house. The town continues to welcome new residents (the metro area is the sixth fastest growing in the nation), new money and new Realtors: the Central Oregon Association of Realtors has added 305 bodies, a 24 percent increase, in 2005 alone.
"Everyone," said Fred Johnson at The Hasson Co., "feels they have a million-dollar property in Bend."
Eriksen Properties, alas, has been forced to bend theirs around Bend Brewing after contentious and futile negotiations to buy the building from owners Wendi Day and Terry Standly.
Bend Brewing would seem to be an ideal complement to Northbrook, which features eight condos and 50,000 square feet of retail space, but Bruce and Brad Eriksen never made the company a reasonable offer, Day said. "Because we refused to work with them," Day added, the Eriksens planted a row of arborvitae in May 2004 that blocked the view of the river from the restaurant patio.
According to The Bulletin in Bend, Bruce Eriksen insisted the row of trees was meant to mitigate the fallout from construction, which, 17 months later, has yet to begin. The developers refused to come up with a better explanation for me.
Mayor Bill Friedman opposed the project, considering Northbrook too big for the property and an unfortunate screen of the river views.
But Northbrook's three-story brick boxes -- and the ongoing boom in lease rates -- draw mixed reviews from the very retailers they will displace.
Ariane Thomas, the owner of Voila -- "affordable clothing for local girls" -- said she couldn't afford the 300 percent increase in rent or the cost of relocating her shop downtown. "I would not only have had to pay more rent, but to hire more girls," Thomas said. "For me, that's insane."
But Thomas grew up in Bend and remembers how desperate she was to leave: "It was the people: Millworkers and ski bums. That's all there was. Now, we have an economy. You can go to a show. You can go dancing. It's just gotten hard to live here for people with no money."
Laurie Tellez is moving her salon, Chop Hair, to a part of town she said used to be known as "Heroin Heights." Her boyfriend, Reuben Valdivia, will once again use the building's basement to showcase local artists. Because both arrived from Los Angeles, they're taking the upheaval in stride.
"I watched Orange County change from oranges to 'The O.C.,' " Valdivia said. "We used to drive from L.A. to San Diego and there'd be change; now, it's just one gigantic city.
"Places don't stay the same. There's a lot of people on the planet, and the population is growing exponentially. That's how the math works when you're multiplying like rabbits."
And that's how the landscape along Highway 20 evolves.
Steve Duin: 503-221-8597; Steveduin@aol.com; 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
©2005 The Oregonian
