The “what” and “how” are settled. Now the “where” for a
location of the new 4-year OSU-Cascades campus has moved to the forefront.
The Oregon legislature wrapped up its session in July
with inclusion of $16 million in bond funding for the new university. That
combined with an estimated $4 million in community pledged support and about $4
million from the college budget meant the dream had moved to reality.
Work is now well underway in how to phase in facilities
for the new campus, which by 2025 is expected to have capacity for 5,000
students.
Initially it appears likely administrative and classroom
space will be in existing commercial space within Bend, with an estimated short
term need of 70,000 to 90,000 square feet.
In the long term local broker Compass Commercial and a
Portland consulting firm, SRG Partnership, have identified a large footprint on
Bend’s west side that could accommodate the expansion beyond the current site
now shared with Central Oregon Community College on the south side of Awbrey
Butte. OSU-Cascades now occupies approximately 65,000 square feet at that location and another on Colorado Avenue.
One potential site that has emerged in public discussion
is the 85-acre former Deschutes County landfill property along Mt. Washington
Drive and Simpson Avenue--just east of the Broken Top Community.
Apparently not on the short list, as yet, is the City of
Bend’s 1,500-acre Juniper Ridge project on the northern edge of Bend along
Cooley Road. Several years ago city officials were touting the site as ideal
for a major university and research center.
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