New
lodging to be ready for summer tourism
Bend will have more than 160 new
lodging rooms ready for the summer tourism season as construction enters the
final phase for two new lodging facilities.
The 114-room Hampton Inn &
Suites on 4 acres across the Deschutes River from the Old Mill District and the
50 room Tetherow Lodges, part of the residential and golf community adjacent to
Bend’s west boundary will provide a major boost to available accommodations.
The Hampton Inn is a project of
Boise-based AmeriTel Inns, which also operates the Hilton Garden property on
the ridge above the Old Mill District retail complex.
The Tetherow Lodges include two
buildings on each side of the existing Tetherow clubhouse, the original
building that opened with the resort community’s links-style golf course. The estimated construction cost of the
approximately 40,000 square feet is $10 million.
Also under construction but not
scheduled to open this summer is the 105-room Pronghorn lodge, branded by
Auberge Resorts.
Both the Tetherow and Pronghorn
projects have been delayed as the real estate market contracted just after the
resorts were underway earlier the last decade. County officials had allowed
both projects extensions on the time required to build overnight lodging
facilities.
Back
to square one for proposed Thornburgh Resort
A Deschutes County hearings officer
has essentially ruled that the new owner of a proposed resort project on Cline
Butte east of Redmond will have to start over in the quest to develop the
property.
The ruling by hearing officer Karen
Green said that current developer Terrence Larsen has not shown adequate
progress for the project, nor requested an permit extension, within a two year
period.
Deschutes County planning officials
had approved the preliminary development plan for the approximately 1,300 acre
project, which included a proposal for more than 450 lodging rooms, 950 homes,
and three golf courses.
The developer argued that about $7
million has been spent on roads and other site prepration. However, Green said
such issues as water rights had not been adequately addressed.
OSU-Cascades
to offer hospitality degree
Reflecting Central Oregon’s robust tourism industry,
OSU-Cascades is taking steps to launch a hospitality management program that would
offer the state’s first public unversity four-year degree program in the field.
The program would be jump-started
with a $320,000 grant from the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association and
various other related businesses.
