Bulletin E-Edition:
Sunriver project takes shape
Plan for European-style village concerns some residents; others welcome it
By Anna Sowa / The Bulletin
Published: August 15. 2007 4:00AM PST
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SUNRIVER — Around the Sunriver Village Mall on Tuesday morning, waves of people were filling the red-brick walkways as retailers busied themselves preparing for The Jeld-Wen Tradition golf tournament this weekend. At one end of the courtyard, a small group of Sunriver residents, business owners and developers discussed updated plans and concerns involving a multimillion-dollar project that would radically transform the aging commercial center into a magnet for new visitors and a destination for events.
The quarterly community forum was organized by the Sunriver Area Chamber of Commerce to update progress on the development, which won’t break ground for at least another year. The forum included a presentation from representatives of SilverStar Destinations LLC, the Bend-based development group that bought the 30-year-old mall last year for more than $26 million and plans to turn it into a European-style village akin to similar developments at Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, and the Village at Northstar near North Lake Tahoe.
Such destination resorts often have a European Alps feel with stylish shops and restaurants on the ground level and high-end residences on upper floors.
With 90,000 to 120,000 square feet of commercial space and 500 to 600 condos and townhomes, the purpose of the Sunriver project is to create a destination where tourists and residents can wander the village and dine, shop, play and sleep.
Its name: the Village at Sunriver.
The village has been a divisive issue among Sunriver residents — with some resisting change, some welcoming it and others leery about the proposed development’s viability. In years past, similar grand projects have been proposed that never materialized.
Maryanne Phillips and her husband bought their first property in Sunriver in 1977, moving here permanently in the 1980s.
“It has to change,” she said after SilverStar’s presentation. “We have to grow.”
Beside her, George Bayless agreed. Bayless has a vacation home in Sunriver and said the Sunriver Village Mall was one reason he chose to buy a home here instead of elsewhere in Central Oregon.
“It was more active,” he said. “It was a concentrating point for people.”
Before SilverStar can break ground on the 28-acre site, it must go through public hearings and apply for zone changes and building permits.
The developers have filed their land use application with Deschutes County to create a new zone, which they expect will be adopted in the next three months.
At the earliest, construction would start in summer 2008 with the first phase completed 18 months to two years later.
“If it opens for business at Christmastime 2009, that’s a win,” said John Goodman, lead principal in SilverStar.
Goodman revealed the latest version of an evolving site plan for the village, including the first phase’s six commercial and mixed-use buildings, two to five stories high.
The village would be bordered by Abbot Drive to the south and west and Beaver Drive to the east, and a two-way street would run through the center, which can be partially closed off for pedestrian use for events or seasonally.
“For the majority of the year in Sunriver, as business owners are painfully aware, the mall is not full all the time,” Goodman said. “Businesses in Sunriver will be most successful if, in the offseason, we bring business to their door.”
The two southernmost buildings in the village would be all commercial space, with a new grocery store and offices. This space is likely to get built first, Goodman said.
Any retailers there now will have to move from their buildings during construction, with the potential of relocating into new space once construction is done, Goodman said, adding that he expects the final tenant mix will include a combination of existing and new tenants.
Many homeowners at the forum expressed concern about parking issues. Goodman assured them he’s working with the homeowners association to meet the area’s needs and added that street parking will be available around the mall. Employees will have off-site parking, he said.
Goodman said he’s still working on how to accommodate the already busy bike paths and doesn’t expect the new development to adversely affect Sunriver utilities.
The village would have two plazas on either end of the development, with the south end featuring a multilevel outdoor plaza that would likely feature some type of water element.
Along the periphery of the village would be townhome neighborhoods, Goodman said, which will be close enough to the retail core to stimulate business activity but have a different type of residential living style than the mixed-use condos.
“It is impossible to make this work without the residential part to it,” Goodman said of making the village profitable. “The more (housing) units we have, it eases the pain of paying a whole lot more for this property than we should have.”
A few audience members chuckled at Goodman’s comment. His development group — made up of local investors — bought the mall for more than $26 million, according to records, deeds and mortgages on file at the Deschutes County Clerk’s Office. Goodman has said the development costs will exceed $100 million.
Goodman expects the condos in the village’s core to be priced starting “in the $300,000s” for the smallest units. To accommodate the influx of new residents, the village ground will be elevated so underground parking is available.
Some audience members expressed concerns about the village — notably the absence of a community center, which was part of the original plans. They worried that the new village would have no reason for existing residents to make daily visits.
“We expect to offer a contract post office, public gathering area and fantastic and open public facilities for people to spend time in,” he said. “Things will be new, and hopefully with vibrant, successful businesses operating in every space throughout the village, we will be providing options for residents and visitors.”
Anna Sowa can be reached at 383-0304 or asowa@bendbulletin.com.
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