Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosBrad Cheney seals cracks in the floor of a building at the former Brightwood plant in Bend that will become a three-court indoor tennis facility open to the public. Two other buildings at the site will be converted into other commercial uses as part of a project to turn the site into a retail center.
Dean Guernsey / The Bulletin
Another old mill goes commercial
Public indoor tennis courts, an outdoor event space and commercial suites are all in the works for the former Brightwood plant on Bend's west side
By Andrew Moore / The Bulletin
Published: November 11. 2009 4:00AM PSTConverting old mill properties into unique malls is fashionable in Bend, and work on another is under way.
Bend developer Dave Hill is turning the former Brightwood mill at the corner of Southwest Century Drive and Commerce Avenue into a retail center that will include an indoor tennis facility open to the public, a tranquil courtyard for special events and between eight and 10 commercial suites, initially.
Hill has owned the property, which is roughly 9 acres, since 1986. Brightwood, a wood products manufacturer, began leasing the site in 1989 but closed the mill in December 2008.
Hill successfully petitioned the city to change the property's industrial zoning to a mixed employment zone and is rehabilitating two of the mill's buildings and plans to renovate the third later. The site also features several vacant acres that could be developed later, though Hill has no immediate plans.
In addition to renovating the existing buildings, Hill also will demolish an adjacent building he owns at 86 S.W. Century Drive — which is home to a Mail Boxes Etc. franchise — and replace it with a new drive-through U.S. Bank branch that will allow access to the mall from Century.
A name for the new center has yet to be determined, but Hill hopes the redevelopment will be well-received by the community.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Hill, who began planning the renovation three years ago. “The mill use was incompatible with the neighborhood — there's been conflict ever since it was here — so I think a retail center would be a much better fit.”
The two buildings under renovation include a 21,600-square-foot building that borders Commerce Avenue and a roughly 19,000-square-foot building that is recessed on the property and does not front either of the two streets, though there is access from Commerce and Southwest Columbia Avenue.
In the 21,600-square-foot building, Bob Harrington is planning to open a three-court indoor tennis center by early December. Harrington coaches the girls tennis team at Summit High School and is the tennis director at the Broken Top Club.
To be called the West Bend Tennis Center, the facility also will have two painted basketball courts and volleyball equipment. Membership will not be required.
The Athletic Club of Bend and Bend Golf and Country Club have indoor tennis courts, but they are for members only.
“There's a huge need for this,” Harrington said. “There's a real big niche out there for people that just want to play tennis, so we're trying to market this as affordable tennis for kids and adults.”
Harrington, who coaches Hill's daughter on the Summit tennis team, has yet to determine admission prices.
But converting the building into a tennis facility was nearly predetermined, Hill and Harrington said.
As Harrington explained, a tennis court measures exactly 120 feet by 60 feet “fence to fence,” which refers to the area needed for both the court and the necessary out-of-bounds space. The building measures 120 feet by 180 feet — room for exactly three courts.
“I always thought it was an odd-shaped building, but it worked perfectly,” Hill said.
The second building under renovation measures roughly 19,000 square feet and will likely be subdivided into eight or 10 commercial suites, said Fratzke Commercial Real Estate's Brian Fratzke, who is the leasing agent for the development.
One tenant has already been signed, the Mail Boxes Etc. franchisee who is being displaced by the U.S. Bank branch construction, and discussions with other possible tenants have begun, Fratzke said.
The building retains some of its industrial elements, including heavy wood beams and a cinder block exterior, but has been touched up with architectural highlights, including skylights and glass-paneled garage doors.
“This would be a great place for artsy businesses, like a furniture store or a dance studio, or active businesses, like a rock-climbing gym,” Fratzke said. “It's been a lot of fun to work on, just because there's not a lot of big projects right now.”
A third building, which sits at the corner of Century and Commerce, will be redeveloped later or at the request of a future tenant, Hill said.
A courtyard between the three buildings is being covered in pavers and will feature trees and a trellis-like structure of old wood beams. Hill imagines it will be suitable for a coffee stand as well as a venue for small concerts or other summer events.
The retail portion of the center will open in January, when the Mail Boxes Etc. franchise relocates, Fratzke said.
Then demolition will begin on that building with construction of a new drive-through U.S. Bank branch slated to finish in fall 2010, said Stacey Dodson, U.S. Bank's regional president for Central and Eastern Oregon.
U.S. Bank will lease the land but pay for construction and own the building.
Dodson said the bank — which already has five branches in Bend — has been seeking a suitable property to expand to the west side for five years.
“We wanted a location that faced Century (Drive) that was near rooftops and high traffic counts,” Dodson said. “There were other properties but very few that gave us what we were looking for, so this is a good fit.”
Dodson said the bank had considered NorthWest Crossing but decided that neighborhood's pedestrian focus wouldn't square with its desire to have a drive-through teller operation.
Dodson said the roughly 3,600-square-foot bank will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building guidelines.
She could not disclose the project cost.
Hill, who bought the building during a recession, said he's sorry Brightwood's jobs left town but hopes the renovation brings new opportunities.
“I couldn't let the building sit vacant, but this was a good time to do this because costs have come down, and it might help put people to work,” Hill said. “I'll just let it evolve, probably into a mix of retail and services, but I think it's good for the neighborhood and I think it will be a win-win situation.”
Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or amoore@bendbulletin.com.
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