Shaping Our Future 2015

Central Oregon rebounds from the Great Recession with big changes to its economy and way of life. : 2L

The Bulletin

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2 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

The Bulletin bendbulletin.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE Editing:Denise Costa, Tim Doran, Julie Johnson Presentation:David Wray Reporting:John Gottberg Anderson, TaraBannow, Dylan Darling, JoeDitzler, Kevin Duke, BeauEastes, Kailey Fisicaro, Scott Hammers, StephenHamway, Victoria Jacobsen,David Jasper,Tyler Leeds, Grant Lucas, Brian McElhiney,MacMcLean, Mark Morical, Jasmine Rockow,Ben Salmon,TedShorack, Abby Spegman,ClaireWithycombe Graphics:GregCross, Carli Krueger, Pete Smith, David Wray Backediting:Jeff Caspersen Cover: Clint Nye Photography: Ryan Brennecke,Dean Guernsey,JoeKline, Jarod Opperman,Andy Tullis, The Bulletin files Advertising:Jay Brandt, 541-383-0370, jbrandt@bendbulletin.corn On the Weh:www.bendbulletin.corn/COrebounds

PUBLISHED SEPT. 26, 2015

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 3

his summer the streets of Bend were jammed,

the lessons we learned and the ways things are different today.

construction was everywhere, and restaurants

Look ahead for sections on five topics, plus predictions of how

'"'"""""'" SHAP NG OUR FUTURE

overflowedwith patrons from near and far.

At long last, Central Oregon is humming again, having climbed out of the depths of the Great Recession.

But this is not a return to the dizzying heights of 2006. The

HOUSING Page 5

downturn's damage is not yet fully repaired. Scars remain, and not everyone is sharing equally in the improvement.

Still, the region abounds with optimism that we' re coming back smarter, with a better diversified economy and a more sustainable housing market.

This special report from The Bulletin's newsroom looks back

ECONOMY Page 17

EDUCATION

TECH SCENE Page 38

CULTURE

Page 46

Page 53

THE FUTURE

to the peak, explores what happened in the fall and delves into

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Central Oregon continues to thrive because of the make up this network, providing residents in need region's quality of life, an intangible promoted and with food, shelter and security, as well as creating and sustained by the region's community of nonprofits. maintaining positive social, educational, recreational Hundreds of organizations and thousands of volunteers and professional environments.

Connections, published in TheBulletin, lists and profiles these organizations, providing a comprehensive guide to the services available and giving readers new ways to volunteer to enhance others' lives.

To belisted in the guide, email us at connectionsgbendbulletin.corn ~ To advertise, call541-382-1811

LOOK FOR IT IN THE BULLETIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

The Bulletin bendbulletin.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 5 u»

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he collapseofthe housing industry was ground zero forCentralOregon as

SIGN OFRECOVERY

Howhousinghas dounceddack

the Great Recession took hold, its effects rumbling through the jobs and housing markets and beyond.

The number of building permits Bend issued for single-family homes has returned to prerecession levels.

In Bend, median home prices had nearly tripled in less than a decade, climbing from $135,000 in 1999 to $396,000 in 2007. The area was one of the fastest growing in the West, and real estate speculation

Totals include single-family attached homes, detached homesand homeswith additionaldwelling units.

was rampant. By November 2011, that median price hit bottom at $166,000, wiping out value and stability for businesses and homeowners alike. It's a raw wound for those who lost so much.

Now construction is once more booming.

The area is on the road to recovery, and many in the real estate industry are optimistic it's growing in a more sustainable way today, with more caution in buying and better safeguards in lending.

New issues have been injected into the conversation about growth, with a focus on density and urbanization, as well as environmental concerns in

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753 duiidingpermits 800 700

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400 300 200 100 2007 '08 '09 '10 'tt '12 '13 '14 Source: City of Bend

home designand neighborhood planning.

Pete Smith/The Bulletin

Ryan B rennecke / The Bullehn

A home under construction in the Westerly subdivision off of O.B. Riley Road has already been sold. In general, houses in Bend and elsewhere are again selling for much higher prices.

Speculation helped fuel the crash.

Industry leaders are hopeful for a more sustainable future.

By Scott Hammers The Bulletin

ay back in 1999, Bend was about a decade into its most explosive period of growth since the city's founding, but the annual median price of a home sat at a now almost unimaginable price of $135,000.

By May 2007, the median sales price in Bend had hit a record $396,000, before falling into a multiyear slump that bottomed out with a $166,000 median price in November 2011.

Similar patterns were seen across Central Oregon, led by La Pine and the Three Rivers area, where median prices fell more than 50 percent from their prerecession peak.

Scott Halligan, a Bend native who' s soldrealestate for 19 years and now serves as president of the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, said attitudes about buying and selling real estate shifted sharply toward speculation in the years leading up to the downturn.

"In the 2000s, you had a lot of people

treating it like the stock market," he said.

The grandson of the founders of Bend's first ski shop, Terry Skjersaa was only about a year and a half into his career selling real estate when the crash came, but he was keenly aware of how quickly his hometown had gone from sleepy mill town to one of hottest real estate markets in the country.

"I certainly had concerns about that, but I — like most others — didn't think it was going to come as quick and hard as it did," said Skjersaa, now a principal broker with Duke Warner Realty.

Lynnea Miller, principal broker at Bend Premier Real Estate and a Bend real estate agent since 2000, said it should have been apparent the rapid run-up in prices couldn't be maintained long term.

Miller recalled selling properties that received multiple offers. By the time the sale closed several weeks later, the property was worth $10,000 more and went right back on the market.

"There was so much excitement, people were all gung ho on real estate, and

"I think the biggest difference is people are getting real loans; they really do have to qualify for a loan. Prior, you could pretty much fog a mirror and get a loan."

— Terry Skjersaa, a principal broker at Duke Warner Realty

then, of course, the crash happened," she said. "In 20/20 hindsight, it was like a pyramid scheme. It could not prop itself up."

The downturn bruised the organization Halligan heads as well — the local Realtors' association had nearly 2,400 members in 2008, he said, then dropped to around 1,200 before rebounding to roughly 1,800 today. Although the number of homes sold and home prices have been climbing since 2012, the total sales volume — the value of all residential sales in the area in a given year — has yet to return to peak levels.

Different impacts The market downturn and recovery has affected different segments of the

housing market differently.

Halligan said the initial crash hit propertiesvalued atroughly $350,000 or less the hardest, likely because their owners were less able to continue making their mortgage payments as economic conditions deteriorated.

"It was pretty broad as far as the impact," said Skjersaa. "Anyone from a first-time buyer that maybe overextended themselves or got into a bad loan, to 70-, 80-year-old folks that have been in real estate their whole life in the development end, and some of them laid everything they had on the line and lost it all."

Today, Halligan said he doesn't see nearly as many buyers looking for the biggest house they can afford as he did

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 7

Bend home prices hurt dyGreat Recession's downturn

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During the years of the Great Recession, the values of homes located in cities fell nationwide, with a median loss of $17,300. But of course the damage was not distributed evenly, and homes in California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Florida and New York saw the most dramatic decreases. The drop in home values in Bend during that same time placed the city in the upper tier of price declines nationwide.

REMEMBERS...

LOSS INMEDIAN HOME VALUE INCITIES: 2007-09 TO 2010-12 • Home gain edvalue o $1 to$14,999

• $15,000 to $49,999

While housing speculation happened across the country, it was at a fever pitch in Deschutes County because of the high quality of life and quickly growing economy, said Tim Duy, University of Oregon economist.

Duy, who partners with The BulL(,-, letin to produce the Central Oregon Business Index every quarter, said the region's economy peaked overall in mid-2006, and total employment reached its peak in 2007 — though the limited industries those jobs were distributed among belied a fragile, one-dimensional economy.

— Stephen Hamylray

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IN THE HEARTOF THE MAKER S RISTRIRT

before the crash.

"I think people are being a little more conservative in square-foot size. ... They' re looking a little more for functionality than some huge high-end home," he said.

Miller said changing tastes contributing to the shift to smaller, less luxurious homes.

"We' re moving an awful lot of things $600,000 and under; there's a lull between $600,000 and $800,000; I'd say some of the higher stuff, $900,000, a million, it's moving," she said. "It' s interesting, but those higher-end properties that were a million-six are now more like a million-two — it hasn' t recovered."

Halligan and Skjersaa said real estate speculators have all but disappeared during the recovery, with today's buyer far more likely to live in the home rather than rent it or resell it.

Miller said the biggest shift she' s

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seen has been at the lower end of the market in Bend, where the rebound has been sufficiently robust to put homeownership out of reach for many would-be first-time buyers. She said outlying areas such as Redmond, La Pine, Three Rivers and Madras have benefited from the price surge in Bend, with many buyers opting to settle in less expensive communities nearby.

Miller said into the future, the price of land in Bend is likely to continue to be a factor limiting the affordability of housing for low- and moderate-income buyers.

"When you have to spend $75,000 for a developable postage-stamp lot, 5,000 square feet, add another $19,000, $20,000 for system development charges, you' re talking $100,000 for a home before you even move dirt."

Halligan said he has concerns about how the debt held by younger adults could affect homeownership rates

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into the future. eYou have a generation, the millennials, that have high student loan debt that we haven't really addressedthat's going to be a huge factor weighing down first-time homebuyers."

BEND PEAK

Homeprices are onthemend Median prices for singlefamily homes peaked in Bend and Redmond in late2006 and mid-2007, respectively, before bottoming out in late 2011 and early 2012.

More sustainable future Despite their concerns, Miller and Halligan both said they think the Central Oregon real estate market is on a more sustainable track than it was before the crash, as does Skjersaa.

"I think the biggest difference is people are getting real loans; they really do have to qualify for a loan," Skjersaa said. "Prior, you could pretty much fog a mirror and get a loan."

Halligan said more stringent lending practices should help guard against another rapid crash. Additionally, changes in the ways people can make a living have made Central Oregon a more realistic choice despite its geographic remoteness.

"We have a better base to draw from to draw people to the area. People working long distance, telecommuting

"We have a better base to draw from to draw people to the area. People working long distance, telecommuting or starting a new business here.

We' re still a great place for entrepreneurs to come."

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$3 or starting a new business here. We' re still a great place for entrepreneurs to come."

Skjersaa also cited changes in technology that made moving to Central Oregon an option that wouldn't have been possible a decade ago.

"The in-migration of people moving here is what's driven this recovery, and driven it at a pretty rapid pace," he said. "I attribute that to the Internetthere's many of our clients, and many people I know who moved here in the last five years, and they brought their jobs with them."

Miller said the relative desirability of Bend and Central Oregon will ultimately determine the strength of the real estate market into the future.

"As long as Bend still remains a place that people want to move, the mecca of the perceived lifestyle people want to be a part of, people will want to move here, and that will increase values."

— Scott Halligan, president, Central Oregon Association of Realtors

— Reporter: 541-383-0387, shammersC<bendbulletin.corn

BRIAN FPATZICE REMEMBERS...

FOUNDER,FRATZKE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ADVISORS INC.

For much of the 2000s, Bend rode an ever-inflating real estate bubble to dramatic growth, according to Brian Fratzke."People were saying, 'Business is so good it should be illegal,'" Fratzke said. "It just felt like funny

money."

Fratzke, who began his real estate career in Bend in 2004 before starting his own firm in 2008, said the real estate bubble was exacerbated by people buying properties, both residential and commercial, through lending, allowing them to purchase properties that t'

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they would not have qualified for otherwise. But when that bubble burst, Deschutes County became one of the hardest hit locations in the country.

Fratzke said the commercial real estate market tends to trail the residential side by nine to12 months. So he remembers Sept. 14, 2008, just a few months after opening his Fratzke Commercial, as the day the commercial market in Bend just stopped.

"We watched people go bankrupt. We watched people go to jail. We watched people commit suicide," Fratzke said.

Because lenders were less inclined to work with businesses than with residential properties, Fratzke said, the commercial market switched to selling distressed assets in 2010. Fratzke recalled industrial spaces, which had once retailed for $100 per square foot, selling for one-fifth of that.

"We wereall just trying to survive," Fratzke said.

— Stephen Hamlrlray

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Regional foreclosure rates haven't returned to prerecession levels "I kept telling folks, it's going to happen here, it's just a matter of hen Kenny LaPoint wee k s or months," he recalled. "And first came to Central the n all of a sudden, it just tanked."

Oregon in early 2007, By 20 0 8, the total dollar value of he saw the signs of a r es i d ential sales in Central Oregon pending foreclosure was l ess than half of what it had crisis been two years earlier, as everywhere. prices and sales plummetHe also found few peo"/ kepis$eiijgg ed. By 2009, distressed plewrllrng ohs en ohrm' fOlkS' it'S "Oin" p er reswere hedom + + pro After spending several inant factor in the local tO ~ctPPe~ real estate market, with years as a real estate broker in Southern CaliforJere g'S jUS[ sho r t sales and bankn ia, LaPoint came to the g owned sales making up mg[[er Of more than half of the resiarea to work as a housing counselor with NeighWee kS O r dential real estate sales in borlmpact, a nonprofit that mph/QS 4gd Bend and Redmond.

Foreclosure filings have provides various forms [peg g// pf of assistance to Central fallen sharply from their Sudden, it juSt pea k ,but as of2014, have Oregonians.

Upon arriving in Ornot yet returned to prere$ggked " egon, LaPoint saw the cession levels. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Kenny LaPoint, LaPo i nt has since left same softening real estate market and steady climb former broker Central Oregon to work for in foreclosure notices he' d Oregon Housing and Community Services, a state seen in California. With the Central Oregon market heavily agen c y that administers a variety of dependent on transplants from Calhou s i ng programs. He said due to ifornia, it was only a matter of time, chan g es in state and federal law and he figured, until the problem moved len d i ng policies, a similar crisis would north. likely be less painful today, but the

Hardhit dyforeclosures in2009 Deschutes County had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country during the worst years of the Great Recession. Foreclosures across the county tripled, and in the first six

months of 2009 banks filed to reclaims.5 million homes. In Bend,the loss of homeownership would translate into an increased demand for rental housing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a trend that has persisted even after the housing market recovered.

FORECLOSUREPERCENTAGEPOINT CHANGEFROMJANUARY 2008TO JUNE 2009

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Pete Smith /The Bulletin

10 SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

region is still vulnerable to a dip in the housing market.

"I still think Central Oregon is in a unique position, where you could see housing prices drop and anybody who is dependent on prices going up and selling their home could be in a tough position," La Point said.

Lynne McConnell, who provides financial consulting to homeowners and would-be homebuyers at Neighborlmpact, said the wave of foreclosures that broke as the housing market began to decline in 2007 and 2008 had been building, quietly, for several years as prices climbed higher and higher.

"It was a lot harder to get yourself into foreclosure in the peak of the housing boom, because people were gaining equity so quickly," she said. "Because most people, even those who were experiencing financial difficulty, could still sell and come out ahead or at least break even."

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Careful buyers hurt, too Phil Querin, a Portland attorney who works with people facing foreclosure or other challenging housing situations, said rising prices and the option of refinancing made it tempting for many buyers to buy more than they could actually afford, often with little money down. While such buyers helped run up prices, when the market collapsed, more conservative, traditional buyers were punished just as harshly.

"Even people who put 20 percent down — if the market drops 40 percent, they' re underwater, and that' s what happened to a lot of people," Querin said. "They weren't flippers, or running too fast, or getting in over their heads."

In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Neighborlmpact was hearing from 75 to 100 homeowners a day fearful their homes were nearing foreclosure, LaPoint recalled.

At the time, he was working directly with the homeowners, and frequently he found himself advising distressed homeowners to do the unthinkable: Stop paying your mortgage, save the money and stay in your home until the bank kicks you out.

"That made it really hard for people.

It made them feel like they were backing off of this obligation and became more of a moral imperative for them, and it didn't feel like it was right for them not to be paying their mortgages," LaPoint said."In some cases I had to remind people, r You have children, you have a wife, a husband — these are

A row of houses going up for auction on NE Jackdaw Drivein Bend in December 2007, the month the Great Recession began.

Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin file photo

the things that make your home your home, not the physical structure."

Querin said he saw many people with a similar hesitance to walk away from their houses, even when it became apparent their chances of keeping up with their payments were all but nonexistent. He said the improving economy has slowed his business with distressed homeowners, but many of those he works with today are still looking for a way to get out.

"I know a lot of people who, if they' d acted much sooner, today would have their credit restored, their finances stabilized and their life a little more peaceful," Querin said.

McConnell said the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was a bright spot among the different policy proposals introduced to help reversethe flood of foreclosures.

Default notices: • Judicial • Nonjudicial

Foreclosures drokerecordsin DeschutesCounty The real estate crash brought record levels of foreclosures to Deschutes County. The number of default notices, the legal document that starts the foreclosure process, filed in the county jumped more than seventeenfold from 2006to20f0, before declining in 20f f.

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Sources: Deschutes County Clerk's Office, Deschutes County Circuit Court Greg Cross / The Bulletin

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Over the course of the now-defunct federal program's life, Neighborlmpact documented morethan 1,000 homeowners in Central Oregon who were able to keep their homes due to assistance from TARP. "That was a big deal that bought them, typically, a year of time," McConnell said. "Some paid off any arrears, back payments, some paid their mortgage while they were looking for work."

Uneven state efforts Oregon'seffortsataddressing foreclosures were more uneven.

In 2012, the Legislature passed a law aimed at forcing borrowers at risk of foreclosure into mediation with their lenders. Rather than agree to mediation as intended by the law, many lenders took advantage of an exemption allowing them to bypass a meeting with the borrower in favor of a foreclosure process run through the state court system. In 2013, the law was modified to ensure more borrowers had an opportunity to pursue a

"I know a lot of people who, if they'd acted much sooner, today would have their credit restored, their finances stabilized and their life a

little more peaceful."

— Phil Querin, attorney

Helping you ' ""' "

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We love providing locals with "the most choice (largest local inventory of all the brands you love and trust),

negotiated settlement before moving to foreclosure.

McConnell said the mandatory mediation law has been a success, though it came too late for many tripped up by the initial market downturn. More than 90 percent ofborrowers who enter mediation have been able to resolve the matter without going into foreclosure, she said, sometimes staying in the home after a loan modification, and sometimes losing the home in a short sale.

Lenders have tightened their standards for borrowers since the crash, something La Point said should make W

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12 SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

PROFILE

Loss of home, years of pain

By Grant Lucas The Bulletin

Home is attitude. Home is what you make it.

A winding road littered with troubles has led Toni La Foe to develop and accept this mindset. And now, as the path she follows begins to straighten out, she says she has emerged stronger than ever before.

"Now I have a heart," said La Foe, of Bend."I have a heart for the homeless. I have a heart for people who are hungry.... There's a whole arena of folks who have hard luck like I had. They didn't turn to drinking or using (drugs).

They' re just trying to navigate through that homeless process to get back on their feet again."

La Foecan empathize because she knows firsthand how grueling, exhausting and deflating that navigation can be.

For a full summer, she camped along the Deschutes River in Bend. Twice she has checked into the Bethlehem lnn.

She has been laid off and has lost a home. Still, La Foe emphasized,"I have a lot. I just refuse to give up. I have a lot that I'm grateful for."

After running her own cleaning business in Deschutes County for six years, La Foe moved to Utah in 2007 to work in marketing. She returned to Central Oregon a short time later and took a job as a housekeeper. A year later, she said, she was laid off.

Like many others during the economic downturn, La Foe was unemployed for months despite consistently sending out resumes, a status she found frightening. "I just felt like I'm one of the most employable women I know," La Foe said. "I'm not trying to brag. It's because I' ve had a varied background with employment.... I just felt like I'd be able to find a job."

La Foesaid she had been renting a house in Redmond for nearly a year when she learned that the person she

it less likely for homebuyers to get trapped between a loan they can't afford and a house they can't sell. Nearly all borrowers now have to provide proof of income before receiving a loan, he said, and lenders have largely phased out adjustable rate mortgages and negative amortization mortgages, in which the buyer pays only a portion of the interest owed each month and the total amount of the loan grows over time.

More importantly, LaPoint said, prospective buyers are more guarded and less likely to be taken in by unscrupu-

Ryan B rennecke / The Bulletin

Toni La Foe has been living in a trailer for the past three years since losing her job and home.

La Foe stayed at the Bethlehem lnn until May 2012.

Now sheworks atHome Depot as a garden associate.She rents a trailer in Bend, has a savings account and lives on a budget.

She has three-tiered vision: to fulfill her own desire to own a tiny house on wheels, to build a park/community cottage cluster and to help the homeless.

La Foe boasts what she calls "a core group of folks who care for me and see me and hear me," and credits Eagle Mountain Fellowship, her church, as a significant factor in rebounding.

— Toni La Foe, of Bend In her home is a small cross, maybe 7 inches tall and 4 inches wide, a woven emblem. La Foe describes it as "a little twig of a thing; it looks like a stick-people cross."

A lack of majesty makes no difference. It's the meaning thought was her landlord was instead a renter himself who was illegally subletting the home. Not long after, La Foe behind the cross that La Foe holds dear because it reminds was without a place to live. her of the day that, after enduring all of the tribulations that once knocked her off course, she dropped to her knees and In March 2011, La Foe briefly moved in with a friend in Redmond.Soon after,she m oved outand began camping declared she would make this trailer her home.

"Because of that, I am strong," La Foe said."I don't feel along the river. She checked into the Bethlehem lnn for the strong. I am strong." month of September. In February 2012, she checked in — Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbullettn.corn again and soon began climbing out of the depths. r

Now I have a heart. I have a heart for the homeless.I have a heart for people who are hungry.... There's a whole arena of folks who have hard luck like I had.... They' re just trying to navigate through that homeless process to get back on their feet again."

"People who are working class in this community are having a really hard time getting stable. It's safe to say that the rebound has not affected all populations equally."

— Lynne McConnell, financial consultant, Neighborlmpact

ious lenders looking to offer them the largest possible loan.

"Most people know what they can and cannot afford, and I don't know that they should be dependent on a lender to tell them what they can afford

in a month," he said.

McConnell said that although the worst of the foreclosure crisis is in the past, the recovery has left many people who weren't directly affected by the crash worse off. Tighter lending

standards have made it tougher for low- and moderate-income residents to buy their first homes, she said, and many entry-level homes have been snapped up by investors who had the resources to take advantage of falling prices during the crash.

"People who are working class in this community are having a really hard time getting stable," she said.

"It's safe to say that the rebound has not affected all populations

equally."

— Reporter: 541-383-0387, shammersC<bendbulletin.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 13

Homes started selling again, despite — ordecause of — adistressed market The number of annual home sales in Bend and Redmond and Crook and Jefferson counties stopped declining in 2008 and began increasing again in 2009. However, from 2009 to 2011, more than 50 percent of those sales were either short or bank-owned — collectively called distressed sales.

• Bend• Redmond• I Crook County • Jefferson County

TOTAL HOMESALES

TOTAL DISTRESSEDSALES Includes short sales plus bank-owned sales.

1,000 -------962-

Consists of regular, short and bank-owned sales.

2,500-

2,262

800

2,000-

1,561

1,500-

600-

1,000-

400

494 631 500

200

163 2009

90 2010

2011

2012

2013

134 " 30 33

216126 2014

2009

2010

2011

Source: Central Oregon Assoaat>on of Realtors

2012

2013

2014

Greg Cross/The Bullet>n

PROFILE

For many, low prices provide an opportunity

By Mac McLean The Bulletin

Seth Thienes loves living on Bend's west

side.

"It's a real cool community down here," said Thienes, who bought a1,200-square-foot house on NW Baltimore Avenue about four years ago. "There's just a cool vibe down here. ... We were drawn to the energy down here and everything that was going on."

But he also knows the dream of owning a house in such a strong community where he and his wife, Heylen, can start a family would never have come true if they didn't strike at the exact moment Bend's housing market hit rock bottom.

"Not at all," Thienes said.

In December 2011, when they bought their NW Baltimore Avenue home, Bend's median home price was half of what it is in 2015.

When they bought, the median sales price for a single-family home in Bend had fallen to an unheard-of $166,000, the lowest median price Bend had seen in the previous 5t/2 years, according to a report released by the Bratton Appraisal Group. That's 57.5 percent less than the median sales price for a single-family home when the market hit its peak in May 2007.

Before they bought, the Thienes were renting a house on Tumalo Market Road from Seth's aunt and uncle and trying to find a more permanent place to live. They wanted to buy a

Joe Khne/The Bulletin

Seth and Heylen Thienes bought a home in Bend during the recession in 2011 and have been doing most of the work themselves to renovate it. They are expecting a baby in November and hope to have most of the work finished by then. placeon Bend'swestside— a neighborhood he knew pretty well after renting a house on NW Portland Avenue — or a place in the country where they could get a couple of acres of land.

"We put some offers in on a couple houses, and this one came back first," said Thienes,

who according to county property records spent $150,000 on the house when he bought it from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. during a post-foreclosure sale Dec. 8, 2011.

Thienes said he was a little iffy about making the offer because his target price for a new home was $120,000, which was all he thought

he and his wife could afford while he spent his summers working with a cousin's landscaping business and she worked as a freelance graphic designer.

But they figured they could make up the difference by renting a downstairs apartment — the house was used as two separate rental units before — to their friends and co-workers for about $450 and splitting the utilities.

Since that time, the city's housing market has rebounded, and the median price for a single-family home in July 2015 was more than $320,000, according to a report from the Beacon Appraisal Group.

Thienes has followed the rebound on his block — a1,400-square-foot home nearby sold for $289,000 in August 2013, and a 1,300-square-foot home across the street sold for $263,000 in March 2014.

Even with his new job working in construction, Thienes said there's no way he could comfortably afford to pay those prices. "I'm not in that price range," he said.

Now, his wife is pregnant with their first child, a girl, due in November. And he's building a staircase to link the two floors of his house and give his future daughter her own room.

"There's still houses out there that need some love like this one," Thienes said. "They' re hard to find, but you can still find them."

— Reporter: 641-6tr=7816, mmclean@bendbulletfn.corn

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Homebuilding surges, now with a focus on density

By Claire Withycombe The Bulletin

s more people move to Bend and the economy comes swingingback, one question becomes more urgent daily: What will — or should — a growing Bend look like?

Local home designers and builders say square footage of an individual home is a decent indication of how the economy is faring. The bigger the house, the better the market, and vice versa.

The economy is recovering, and builders say home size is creeping up once more. But there are other factors that complicate — and perhaps may change — the desire to build big in Bend.

Several factors — including the city's urban growth boundary, tax incentives to include environmentally friendly features, and the possibility for homeowners to make additional

income through rentals — have driven people to build and design smaller homes closer to urban amenities.

resources and shared outdoor space replacing expansive private backyards.

Those are trends that have longterm sustainability in mind.

An early model for density With smaller residences and more NorthWest Crossing, a neighbordensity, the theory goes, fewer people will drive to work, to shop hood on the city's west side, exemplifies what 15 years or to grab a cup of coffee.

"Bend IS ago was a nascent emphaAnd kickbacks from the sis on smaller, more urban jZjgg " stat e , feds and even some communities in Bend, acBend neighborhoods mean — Sandy Garner, environmentally friendly cording to Sandy Garner, broker with the features are increasingly a broker with the Garner Garner Group being incorporated from the Group.

The Garner Group sells ground up.

"Bend is urbanizing," properties in the neighborhood, which is developed around Garner said. a central circular park and expands Urbanization in Bend outward, a key feature of the development. Nearby are bakeries, an Portland developer Tom Cody, the architecture firm, a Pilates studio and managing partner of project", hopes Summit High School. he can capitalize on the need for Garner calls it a "neighborhood with more residences within Bend's urban a heart" and believes Bend's future lies growth boundary. in neighborhoods built on similar prinCody is undertaking a townhome ciples, including access to commercial construction enterprise called Base

The Bulletin file photo

Camp on SW Colorado Avenue, not far from Crux Fermentation Project.

Cody calls it a "design-driven" development, incorporating local materials, natural light and spaces that embrace the natural beauty of the Cascades. c our ethic, if you will, is to do contextually driven development," Cody said. The townhome complex is a "poster child for smart growth," he added, being close to popular attractions — the Deschutes River, downtown Bend — and to public transit.

Single-home construction Adam Peterson has designed homes in Bend, including many in NorthWest Crossing, for over a decade and said environmentally responsive features are growing more popular in the single-family homes he designs.

Craftsman-style bungalows have been popular for a while, but these days the sleek, clean silhouettes of the midcentury modern aesthetic are in high demand, said Peterson, of Muddy River Designs. "(The homeowner is) looking for contemporary, modern, clean lines," said Peterson. He added that he' s

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 15

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seeing more requests for courtyards and natural lighting.

Three townhouses undel' Peterson said most construction over the summer of his designs are beat Newport Avenue and Ninth ing commissioned for Street were expected to beup for properties available in rent when finished. Such homes existing neighborhoods pack more housing into the city, rather than in new something a developerof a developments or open different townhome project properties. in Bend calls "smart "I would say the majority growth." of my work in 2015 has been infill lots, probably 90 percent of my work," he said. "In years previous, it would be heavily in NorthWest Crossing, but now NorthWest Crossing is kind of getting built out."

.:- <-,-,-..„."'-'«-;;. < 'Smartgrowth

Inftll Now he and others are building along a model that's gaining in popularity: the granny flat, which in bureaucrat speak is an "accessory dwelling unit," or ADU. The standalone mini-residences are popular in Portland, where system development charges, SDCs, are waived to encourage eco-friendly infill. Some here think waiving SDCs for such proj-

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"(The homeowner is) looking for contemporary, modern, clean lines."

— Adam Peterson,home designer

ects could be a way to address the lack of affordable rental housing, while also building density into the equation.

A love for Mother Earth Many homes inBend take advantage — through picture windows, carefully scouted views or open decks — of Central Oregon's astounding landscape.

But some new homes in Bend show a different love for Mother Earth through eco-friendliness. Ductless heat pumps, LED lighting, thick insulation and solar energy are musts for some homebuyers.

But even now, homeowners' choices are more often financially driven, according to Michael Scannell, president of Bend-based Woodcraft Building Inca a building, remodeling and designing business that has won awards for its

Badydoomerswill likely dictate housingtrends Central Oregon is one of the top retirement destinations in the country for baby boomers, an age demographic whose members are choosingto m oveaway from big cities like Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco. It was more affordable to rent than to own here in 2013, and since then the rental market has become intense. The real estate analysis company RealtyTrac found that Central Oregon had an annual gross yield of 5.87 percent for rental investors — one of the lowest in the country.

PERCENTAGE CHANGE INBABY BOOMER POPULATION BY COUNTY, 2007-13

Qe5CIinte5 Qennty

PoPulation decrease Stable PoPulation PoPulation increase

tel IIIjyW@) No data or

no increase

Crook 14.7% Jefferson 13.3%

Source: RealtyTrac Pete Smith / The Bulletin

900 NW Wall Street Downtown Bend 541-323-6295 www.900wall.corn

16 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

eco-friendly projects.

Scannell said that while some homebuyers actively seek out environmentally friendly features and are willing to pay for them, most of the clients he works with decide whether to go with energy-efficient features based on the bottom line. They' re more likely to choose a home or a design based on other things, he said. The countertops, for instance, or the flow of the rooms.

And Garner, the real estatebroker,said some of today's buyers are looking for features that run counter to the trends of infill, density and eco-friendliness simply because of the point they are at in their lives.

They are looking for their "forever home," the place they want to retire, so they' re asking for such things as a master bedroom on the main floor, which is saferand more accessible as the owners age, even thought it might mean a larger property footprint.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376, cr/r/ithycombe@bendbulletin.corn

PROFILE

A builder adapts

By Claire Withycombe The Bulletin

This year, Steve Klingman, the president of Redmond-based Hayden Homes, estimates his company will close 250 homes. During the worst years of the recession, it closed less than a third of that — about 70 homes — per year.

The company, which builds in a broad swath of communities in the Northwest, has been on the up-and-up in Central Oregon for a while.

"We' re in the throes of a rebound," Klingman said. "We feel like it' s been happening here in Central Oregon for about 36 months now."

Hayden's rebound comes after tougher times that caused the company to retool its Central Oregon strategy.

Builders in Bend felt the impacts of the recession in the Northwest first — for a few reasons, Klingman said. In Oregon, land use laws are stricter because of the urban growth boundary, which limits development beyond a city's boundaries. There's just more available, affordable land in Central and Eastern Washington, for example.

And Bend's dubious first-place distinction in the recession race can also be attributed in part to its recreation-driven economy, Klingman said. Prerecession, many buyers in Central Oregon were second-home seekers and retirees who at first may have been supplementing a primary home elsewhere. A second-home purchase is discretionary, and during a downturn, that kind of spending is the first to be banished from budgets.

Furthermore, when the recession hit, it was hard for Hayden, which specializes in new single-family homes, to compete with bank-owned and foreclosed homes. So the company switched to a different tactic to ride out the recession. "We went after a different market segment," Klingman said, describing the customer as "the buyer that didn't have thesame challengesasthebuyerswh o had beenforeclosed on."

Ryan B rennecke / The Bulletin

Steve Klingman, president of Hayden Homes, stands near a group of houses under construction in the Westerly subdivision off O.B. Riley Road in Bend in early July.

The company deliberately reduced the number of homes it was building in Central Oregon and focused on developing a product line that incorporated premium materials and features such as granite countertops. Because Hayden is a larger, multistate company, its regional approach cushioned the local blow and allowed it to purchase those premium materials in bulk.

These days, Klingman said he's "cautiously optimistic" about home pricing. Affordability will continue to be a concern, he said. As the region grows, Klingman thinks more people will be drawn to smaller communities such as Redmond, Sisters and La Pine.

But there's no telling exactly how long the local beer- and bike-fueled economy will grow, or whether it will again spin out of control.

"There is no crystal ball for it," Klingman said.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376, cwtthycombe@bendbulletin.corn

PPED CTONS FROM ... LYNNEA M LLEW MANAGING PRINCIPALBROKER, BEND PREMIER REAL ESTATE

By Jasmine Rockow For The Bulletin

It's impossible to consider the future of Central Oregon's housing market without talking about Bend's urban growth boundary.

Lynnea Miller believes the fate of Bend's UGB will dictate all aspects of housing in the High Desert, from prices and the availability of affordable housing to design.

Growth In 2016, the city of Bend will submit a request to the state seeking permission to expand the UGB. Miller says the expansion is vital to solving Central Oregon's housing problems, but even if it is approved it will be difficult to meet the demand of the region's growing population.

"Assuming the city's request is accepted,

we won't have development land in Bend for another four years," Miller said. "There's a huge strain on land within the UGB right now.

The push is for smaller lots, and they are commanding higher price points because they are so limited in number."

you don't have an overabundance of affordable land, you' re not going to have affordable housing," Miller said. "When you live in an area people are moving to, it just doesn't work I wish could be more encouraging, but that' s the reality."

Demand

Urbanization

BecauseBend continuesto bea meccafor people to live, demand for housing will continue to increase, and prices along with it, Miller said.

This, in turn, will have a ripple effect on surrounding communities, with more people commuting from outlying towns as far as Prineville, Madras and La Pine. As aresult, housing prices in those towns will rise too, Miller said.

Urbanization is a fast-approaching feature of Bend. Along with UGB approval would come building design mandates, Miller said.

Development on smaller lots, with multifamily dwelli ngs,condosandtownhomes have already begun to change the look of the community.

Affordability

Despite some predictions of another impending national housing bubble, Miller thinks

That is bad news for affordable housing. "If

Another bubble?

Bend is generally safe. Gone are the unsavory lending practices that caused the 2008 housing collapse, when many lenders gave people loans they couldn' t afford.

Todaysheseesmost people buying homes w ith cash orbuyinga home as asecondary residence or investment. Although international politics could negatively affect the local housing market, "I see Bend as healthy," Miller said. "It's still an area people want to live, with booming industry and the college adding a huge influx of opportunity. This town is a place people want to live."

— Reporter j rockow@bendbullettn.corn

• 0 •

•

•

• 0• 0

he collapse of the real estate bubble ripped through the economy like a tsunami.

New home construction essentially stopped, eliminating 36,600 jobs statewide, according to the Oregon Employment Department. More than 25 percent of all jobs lost in Oregon between 2007 and 2010 were in construction.

Nationwide, more than 500 banks failed between 2007 and 2014, six of them based in Oregon. Three of those were based in Central Oregon or heavily involved in real estate here.

Seven Bend furniture stores closed in less than a year. The family that had sold Chevrolets in Bend since 1918 lost its franchise.

Deschutes County lost more than 700 airplane manufacturing jobs in 2009 with the closure of Cessna Aircraft's Bend factory and the bankruptcy of Epic Air. Unemployment rates soared. Crook County had the highest jobless rate in Oregon for 40 months. Then the rates started falling, slowly.

Jobs in health care grew steadily through the recession, and the tourism sector gained jobs.

In August 2012, Entrepreneur Magazine called Bend the next big city for entrepreneurship. The tech field heated up. Facebook and Apple built data centers in Prineville.

A nd the business ofmaking beverages boomed. By the end of2014,breweries and brewpubs employed more than 1,000 people in Deschutes County, and brewing represented 1.5 percent of the county's total private employment, generating an estimated payroll of more than $27 million.

Years of job shortages, high joblessness and everything between 2006-14 annual unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted

Unemployment soared, thendegan to recover Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties had higher unemployment levels than the statewide rate for almost every year between 2006 and 2014.

In fact, Crook County had the highest unemployment rate of Oregon's 36 counties from October 2008 to October 2012.

CROOK COUNTY

DESCHUTES COUNTY

By Stephen Hamway

JEFFERSON COUNTY

The Bulletin

20%

17.9%

14.8%

14.7%

15%

10.1% 9% 10%

-7-.9'/o-

-

5.6%

5.9% 4.6%

5%

2006 '08 '10

'12 '14

Source: Oregon Employment Department

2006 '08 '10

'12 '14

2006 '08 '10 '12 '14 Greg Cross/The Bulletin

o say that Bend has had a tumultuous past decade from an employment standpoint would be an extraordinary understatement. Few places see shifts from a labor shortage to 15 percent unemployment in the span of less than three years.

But from the trials of the recession, Bend emerged withan expanding economy that's far more diverse than the one that succumbed to one of the worst employment crises in recent memory.

Longtime residents know Bend was a vastly different place 10 years ago.

The economy, while booming, was dangerously dependent on a small collection of industries. While the town was smaller than it is today, with a population of around 66,000 in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it was already beginning to strain under its own growth.

"When there's jobs to be had in Deschutes County, people move here," said Damon Runberg, Central Oregon economist for the Oregon Employment

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 19

Department.

Runberg pointed to the "funky, artificial housing bubble" as the source of many of the region's eventual problems. He said the influx of people moving to Bend created a need for more housing, which stimulated the exploding construction industry, forcing more people to come here just to support the growing population. "There was plenty of artificial speculation for housing demand," Runberg said.

And though housing speculation occurred across the country during this period, Deschutes County was among the worst offenders.

"We had a huge concentration of construction, and that's an industry with cycles," said Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon. nAnd when that cycle hits, it's going to be painful. We didn' t realize how painful."

RON PAPAD SREMEMBERS...

DIRECTOR OFCOLLEGE RELATIONS, COCC As jobs disappeared during the Great Recession, colleges everywhere saw their numbers swell, and fast. That was the experience at Central Oregon Community College, too. "We know that we were growing too fast to keep n up, Paradis said. As the economy recovers, students head back to work, and enrollment falls. "We' re hoping to end up somewherein between,"he said.

— Abby Spegman i'

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"We had a huge concentration of construction, and that's an industry with cycles. And when that cycle hits, it's going to tfe painful. We didn't realize how painful."

— Roger Lee, executive director, Economic Development for Central Oregon

An economy without diversity University of Oregon economist Tim Duy said peak employment came in 2007, with 63,350 private jobs in Deschutes County. However, the distribution of those numbers belied

a fragile, undiversified economy, as nearly 19,000 of those jobs were in one of two sectors: "mining, logging and construction" and "leisure and hospitality."

Given the real estate-heavy nature of Deschutes County's economy, when the housing bubble burst in 2008, it hit the region harder than most. By 2009, there were just over 4,000 mining, log-

•

•

l

l

ging and construction jobs left in the county, less than 50 percent of the 8,150 jobs in the sector just two years earlier.

And the industry hadn't hit rock bottom yet. Lee said that before the recession hit, around 12 percent of the workforce held jobs in construction-related industries. When the recession took hold, that figure dropped to 3 percent.

"You' re looking at 9 percent unemployment rate just with that industry alone," Lee said.

He added that more than half the county's job losses during that period W

Mid Oregon Credit Union good friends. great service.

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20 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

JOB RECOVERY... IN MULTIPLEINDUSTRIES

Sources: Oregon Employment Department, Quautylnfo.org

~ Retail trade ~ Leisure andhospitality ~ Government ~ Manufacturing ~ Information ~ F inancial activities ~ Professionalandbusinessservices »~ Mining,loggingandconstruction»aEducationandhealthservices»a Transportation,warehousinganduttttttes»a Wholesaletrade ~ Otherservices

•.. in DeschutesCounty Jobs in theconstruction industry took thebiggest hit in

the recession and had not fully recovered by the end of 2014. But jobs in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and government surpassed their prerecession peak, while jobs in health care have grown steadily since 2006, right through the recession.

10,260

•.. in CrookCounty

•. • inJeffersonCounty

By the end of 2014, only the leisure and hospitality sector in Crook County had employment matching prerecession levels among sectors with more than 100 jobs.

Like Crook and Deschutes counties, Jefferson County also saw some of its greatest job losses in the mining, logging and construction sector. Employment in the educational and health services sector and in leisure and hospitality have grown.

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In 2 counties, an employment roller coaster

By Dylan J. Darling The Bulletin

During the good times, Crook County saw an explosion in construction.

Retirement homes, second homes and destination resorts flew up. Construction employment swelled. And when the crash came, the county lost half of its construction jobs.

Crook County had the highest unemployment rate in the state, an unwanted title it held for 40 consecutive months. "Unemployment levels peaked in June 2009 at19.6 percent," said Damon Runberg, regional economist for

the Oregon Employment Department in Bend.

Recovery has been slow. The county tied for the second-highest rate as of July 2015.

The emergence ofFacebookand Appledata centers in the past five years has helped Crook County rebound. While the data centers don' t come close to providing the number of jobs homebuilding did at the height of the boom, they represent a growing sector, said Roger Lee, executive director for Economic Development for Central Oregon.

Even as data centers bring more "information" jobs — as categorized by the

employment department — most of the nongovernmental jobs in Crook County will come in manufacturing, Lee said.

Jefferson County's employment rate also is tied strongly to manufacturing, and that's one reason it fared much better than Crook County in the recession.

Jefferson didn't have a buildup in construction, so it did not lose as many jobs, but the county did not come through unscathed.

Its unemployment rate peaked at 16 percent in April 2009, largely from a drop in manufacturing — from 1,650 in 2006 to 790 in 2009

— while other industries stayed fairly steady, according to employment department data.

By 2014, the number of manufacturing jobs in Jefferson County, many involving automated woodworking, was back up to1,010.

Runberg said he expects steady growth in both counties in the next several years.

"I don't think we are going to see that kind of building boom or anything like that anytime soon," he said, "and that is a good thing."

— Reporter: 647-6tr=7872, ddadtng@bendbuiilettn.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 21

TOURISM Bend took a hit, but fared better

came from construction and manufacturing, which by 2009 had lost more than 35 percent of the 6, 140 jobs in the industry in 2006. Aviation suffered as well, as the Bend Municipal Airport lost more than 80 percent of the 5,315 jobs generatedon the property in 2007,according to The Bulletin's archives.

"Other than the building products, that was the other one that really hit us the worst," Lee said.

Not all industries suffered equally. Tourism was a force in the local economy in the years leading to the recession and was one of the harder-hit industries nationally after 2008, as Americans dialed back spending on vacations and other tourism expenses. However, Doug La Placa, CEOof Visit Bend, the city's tourism agency, said that wasn't the case in Bend.

"Through the recession, relative to other tourism destinations, Bend weathered the storm pretty well," La Placa said.

While the leisure and hospitality sector lost more than a thousand jobs from 2007 to 2009, Visit Bend's data showed occupancy rates and transient room-tax collections bounced back more quickly than they did in peer cities such as Aspen, Colorado, or Flagstaff, Arizona. Bend's lodging tax collections even set a single-month record recently, in July.

BEND'S TOURISM REBOUNDEstimatedpercentagechangein hotel roomrevenueytransient roomtaxes, comparedwith select destinations 20tg-t tvs.2008-09 ALL u.s.

F LAGSTAFF, ARIZ. +3 . 8% wAsHINGTQN OALIFORNIA 3 3% STATE +2.7% 2 4o7 STEAMBOAT +1.8% ASPEN, COLO. LAS VEGAS SPRINGS,COLO. -2.3% 9 .1% 15.6 %

2012: the turning point While the national recession officially ended in June 2009, the turning point for Deschutes County came in 2012. Duy said the economy began to expand rapidly in the second half of 2012, thanks to an improving national economy that spurred renewed interest in Bend.

"We started to see old migration patterns return," Duy said.

The numbers bear that out. Employment levels shot up between 2012 and 2013 asthe county added 2,820 private jobs. However, Duy said, residential construction, once the lifeblood of the local economy, continued to lag, meaning other sectors expanded to make

Source: City data, RRC Associates

David Wray/The Bulletin

"We don't know exactly why Bend fared better than other mountain towns through the recession, but we know that it did," La Placa said. "I think part of it has to do with the fact that, before the recession, Bend was appreciating this national upswing in recognition."

Compared with cities like Aspen, he said, Bend has traditionally been a regional tourism destination, meaning the overall downturn in tourism funding didn't impact the region as severely.

— Stephen Hamway,TheBulletin I'

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up the difference.

One such sector was "educational and health services," led by St. Charles Health System.

Runberg, of the state employment department, said the hospital, like many around the country, fared well through the recession.

"Hospitals aren't really discretionary spending," Runberg said.

Additionally, "professional and business services," a category that includes technology companies, has done well, with better employment numbers than before the recession Lee pointed to this growing tech sector, augmented bythe completion of the 1001 Tech Center at 1001 SW Emkay Drive, as evidence of the changes to Bend's economy in a relative short span.

"Are we completely immune to a recession?

No, of course not. I don' t think there is such a thing. But I thinkwe have many more things going on today than in 2005 from an industry-diversity standpoint," Lee said.

— Reporter: 541-817-7818, shamwrayC<bendbulletin.corn

"Are we completely immune to a recession? No, of course not. I don' t think there is such a thing. But I think

we have many more things going on today than in 2005 from an industry-diversity stand point."

— Roger Lee, executive director, Economic Development for Central Oregon

By Stephen Hamway The Bulletin

oelle Teuber and her husband, Jed, started selling furniture in 2002 in a shop on SW Arizona Avenue, before moving to their current location on SW Industrial Way in 2008. Teuber cited visibility as the main reason for the move.

"If we' re really going to make a go of this, we' re going to need to be front and center," Teuber said.

What she didn't know at the time was 2008 was the beginning of one of the worst recessions in recent memory, one that would claim seven furniture companies in Bend within a 12-month periodand would change the complexion of the area's economy for years to come.

For much of the 2000s, Bend rode a real estate bubble to dramatic growth.

Brian Fratzke, founder of Fratzke Commercial Real Estate Advisors Inc., said the bubble was exacerbated by people buying properties, both residential and commercial, through lending, allowing them to make purchases they would not have qualified for otherwise.

But when that bubble burst, Deschutes County became one of the hardest-hit locations in the country.

By 2009, Deschutes County had lost more than 10,000 of the 63,350 private nonfarm jobs it had just two years earlier, according to data provided by the Oregon Employment Department.

Of thoselosses,more than 4,000 came out of the industry segment of "mining, logging and construction." Most of those losses were from the evaporating construction market that had once pro-

Jarod Opp erman/ The Bulletin

Jed and Noelle Teuber moved their furniture store, furnish, to its current location in 2008. They didn't know it would be the same year the Great Recession — which decimated housing, an industry with great impact on their own business — would deepen. pelled Bend's economy.

Fewer people, fewer buyers As the Teubers found out, fewer people buying and renting homes and offices meant fewer people looking for furniture, though Noelle Teuber said she had no idea how bad it was going to be. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 31 furniture stores employed 190 people in Deschutes County in 2007. By 2012, just 22 stores and 131 employees remained.

"We just kind of hung on," Teuber said.

She attributed her store's survival to the store's unique furniture selection, which emphasized modern styles and clean lines with a more distinguished line of furniture than that of its competitors, which helped allow the company to hang around where others failed.

"The ones that didn't make it are the ones that didn't really set themselves apart," Teuber said.

Aviation descends, sharply In addition, aviation, which had been a growing portion of Bend's economy

PROFILE

More than a few closed. This is one of them.

By Victoria Jacobsen

Kelli Brooks, former owner of At the Beach, is shown in her downtown Bend shop shortly before it closed in September 2013. "I was in a funk; I really did nothing for six months. I slept in every day — I was exhausted."

The Bulletin

For more than a decade, owning and operating At the Beach was more of a joy than a chore for Kelli Brooks.

"When a business is doing really well and making money, it doesn't feel like work, it just feels like a fun day," Brooks said. "It was a fun day almost every day for about 13 years, and then it wasn' t."

Brooks bought the Wall Street swim- and vacation-wear shop in 1996, when she was 27 years old. By 2000 she had hit her stride selling high-end and specialty-fit suits.

"If we had a badday at the store, I knew that the next day was going to make up for it," Brooks said.

Even after the Central Oregon housing market collapsed, Brooks was not worried about the store. After all, customers continued to stream in and buy suits well into 2008.

"Everyone seemed to be going bankrupt, but for whatever reason I still stayed busy for two years," Brooks said. "It was almost like people hadn't caughtup.Theythoughtthe economy was going to turn around, so the spending was still happening."

But as theyears passedandtheeconomy continued to stall, sales dwindled. Brooks reduced her staff and began to work more shifts herself, but by 2013 she had hadenough. At

before the recession took hold, declined dramatically after 2008. In 2007, the Bend Municipal Airport and other businesses on its property generated 5,315 direct and indirect jobs, which generated $155 million in revenue, according to The Bulletin's archives. By 2012, those numbers had dropped to 873 and $20 million, respectively.

The aviation industry "just got pounded in the recession," said Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon.

Andy Tullis The Bulletin file photo

one point, she was poised to sell, but when the prospective buyer backed away from the deal, Brooks decided it was time to shut down.

"I didn't go downtown for a week — I couldn't bring myself to even drive by the space," she recalled. "I was in a funk; I really did nothing for six months. I slept in every day — I was exhausted."

She considered taking a long "working break" in Hawaii or possibly Mexico, but instead relocated to Sonoma, California, and

took aoj b as tour a guide inwine country.

"I knew almost nothing about wine when I

Turnaround For the construction and furniture industries, the turning point came in 2012. By 2012, Fratzke said, it had finally become more cost-effective for renters to start buying their buildings again, a shift that provided the boost commercial real estate needed. With a recovering national economy, people began moving back to Deschutes County, helping the furniture industry stay afloat.

Since the economy formally entered

started," Brooks admitted. "I wanted to do something completely different, so I drove anywhere from two to 15 people at a time to different wineries, and it was really fun."

After 16 years ofowning herownbusiness, she was worried about working for a boss, but Brooks said being a tour guide was the perfect transition back into the workforce. "(The company) gave me the clients that I would take on tours, but I planned my own itinerary," she said. "I figured out the wineries we were going to, and I talked all day about wine."

Brooks enjoyed the wine country lifestyle

an expansionary period in the spring of 2015, the industries that suffered during the recession have largely recovered, albeit to widely varying extents. Bend's airport remains a shadow of its prerecession self, though the losses from the aviation industry have been augmented somewhat by growth in the drone industry.

One of Oregon's three drone-testing sites is in Warm Springs, and Deschutes County has leveraged its proximity: Approximately 50 companies

— she also worked a few hours a week at a Sonoma tasting room near her apartment — but when tourist season ended in October 2014, she moved back to Bend to be closer to her boyfriend.

Now she works part time coordinating marketing and events for the Downtown Bend Business Association,w heresheonceserved on the board of directors. She is also designing for her own line of resort wear, Jetset Travel Collection, which is available at Lulu's Boutique in downtown Bend.

Despite the ordeal of closing her first store, Brooks said she would like to own another business.

"Onceyou own a business,you kind of have to do itagain," shesaid. Thestrugglte o keep At the Beach afloat also taught her an important lesson about retail: Sometimes closing is the smartest thing you can do.

"I was really upset for about a year that I had to close, but I'm a lot better now," Brooks said. "I didn't realize how much pressure I was under.

"You can go to any business school, and they always teach you how to build and grow your business, but they never talk about when you should get out. That's not usually part of the curriculum, and I think it should be."

— Reporter: 541-383-0305, vjacobsen@bendbulletfn.corn

that make products for unmanned aerial vehicles now operate in the county.

"We' ve been racing toward the starting line and really just now starting to see results," Lee said.

While the construction industry has rebounded significantly since its nadir in 2009 and 2010, it has still not reached its prerecession peak. "It' s been a roller coaster ride from hell," Fratzke said.

— Reporter: 541-817-7818, shamwtayC<bendbulletin.corn

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end's economy was left for dead during the Great Recession after the collapse of the local and national construction industry. Construction in Bend is just now returning to levels seen before the housing bubble burst, but it's the rise of other industries that has helped the city not only recover from the recession but also build a more balancedeconomy than the one the region had eight years earlier.

"The breakout of employment before the recession was much less sustainable than today," said Damon Runberg, Central Oregon economist for the Oregon Employment Department.

A few main industries, many of which played a fairly subdued role in the prerecession economy, have grown tremendously in the years since.

Perhaps the most visible is the food and beverage industry, which includes craft brewing. While beer is one of Central Oregon's most coveted exports, it wasn't always as ubiquitous as it is today.

G arrett Wales, co-founder of 10 Barrel Brewing Company, which in November 2014 was bought by industry giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, said when the brewery began in Bend as Wildfire Brewing in 2006, there were only four or five breweries in the area,

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 25

a far cry from today's more than two dozen.

"People were telling us (in 2006) that the market was saturated, that Bend can't support another brewery," said Wales, who credited a discerning Central Oregon market largely cultivated

by Deschutes Brewing Inc., which has grown since the late 1980s into one of the nation's largest craft breweries.

"We' re almost a generation ahead of other markets that didn't have a pioneering brewery like that," Wales said.

A major jump in the region's overall beer productioncame in2012, according to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. The uptick came from the continued growth of established brewers such as 10 Barrel and Boneyard, as well as the additions of Good Life, Worthy and others.

A growing tech scene Additionally, the tech industry has made a great deal of headway in a short amount of time. Preston Callicott, CEO of theBend-based company Five Talent Software, said tech companies were few and far between before 2006.

"When I first came in, there were very few companies that I would con-

"We' re creating the middle class that llas been absent since the mills closed, essentially." â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Preston Callicott, CEO of Five Talent Software, on Bend's tech scene

sider truly tech-based companies, and there wasn't really an ecosystem at that time," Callicott said. "There were a few star tups, but nothing like what we have now."

By the time the recession took hold, that had begun to change. Initially spurred by Silicon Valley types who moved here for quality-of-life reasons, Bend now has a vibrant and self-sustaining tech scene for a city of its size, with around 200 tech firms and startups, according to Callicott.

"Prior to 2008, 2010, most of us made a conscious choice to come here and sacrificed," Callicott said. "Now you don't have to create something here to get here; you can actually work for someone."

The development of the 1001 Tech Center, at 1001 SW Emkay Drive, has helped. It has given the industry a hub, what Callicott calls a "tech district."

"There is a vibe going on," he said.

That has tangible benefits for com-

panies, which can network and collaborate on projects more easily than they could in a more disparate environment.

For Bend, having a tech scene with established companies means stable, middle-class jobs that provide opportunities for advancement, which Callicott said could change the perception of Bend as a city filled with haves and have-nots, with little in between.

"We' re creating the middle class that has been absent since the mills closed, essentially," he said.

Capitalizing on recreation Since the recession, Bend has also seen a rise in the manufacturing of outdoor products. Statewide, outdoor recreation generated $12.8 billion in consumer spending in 2014, and around 141,000 jobs, according to data from the Outdoor Industry Association. Moreover, Bend is starting to become an epicenter for the movement, highlighted by local success stories such as Silipint

Inc. and Hydro Flask.

Van Schoessler, a member of the steering committee for Oregon Outdoor Alliance, an industry cluster that began in 2014, said that Bend, with its propensity for outdoor activities, still has room to grow as a market for outdoor products.

"It's starting to take hold," Schoessler said.

To that end, developer Mark Beach opened up The Bridge, a co-working space in the model of the 1001 Tech Center, to help facilitate the collaboration between companies seen on the other side of town.

"We' re trying to make it very economical for companies," Beach said.

Healthy growth in health care Additionally, health care has continued to expand. Runberg said the industry segment "educational and health services"added more than 3,000 jobs between 2006 and 2014, by far the most of any sector. Runberg attributed that growth to the continued development of the St. Charles Bend hospital, as well as demand from an aging population. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamu ayC<bendbulleti n.corn

PROFILE

Butcher finds a niche in a changed neighborhood

By Mac McLean The Bulletin

Seated at a table in his butcher shop, Primal Cuts Meat Market owner Bryan Tremayne checks in with a customer who wanted a beer from his growler fill station, and another who had two large racks of spare ribs in his hands and had been looking at the store's cheese counter for quite some time.

He made sure both customers at the Galveston Avenue store were being helped before he started looking back at how much his business and the neighborhood it serves have changed.

"When I first opened this place, it was just me and another guy," Tremayne said. "The first winter I lived here ... we had to close on Mondays because that was the only way I while working at Portland's Pacific Natural couldkeep from working seven daysaw eek." Foods, and decided to open his first shop Tremayne graduated from Portland's West- in Bend because it could serve "a niche that wasn't being filled in town." ern Culinary Institute in 1999 and worked as a line cook or chef at a number of restaurants The meat market, which Tremayne operin the Pacific Northwest. He learned butchery ates in a rented, 1,900-square-foot storefront,

Bryan Tremayne runs Primal Cuts, a meat market in Bend. It's also home to a growler fill station.

he bought a flock of 55 chickens this spring.

In addition to growing his business, Tremayne has grown the staff to nine employees, and he's seen hisaverage daily customer count more than double.

Tremayne said this growth has been fueled by his store's growing reputation and the RyanBrennecke The Bulletin fact people are using the Galveston Avenue corridor's businesses and restaurants as an alternative to those in Bend's downtown.

The neighborhood's recovering housing market has also contributed to Tremayne's success by filling its once empty houses with full-time residents and vacation rental tourists who come by Primal Cuts when they want a beer, a growler or some steaks and hot dogs to throw on the grill. was mostly empty when he first started it four When askedabout the neighborhood's continued growth and future, Tremayne years ago. It now houses Growler Phil's, a beer tap counter Tremayne took over last year. said, "We' ll just sit back and watch this thing The sandwich and charcuterie station is happen." â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Reporter: 541-6tr=7816, also a new development, along with the farmfresh egg operation Tremayne started when mmclean@bendbullettn.corn

Hugegrowthin the productionofalcoholic deverages No matter what you drink, there's a good chance you can buy local. Alcoholic beverages have become big business in Central Oregon, the industry growing from five breweries, a distillery and a winery in 2006 to more than 50 makers of alcohol in 2015. Some of the brewers produce only small amounts and pride themselves on being nanobreweries, while others are bursting at the seams, opening huge production plants here and taprooms elsewhere, and distributing their bottles, cans and kegs in neighboring states and well beyond. Deschutes Brewery, the granddaddy of them all, now distributes in 29 states and two Canadian provinces. Cideries, wineries and distilleries also abound here, and the lines between them are blurring, with some breweries getting winery or distillery licenses, and about half of the wineries also making cider. ~ Production facility LEGEfnlp ~ B r ewery/A Hard Q~tftf,nary " ~l pl s tlllery " • n oretai l Cider g ~ Pu b QNew Basin Distilling Co. 9Three Fingered Jack Distillery 9Maragas Winery 9Faith Hope and Charity Vineyard OThree Creeks Brewing Co. Pub ©Three Creeks Brewing Co. QWild Roots Vodka QSmith Rock Brewing Co. ©Wild Ride Brewing O Cascade Lakes Brewing (P Juniper Brewing Co. Note: Ref le state licensing reco s as of Aug. 25.

® Ochoco Brewing Co. flmt Bendistillery Cf Shade TreeBrewing ©© Rat Hole Brewing © Rimrock Cider Co. ®The Ale Apothecary OSunriver Brewhouse gf Sunriver Brewing Co. O Boneyard Beer © Bridge 99 Brewery ©© Oblivion Brewing Co.

© Silver Moon © Deschutes Brewery Public House © Below Grade Brewing © 10 Barrel Brewing Co. © McMenamins Old St. Francis © Worthy Brewing Co. © Boneyard Beer © Crux Fermentation Project © Volcano Vineyards © GoodLife Brewing Co. © Backdrop Distilling © Green Go Vintners/Ermisch Cellars

© Crux Fermentation Project © North Rim Brewing © Craft Kitchen and Brewery O Fresh Tracks Brewing © 10 Barrel Brewing Co. © Cascade Alchemy © Monkless Belgian Ales © Oregon Spirit Distillers © River Bend Brewing © Immersion Brewing © Far Afield Cider © The Brew Shop/Platypus Pub

© Naked Winery Q) Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room © Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. O Red Tank Cider Co. © ©Atlas Hard Cider © Volcano Vineyards Ct Bend Brewing Co. © Monkey FaceVineyards © Thomas & Sons Distillery

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 27

Through good times and bad, breweries are big business here.

And wineries, cideries and distilleries are following their lead.

By Beau Eastes The Bulletin

t the end of 2006, Bend beer connoisseurs were salivating at the prospect of a sixth — SIXTH!brewery about to open in Central Oregon, a smallscale operation at the time known as Wildfire Brewing.

It was a simpler time. Gas stations didn't have taps, bicycles and pubs had yet to combine and local trails were, for

the most part, ale-free.

Oh, how things have changed.

The booze business — beer in particular — has exploded in Central Oregon over the past decade, Great Recession be damned. Deschutes County boasts more than two dozen breweries, five distilleries, four cider makers, three wineries and tens of thousands of discerning palates. And that's not including long-timers and newcomers to the scene in Jefferson and Crook counties.

Bend's Deschutes Brewery, the

operations — N ewport's Rogue Ales

largest craft brewery in the state, has more than doubled its production since December 2007, the official start of the recession. Central Oregon's oldest brewery produced 337,094 beer barrels in 2014, making it the seventh-largest craft brewer in the country, according to the Brewers Alliance, a national trade union for small, independent brewers. (Deschutes dwarfs Oregon's othercraftbreweries in terms of size, making more beer than the state' s second-, third- and fourth-largest craft

Brewery, Full Sail Brewing out of Hood River and Fugene's Ninkasi Brewing — combined.) Boneyard Beer (17,466 barrels), Good Life Brewing (15,791) and Worthy Brewing (9,300), all of which opened after the Central Oregon economy crashed, are now among the top 15 craft beer producers in the state. ol'm not sure you could ever forecast such a boom in business,n says Chris Justema, president and co-owner of Redmond's Cascade Lakes Brewery, W

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"Beer is the culture here.

Everything else is secondary."

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the second-oldest brewery in Central Oregon.

Cascade Lakes started brewing in 1994, and Justema joined the ownership group in 2003.

"The more the merrier, as long as everyone' s A sampling of Central Oregon's making good beer. It just helps put us on the beer, wine and spirits: map."

Top: Brian Mitchell, brewery Oregon as a whole is a leader in the craft manager, at Wild Ride Brew in beer movement. According to the Oregon Redmond. Middle: Scott Ratcliff, Brewers Guild, 20 percent of beer consumed owner, Volcano Vineyards in Bend in the state was made in Oregon, the highest Bottom: Drason Anderson, percentage of in-state beer consumption in tasting room leader, Crux the country. The numbers for draft beer were Fermentation Project even higher: 60 percent of all beer Oregonians in Bend. poured from taps was from an Oregon brewery.

"Deschutes (which opened in 1988) really paved the way," said Jon Abernathy, author of "Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon" and the popular The Brew Site beer blog, explaining how early innovators in the craft beer movement helped consumer tastes mature beyond just traditional American lagers. "In this day and age, when there's a new brewery, people seek it out. If not for those early efforts from places like Deschutes, Bend Brewing Company, Cascade Lakes, Bridgeport, Full Sail, Widmer, there would be a much higher barrier to entry.

"Give a lot of credit to those early pioneers," Abernathy said.

"They changed tastes and taste perception."

All of those $5 pints beer geeks gladly pay for add up.

By the Oregon Brewers Guild's count, the state's 179 craft breweries pumped out 1.6 million barrels ofbeer last year, creating 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and $2.83 billion in total economic impact.

Led by Deschutes, Central Oregon breweries were responsible for approximately 438,000 barrels, almost 30 percent of the state' s craft beer output. According to the Oregon Brewers Guild, Central Oregon breweries were responsible for 970 jobs in 2014, 700 of which were full-time. Those figures don't include the number of positions created by such local companies as Hydro Flask, Silipint and DrinkTanks that cater to craft beer consumers.

Buoyed in part by the success of the craft beer industry, cider makers, wineries and distilleries have also taken root in Bend.

Bend's Atlas Cider Company, which opened in spring 2013, is already the third-largest cider maker in the state, and this summer pr/ the company opened up a cider bar near the Old Mill. Backdrop /f .

Distilling opened in 2014, becoming the fifth distiller in the area, 'if and Volcano Vineyards, Maragas Winery, and Faith, Hope and Charity Vineyards helped create the Drinkable Diversions loop, a welcome detour of cider, spirits and wine on the Bend Ale Trail.

"There's no perceived end in sight," Abernathy said. "It should slow down at some point. There's a limited number of tap handles, so there's got to be some point of saturation.

"But every time I think that," he said, "more breweries open up."

Bend anddeyond, deer andbeyond

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— Reporter: 541-817-7829,beastes@bendbulletin.corn The Bulletin file photos

The medical industry expanded dramatically here, but spending on health care fell. How did the industry survive, and thrive?

By Tara Bannow The Bulletin

hen times are hard, people spend less money. They don't go out to dinner as much. They don't go on as many vacations. They hold off on fancy cars.

And, it turns out, they don't go to the doctor as much, either.

Sure, they get broken bones fixed.

They get cancer treatment. But mammograms? Not always. Colonoscopies?

Those can wait.

At the height of the Great Recession in 2008, Central Oregon's health care industry felt this in a big way.

"They would get it if they really had an acute need, but they weren't doing as much of the preventative care, the regular appointments, the preventative screenings," said Christy McLeod, the chief operating officer of Bend Memorial Clinic, one of the region's largest primary care providers.

Providers at the larger operations worked fewer hours and construction was way down.

St. Charles Health System, which ran three hospitals in 2009 — St. Charles Madras didn't come on board until 2013 — had to take drastic cost-saving measures. The health system refinanced its debt in 2008 after interest rates began to fluctuate dramatically, said Jenn Welander, St. Charles' chief financial officer.

care business in 2009. Welander said it was an effort to encourage patients to use primary and preventive care rather than resorting to emergency rooms.

"The change in the economy caused — Jenn Welander, chief financial officer, St. Charles Health System us to look deeper at how we serve the region and what does the region need in terms of health care?" she said.

In early 2009, the health system million in 2010, Welander said.

McLeod, of BMC, said the hospital laidoffor reduced hours for more BMC took a "hunker-down mentalsystem getting into primary care didn' t ity" during the economic downturn, than 100 employees, according to The negatively affect her company's bottom Bulletin archives. Later that year, they McLeod said. The provider didn't plan line. As Central Oregon's population increased the price of services by 13.5 any new construction, but it also didn' t grows, primary care will be increaspercent, nearly twice as much as in pre- halt construction on the Redmond cliningly in demand. vious years, according to the archives. ic that had already been in the works.

In fact, at the same time St. Charles More employees lost their jobs in 2010. That clinic opened in May 2010. launched primary care, BMC was St. Charles also redesigned its benplanning its medical home program, Primary care efits plan to be less expensive for both in which caregivers not only address the health system and its employees.

St. Charles launched its primary patients' acute needs, but they also "We responded like most businesses did: We contracted and got very conservative on our spending and we looked at our costs and tried to impact them in a positive way," Welander said.

BMC did not have to lay off any providers, but many staff members had to 18 years reverse mortgage experience, work on-call shifts rather than regular schedules, McLeod said. local, professional consultation Health care-related construction took a dive, too. St. Charles spent more Willamette Vatie than $40 million in both 2006 and 2007 HOME LOAN OIVISION on buildings and equipment. In 2008, 541-382-4189 the health system spent about $26 million in that area. By 2009, construction 121 NW Greenwood Ave, Ste 103, Bend, OR 97701 and equipment spending had fallen to jerry.gilmour@wvbk.corn $18 million, and fell even further to $14

"We responded like most businesses did: Wecontracted and got very conservative on our spending andwe looked at our costs and tried to impact them in a positive way."

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TIMELINE

30 SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

St. Charles,prerecessionandpostrecession St. Charles Health System has dramatically expanded its reach across Central Oregon over the years, branching into primary care in 2011, acquiring Madras' hospital in 2013 and bringing on specialists such as surgeons and cardiologists from smaller practices in recent years. It even has a presence in smaller cities such as Sisters.

St. Charles Bend (1975)

Y ST. CHARLES' OTHERSITES

ST. CHARLES' FLAGSHIP In northeast Bend: 2500 NE Neff Road

Pioneer Memorial Hospital (1950) Joined St. Charles in 2008 1201 NE Elm St.

< PRE-EXPANSION Y POST-EXPANSION 1960

St. Charles Redmond (1952)

Opened as Central Oregon District Hospital Merged with St. Charles Health System in 2001; $30 million addition opened in 2006 1253 NW Canal Blvd.

St. Charles Madras (1967) Opened as Mountain View Hospital St. Charles took over in 2013 470 NE A St.

%06i rrr0 -< g

1960

Y EXPANSIONS SINCE THE GREAT RECESSION Source: St. Charles Health System

David W ray/ The Bulletin

Immediate Care (2010) 2600 NE Neff Road, Bend

St. Charles Family Care (2011) 2965 NE Conners Ave., Suite 127

Surgical Associates of the Cascades (2013) Joined St. Charles Medical Group

Heart Center Cardiology (2013) St. Charles Heart and Lung Center (2013) Expanded St. Charles Cancer Center (2014) 2500 NE Neff Road

Center for Women's Health-Bend (2015) 2600 NE Neff Road Alsoin Bend:

St. Charles Family Care and Immediate Care (2016) Scheduled toopen November next year Northwest corner of SE Third Street and Badger Road near Wal-Mart

St. Charles Family Care Prineville (2011)1103 NE Elm St. Redmond (2011)211 NW Larch Ave. Sisters (2012) 630 N. Arrowleaf Trail (operated out of a temporary location beginning in 2011) Madras (2014)480 N E ASt.

Center for Women's HealthRedmond (2014) 340 NW Fifth St.

St. Charles Prineville (2015) Opening fall 2015, replacing Pioneer Memorial Hospital 200 SE Combs Flat Road

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 31

remind them of preventive screenings as they arise depending on factors including age, risk, medical history and lifestyle, McLeod said. BMC officially launched its first medical home in 2010, she said.

This was a precursor to the sweeping health care changes that would happen under the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010. Although the biggest changes brought by federal health care reform — the health insurance mandate and the Medicaid expansion — didn't take effect until 2014, the law's emphasis on controlling health care costs by focusing on preventive care influenced practices years earlier.

Out of the doldrums When things began looking up again in 2011 and 2012, BMC began slowly adding new providers. Every time the provider hit a new growth target, they added specialists to their teams, McLeod said.

In 2010, BMC expanded its pulmonology department. Roughly a year later, it doubled the number of providers in its gastroenterology department, McLeod said. Around this time, the

"We' ve always had this balance between how many providers we have and how quickly you could get in. You don't want to grow certain specialties too quickly because you just don't know how much of the market would be there.

You have to be a little bit conservative in that growth."

— Christy McLeod, chief operating officer, Bend Memorial Clinic

provider also added more urgent care and dermatology providers, she said.

"We' ve always had this balance between how many providers we have and how quickly you could get in," McLeod said. "You don't want to grow certain specialties too quickly because you just don't know how much of the market would be there. You have to be a little bit conservative in that growth."

A healing market In 2013, BMC opened its Old Mill clinic, a major expansion for the provider, and a public indication that it was feeling confident and ready to grow, McLeod said.

Welander, of St. Charles, said it wasn't until 2014 that things really

started to turn around for St. Charles.

That year, it spent $61 million on buildings and equipment, well above where it had been in the years before the recession.

The year also marked the opening of the health system's expanded cancer center on its Bend campus, and the year that saw much of the construction on the future St. Charles Prineville, the $30 million hospital that will replace Pioneer Memorial Hospital, which the health system took over in 2008.

In summer 2015, St. Charles achieved a lower interest rate on the debt it had refinanced in 2008, a goal that was more than six years in the making, Welander said.

"It has taken us six-plus years to get to that point where the market and our financial position were able to do that," she said.

In the future, Welander says, she thinks the health care industry's focus on cost efficiency will remain high, especially because the Affordable Care Act has dramatically increased the number of people relying on such government programs as Medicaid, known here as the Oregon Health Plan, for which she said providers are not reimbursed for the full cost of providing care. Federal health care reform also shifts toward compensation for the quality of care provided rather than the amount of service provided, which will be an ongoing revolution, she said.

"We' re all trying to find a way to produce the right outcomes for patients in an economic model that is sustainable," she said. "It's really not about new sources of revenue as much as it is about providing value within the revenue constructs that we' re in."

— Reporter: 541-383-0304, tbannow@bendbulletin.corn

"l always wanted to go to a four-year university.

So it."sa big help t:hat it: is here."

Allison Zavala Bend High School Class of 2015

S

•

S

S

S

•

-

•

•

•

•

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e

I

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e I

Community First Bank (2009)

2000

Bank fails After failing, Community First Bank, based in Prineville, is bought by Home Federal Bank.

LibertyBank (2010) Bank fails After failing, LibertyBank, which is based in Eugene but has a large presence in Central Oregon,is boughtby Home FederalBank.

201 0

< FIRST ACQUISITION Y SECOND ACQ U I SITION 2011

Several outfits went corporate.

For banks, it was growth or failure.

And it's likely the region benefited.

By Ted Shorack The Bulletin

any companies that were born and bred in Central Oregon changed ownership in the years following the Great Recession.

But while many local businesses struggled during the economic downturn, the recent acquisitions aren' t necessarily a direct result of the overall financial hardships experienced by the region.

Bend Research and BendBroadband were bought by large national companies in 2013 and 2014. 10 Barrel Brewing grew during the recession and subsequently was sold to international beverage company Anheuser-Busch InBev. Bank of the Cascades also grew following the recession. It acquired Home

Federal Bancorp in 2014 in a multimillion-dollar merger.

Car dealerships industrywide faced a tumultuous restructuring during the aftermath of the recession, a shakeup that hit home here. Bob Thomas Car Co. sold to Lithia Motors. Kendall Auto Group bought Todd Sprague's Mercedes-Benz and Toyota/Scion dealerships in 2014. The Eugene company also bought Carrera Motors that same year.

While some might malign the fact the companies are no longer owned by locals, the change of ownership was likely an overall benefit to the region's economy, according to Jon Wolf, an economics professor at Central Oregon Community College.

Wolf said businesses naturally want to grow and expand, and to do that the supply chain has to be improved.

"Ultimately, the large companies

201 2

2013

2014 Source: Bulletin reporting

Home Federal (2014) Acquired by Bank of the Cascades CascadeBancorp,parentcompany ofBankoftheCascades, acquires Home Federal Bank of Nampa, Idaho.

)9)

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 33

TIMELINE

Failuresand acpuisitions: asamplingof two sectors 2009

ails ld ln

ank.

Banks and auto dealerships experienced major changes as a result of the Great Recession.

Andy Tullis/ The Bulletin file photo

Tim Morris' company, German Master Tech Inc., survived the recession. Now he has five full-time employees and considers his shop one of Bend's best-kept secrets.

2009

Thomas Sales and Service

(2009)

10) ails ld ln

201 0

ttral ank.

des des, aho.

2010

Bank (2010)

N

l4)

Columbia River

2011

Bank fails After failing, Columbia River Bank, which is based in The Dalles but has a large presence in Central Oregon, is bought by Columbia State Bank.

201 2

PremierWest Bank

(2013)

2014

Acquired by AmericanWest Bank Spokane, Washington-based AmericanWest Bank acquires Medford-based PremierWest Bank, which also has two branches in the High Desert.

Revvin Up

in a recession

By Victoria Jacobsen

Bob Thomas Car Co. (2010) 2011

South Valley Bank and Trust (2012) Acquired by Washington Federal South Valley Bank and Trust had headquarters in Klamath Falls and eight branches in Central Oregon.

Dodge franchise to Smolich Motors Chrysler Corp., in the middle of reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, takes away the Dodge franchise in Central Oregon from Thomas Sales and Service (the Subaru dealer) and gives it to Smolich Motors, located almost directly across the street on U.S. Highway 20.

PROFILE

Franchises to Lithia Motors Lithia Motors of Medford, at the time the ninthlargest auto dealership company in the U.S., acquires the Honda, Cadillac and Chevrolet franchises from Bob Thomas Car Co., which had sold Chevrolets in Bend for nearly 100 years.

2012

2013

Carrera Motors (2014)

Acquired by Kendall Auto Group Kendall Auto Group, of Eugene, buys Carrera Motors, which sells Porsche, Audi, BMW and Volkswagenand was founded in Bend in 1982.

2014

Toyota Scion and Mercedes-Benz (2014) Acquired by Kendall Auto Group Kendall Auto Group buys two Bend dealerships, ToyotaScion and Mercedes-Benz, both previously owned locally.

Tim Doran, Carli Krueger and David Wray/ The Bulletin

The Bulletin

German Master Tech seems like the sort of business that would thrive in a hot economy.

The shop, opened in 2005 during the prerecession boom years, originally specialized in restoring classic European cars produced by luxury brands such as Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The cars rebuilt at GMT are those featured in car shows and magazines and coveted by wellheeled collectors. The fledgling reconstruction shop gained international recognition for these projects, but even in these early days of the business, Tim Morris, who took over full proprietorship in 2007, could see the steady money in maintenance of Bend's European cars.

"It was kind of underground at first, restoring cars for clients thathad old Porchesand BMWs, and the maintenance work just followed," Morris explained in his shop on Service Road.

"People are always looking for good mechanics, likea good doctor. You don't mess around with that."

Morris, who worked as a BMW-certified master technician at BMW-Northwest in Ta-

coma, Washington, and Carrera Motors in Bend before striking out on his own, said he wanted his shop to be free of shortcuts and compromises.

As business grew, Morris recruited more mechanics, often hiring lead technicians from area dealerships.

"Bend was ready for a good

independent(mechanic)," Morris said. "As an independent, boutique-type shop, I can pull whatever I want to use as product, and I choose the best and I do agreat deal of research. I offer the best, the best mechanics, the best diagnostics and hopefully the best ownership, and that's my whole thing, top-level service."

Within a few years, this business model — top-level maintenance service in one bay and expert restoration in the next — would prove to be as well-suited to lean times as it was to the boom.

"Americans will always spend money on cars, before anything aside from health care, food and housing," Morris said. "We' re a mobile society, andevenpeople who don't take care of their cars will eventually need to see someone like me for something. So it's a good business model."

— Reporter: 541-383-0305, vjacobsen@bendbulletfn.corn

34 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

do it well," he said.

Wolf also noted that large companies will look at smaller entities that handle growth and periods of recession well.

"As it relates to the business cycle, most mergers and acquisitions occur in times of strength, not in a time period of weakness," said Wolf.

Capsugel, a New Jersey-based drug manufacturing company, bought Bend Research in 2013. The purchase was followed by plans to develop new facilities in Bend with the ability to increase capacity for drug manufacturing.

Former CEO Rod Ray, who now sits on the company's Scientific and Business Advisory Board, said the decision to sell the company wasn't determined by the recession at all.

"Even though the recession was bad, it actually had some facets to it that were actually favorable," said Ray. The biggest reason for the company's decision to change ownership was increased capital so that the company could expand its operations and increase the supply of its products to customers, Ray said. Ray said Bend Research also wanted to sell to a company that would keep the business in Bend, where it could continue to grow and benefit the local economy.

The owners of 10 Barrel Brewing similarly saw opportunity for greater capacity and decided Anheuser-Busch would allow for greater distribution of its product.

On a smaller scale, Bend's iconic restaurant, Pine Tavern, was sold to restaurateur Bill McCormick, co-founder of the McCormick 8 Schmick's Seafood Restaurant chain. Christine Bender and her daughter, Justine Bennett, sold to McCormick in 2014. Bennett said McCormick would be able to return the restaurant to local prominence.

Amy Tykeson, former president and CEO of BendBroadband, said as hard as therecession was forthe localeconomy, it didn't influence the decision to sell to Telephone and Data Systems Inc., a Chicago-based telecommunications company.

Tykeson said the family-run cable business made important investments and grew operations during the recession. The decision to sell was based on the family's desire to focus on philanthropy, she said, as well as the industry rapidly consolidating.

"Consolidation in most industries, and cable is no exception, makes it harder for smaller companies to compete on price and features," Tykeson said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, tshoraclz@bendbulletin.corn

i

I•

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eres, no somuc With roads and public transit still struggling to catch up, the recession has left behind a backlog of transportation needs

By Ted Shorack The Bulletin

ransportation infrastructure suffered during the Great Recession as budgets shrank, leaving little to dedicate toward street improvements or maintenance.

The city of Bend is now playing catch-up in the wake of economic recovery and as the Central Oregon population is rising once again.

Much will need to be accomplished in the coming years to support more Bend motorists. According to the Population

Research Center at Portland State University, Bend's population is expected to reach 132,209 in 20 years.

Public transit is seen as a way to reduce congestion, and expansion is on the way in Bend. Cycling as a means of transportation is also gaining steam, but many within the community are concerned about better bike lanes and other pedestrian-friendly improvements.

And the Redmond Airport, a major player in bringing visitors to the area, began plans for expansion during the recession and has added more flights

"It all comes down to priorities.... Can enough people decide that

transportation issues are a priority?"

— Lucas Freeman, board president, Bend Bikes

•

along with another fixed-base operator.

•

Bend street projects Bend city officials are much more cautious since the recession about relying on system development charges, known as SDCs, which are fees collected from new development and used to deal with the increased strain on the sewer system and transportation infrastructure. About 80 percent of the funding for new transportation projects in Bend comes from SDCs, according to Nick Arnis, who formerly served as Bend's transportation manager and is now director of the growth management department.

During the mid-2000s, at the height of growth in the city, transportation revenues from SDCs were through the roof.In both 2005 and 2006, transportation revenues from SDCs exceeded $9 million.

The city started studying which streets needed restructuring. Arnis said the city planned to use the "huge amounts" of SDCs to back up a bond that would fund the projects.

"We were off and going and then the recession happens all of sudden, and then we' re going, 'We better hold off here,'" said Arnis.

SDC revenue for transportation took a dramatic dip in 2007 and 2008, and fell to $1.4 million for the 2010 fiscal year. The sudden drop froze improvement planning.

"They were pretty much on ice for a while," said Arnis.

Arnis said the recession showed the unpredictability of SDC funding for transportation. The SDC revenue for improvements has risen slightly in recent years, but isn't what it used to be.

SDC revenue is expected to be $3.4 million in 2015 and $3.8 million in 2016.

"We found out SDCs are a revenue source that is highly volatile," Arnis said.

In 2011, Bend voters approved a general obligation bond to fund projects around the city and reduce congestion.

The largest undertaking with the $30 million bond has been widening W

RedmondAirport uppraded and expanded in2010

tngger GATES Sensors melting of ice and

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snow, improwng passenger safety

GATE

Locally made food and beverages are available

Enclosed hallway protects passengers from weather, allows plenty of boarding room

Jeffrey Tripp, who until recently was airport manager, said part of the focus moving forward will be handling future growth. "It' s a steady progression where we haveour master plan update in the next two years and we' re looking at our strategic plans and processes," he said.

Wall of windows offers view of airfield, High esert and the Powell Buttes

—.b Rest

Elevators

Tripp said the recession had an impact on the airport and caused passenger numbers to dip. But flights are now leaving with most of the seats occupied — plus, more passengers traveled through the airport in July than in any month in its history.

It recently added severalflights, too.

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The Redmond Airport finished a $40 million expansion and upgrade project in 2010. The changes brought more seating for passengers waiting for flights, increased space in the baggage claim area, additional bathrooms and better luggage screening. The terminal that was built before the new onewas handling flights to only three cities in the early 1990s, according to The Bulletin archives.

As the population soared in Central Oregon, so did the number of passenger boardings.

Unveiling the new entryway of the Redmond Airport.

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36 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

Reed Market Road between NE Third Street and NE 27th Street, and putting in a roundabout at NE 15th Street. The project is expected to be completed by year's end.

The bond also funded new roundabouts and other improvements, but there is still more to be done to keep up with the number of motorists on Bend streets.

The city estimates there is $80 million in deferred street maintenance.

To address the backlog, a majority of the Bend City Council has backed proposing a gas tax, which would be put before voters.

Local fuel companies hired a lobbyist to oppose a tax, though they agreed to participate in a committee the City Council charged with proposing ways to pay for road maintenance. The committee has been instructed to develop one plan with a tax and one without. A poll commissioned by the city found 63 percent of voters would support a 10-cent-per-gallon tax, though a separate poll financed by the fuel companies found a similar percentage of voters opposed.

New Bend dus routes

New routestarget campuses and hospital j

Route 7 Route 10 Route 12 ~ Existing and modified bus routes ~ Areas no longer served

New weekday bus routes are running in Bend. The routes are supported with funding from St. Charles Health System, OSU-Cascades, Central Oregon Community College and others.

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Public transportation Increased use of public transit and bike commuting are two ways congestion could be alleviated within Bend.

Cascade East Transit, the regional bus system that is run by the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, has proposed expanding service in Bend.

The transit system would add three new weekday routes at a cost of $3.4 million over the next three years.

The bus system was started in January 2008 as the recession was starting. It does not have regular dedicated funding for services but receives money from Central Oregon cities and federal grants.

Demand for public transit surpassed the amount of service that could be provided as funding became flat during the recession years.

"We just had this continual climb until we had to retract our service back," said Karen Friend, CET manager.

"There was a high need and diminishing resources," said Andrew Spreadborough, executive director of COIC. "We had to cut back on the rural side and wait to expand in Bend."

Transit officials are taking steps to potentially levy taxes and receive dedicated funding. In the meantime, however, an immediate need for expansion within Bend has became a reality. OSU-Cascades, Central Oregon Community College and St. Charles Bend have contributed thousands of dollars to fund additional Bend routes.

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In addition to the new routes, the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, which operates Cascade East Transit, is running its buses later and more often on some lines to shorten waits.

lI Source: Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council

Bike commuting Infrastructure for bike commuting could also see improvements.

About $4 million is expected to be left from the 2011 general obligation bond and is projected to be used on improvements to SW 14th Street between Galveston and Simpson avenues. City staff will look at

Pete Smith / The Bulletin

ways to improve safety, sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian crossings and drainage along the corridor.

Lucas Freeman, board president of Bend Bikes, a nonprofit promoting urban bicycling, said he sees the city taking positive steps toward trying to improve bike infrastructure and foster less expen-

sive modes of transportation.

"It all comes down to priorities," Freeman said of transportation planning.

"It's a matter of, can enough people decide that transportation issues are a priority?"

— Reporter: 541-817-7820, tshoraclz@bendbulletin.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 37

PPED CTONS FROM â&#x20AC;&#x17E;, ROGERLEE EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR CENTRAL OREGON

By Jasmine Rockow For The Bulletin

Central Oregon's unemployment figures tell a story of staggering loss in the wake of the recession, but Roger Lee would rather talk about employment opportunities and population growth when considering the region's economic future.

Lee is the executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, known as EDCO, a nonprofit that serves as an ally to businesses in the region. The organization mentors existing local businesses that are ready to expand or in the early stages of development, and it helps companies relocate here.

'Years for growth' With his finger on the pulse of Central Oregon businesses, Lee's outlook strikes a balance between optimism and pragmatic

calculation.

"Our forecast predicts we should have economic expansion through 2018-19, then probably a decent recession or correction after that," Lee said in June."That leaves some great years for growth."

By industry The postrecession decline of the financial services industry will likely persist, but Lee anticipates growth in a wide range of other industries, at least until the next recession hits. He believes construction and manufacturing will sustain gains made since coming to a halt in the downturn. Central Oregon's thriving brewing industry should also hold its own, although at a much slower growth rate than in the past.

Health care, education services and information technology have all fared well regionally since the recession and should

continue to do so, he said, especially with the establishment of OSU-Cascades.

Two big needs "(A university is) the onemissing component for the local economy that can move it forward and allow us to consistently outperform the state and nation," Lee said. "With more jobs these days, if it's not required to have a degree, it requires expertise, and that's what a university provides."

A proliferation of knowledge-based businesses will require a healthy air services industry, and Lee is optimistic that air travel options will expand in the future.

They keep coming EDCO aims to maintain a pipeline of companies moving into the region and to keep them happy once they get here. Bend's allure is driving intense population growth, with

Partners In Care put us at ease.

Their support let us focus on our family and make the most of our time together.

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pa r t n e r s b e n d .o rg

Hospice l Home Health l Hospice House l Transitions l Palliative Care

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many people making economic sacrifices to get here. That can have a depressing effect on wages, but the labor force is an asset that convincesbusinessesto move here,Lee said.

In September, EDCOhad 181 companies in the final stages of deciding to relocate to Central Oregon, launch a new enterprise here or significantly expand an existing business.

Potential is there Although they won't all come to fruition, there is potential for 2,100 new jobs and $1.2 billion in new capital investment, Lee said.

"We' re diligently working on those projects all the time," Lee said. "It bodes well for the future."

n January 2010, as Crook County's unemployment rate sat at 17 percent and Deschutes County led the nation's metro areas in home-price depreciation, Facebook announced plans to build its first wholly owned data center in Prineville.

The announcement gave Prineville â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a city of 9,000 that still has a menswear store and cattle drives down Main Street â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a solid toehold in the tech universe. Attracted by tax breaks and the High Desert climate, Facebook built two 334,000-square-foot data centers. Apple soon followed and continues building just east of Prineville Airport. Now Facebook is adding a third site.

When complete, the two tech giants will have, combined, about 1.5 million square feet â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the equivalent of 25 football fieldsfilled with computers and digital data.

The data centers may be the most visible features of Central Oregon's high-tech industry, but they are not the largest of its employers.

Two Bend software companies, Navis and G5, employ more than 400 people combined. They, along with others, grew right through the Great Recession. Recognized nationally for its entrepreneurial climate, Bend continued to draw high-tech refugees from the San Francisco Bay Area looking for a better quality of life.

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 39

' •

'

•

•

With software startups and data centers and more, the High Desert's tech sector grew when others struggled

New highsinhigh-tech • 03 2009 E] 03 2014 New Av e rage Total quarterly dusinesses employment payroll" 318 255

By Joseph Ditzler The Bulletin

stop by 1001 SW Emkay Drive, a co-working space in southwest Bend, illustrates how far the hightech sector has evolved in Central Oregon.

BendTech manages the building as a tech-friendly business center and counts as its tenants Five Talent, a software company; Pneuma33, a marketing firm; Seven Peaks Ventures, a venture capital firm; FoundersPad, a business incubator; and Kollective, a cloud-computingcompany.

The 25,000-square-foot building, former home of the Deschutes National Forest Supervisor's Office, has a thinktank vibe with open workspaces, fiber connectivity and a 3,000-square-foot open area anchored by Stackhouse Coffee.

It's what its founders and tech entrepreneurs expect will be among several

"Although it might not haveall the resources of a Portland, Seattle or (San Francisco) Bay Area, it's not as noisy from a business perspective. So you don't have the crazy, chaoticbusiness environment you have down in Silicon Valley. You kinda focus on what you' re working on, not get distracted as easily. That' s what I think is one of the advantages."

— Brian Vierra, with Economic Development for Central Oregon

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similar hubs for tech businesses in and around Bend. The building's first tenants took their places in February.

The building is emblematic of change in the Central Oregon tech sector, which continued to evolve, and expand, while the Great Recession put other business sectors on the ropes. Technology firms, defined by Economic Development for Central Oregon as electronics makers,

software composers and data-centeroperators,represent a fraction of the local economy with about 1,300 jobs out of nearly 20,000 provided by the 50 largest employers in the area.

"Although it might not have all the resources of a Portland, Seattle or (San Francisco) Bay Area, it's not as noisy from a business perspective," said Brian Vierra, EDCO's venture catalyst.

"So you don't have the crazy, chaotic business environment you have down in Silicon Valley. You kinda focus on what you' re working on, not get distracted as easily. That's what I think W

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42 â&#x20AC;˘ SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

PROFILE

in one o en 's'cooes' wor aces UI

James Gentes was a driving force behind the 1001 Tech Center, the 25,000-square-foot co-working space serving as an incubator for Bend tech businesses.

Andy Tullis/The Bulletin

is one of the advantages."

James Gentes, volunteer coordinator at BendTech, managed TechSpace Bend, a co-working space that outgrew its home and moved to the building on Emkay Drive. Gentes, who moved to Bend in 2008, was also CEO of his own social-media marketing firm, The Social Business, which he sold. He stuck around when numbers of software developers and other tech-related workers left Central Oregon around 2009 for more promising ventures elsewhere, he said.

"There was a kind of large exodus, especially in the surrounding area," he said in the spring. "Crook County lost a lot of people. Deschutes did, too. Now that it's 2015, it's probably at or above where it was, but it basically dipped during that time."

Over the long haul, however, the tech sector rebounded in the wake of recession. Although not the largest sector in the local economy, it grew steadily in the past five years due to increasing amounts of investment. It also attracts new talent to jobs that pay better than average. Some companies, like Navis, which employs 211 and provides reservation services and business analytics to upscaleresorts,and G5, a software company that employs 192, expanded during the Great Recession.

Deschutes County alone saw employment and payroll numbers expand between 2009 and 2014, according to Damon Runberg, regional economist with the Oregon Employment Department.

In the third quarter of 2009, the county was home to 255 high-tech establishments that employed 1,904 people with a $31.2 million annual payroll. Five years later, the same sector employed nearly 2,600 people in 318 establishments with a $4.3 million payroll. The number ofbusinesses had increased by 25 percent, employment increased by 36 percent and payroll increased by 42 percent, according to the employment department.

"The high-tech sector grew much quicker than Deschutes County as a whole over the same period," Runberg said. "The county's total covered employment expanded byaround 13 percent and total payroll was up 14 percent."

The employment department defines high-tech more broadly than does EDCO to include pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, aerospace product and parts manufacturing and architectural and engineering services, for example.

EDCO also includes energy companies such as AltaRock, the Seattle

firm that undertook a $42 million geothermal energy demonstration project at Newberry National Volcanic Monument starting in 2009. Numbers ebb and flow in the tech sector, said Roger Lee, EDCO executive director, and can be out of date in a month.

"Of the 92 companies (in the Central Oregon tech sector), roughly four dozen are software companies. They certainly make up a healthy chunk of that," he said. In addition, data centers, two each in Bend and Prineville, count in the tech sector.

Failure among startups in the Central Oregon tech sector are lower than average compared to the failure rate at the state or national level, Lee said.

That's due, he and Vierra said, to several advantages in the local startup scene. Mentorship is one. The area is home to numerous retired executives eager to pass on knowledge.

"We' re blessed with some experienced folks moving in here," Lee said.

"But they' re not coming in green off the farm trying to start something they' ve never done before."

Money is another factor. Capital in the form of investments from angel funds and fostered through EDCO is another local advantage. By 2014, the Bend Venture Conference, for example, awarded a record $1.06 million to

competing firms, and Bend is home to two venture capital firms, Seven Peaks Ventures and Cascade Angels Fund.

When the Great Recession called timeout for the booming real estate sector in Bend, investors found promise in the tech sector instead. Had real estate continued to attract investment, the tech sector in Central Oregon might be struggling today, Lee said. The recession provided a window of opportunity.

"It made early-stage companies more interesting," he said. "They didn't have that huge competition with the local, state and national real estate industry; you started to see a resurgence in interest."

Tech startups didn't produce revenues instantly, however, and only by fostering their growth over a period of years wereinvestors able to see a return. Failure claimed about 20 percent of startups locally, but some grew to become attractive targets of acquisition.

"Our failure rate here is much lower than you' re going to look at on a state or national scale," Lee said. "I think we attribute that to a lot of support, both mentorship and money, in that order.

A lot of companies flame out for want of capital or they make strategic mistakes, or misfires." â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Reporter: 541-817-7815, jditzlerC<bendbulletin.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 43

By Dylan J. Darling The Bulletin

Fledgling tech companies and remote techworkers havefound a home in Bend thanks in part to James Gentes.

A San Francisco Bay Area tech industry veteran, Gentes came to Central Oregon in 2009 andwas once a telecommuter himself. In his own businesses and for a nonprofit, he has focused on cultivating places for startups to get their start.

The result is the1001 Tech Center in southwest Bend — 1001 SW Emkay Drive, to be exact. It's a 25,000-square-foot building with more than 20 offices and 30 desks for rent. The goal of the co-working space is to be an incubator for tech business in Bend.

"We try to keep it as focused on tech as possible," Gentes said during lunch at the building's cafe. Gentes is CEO of StartupCommunity.org and is vice president of Tech Alliance of Central Oregon, a nonprofit helping startup companies.

He also founded The SocialBusiness, a social media analytics service, which he

sold last year.

Gentes has helped create one of the "coolest" workspaces in Central Oregon, said Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon. The alliance has been involved with opening co-working offices in Sisters and Redmond, further helping the region's tech industry growth. He also helped launch the business accelerator in Bend, originally called VentureBox and now known as FoundersPad. "James is kind of one those quiet leaders," Lee said.

The 1001 Tech Center has a Silicon Valley feel. Stand-up desks fill the co-working space, which has power cords dangling from the ceiling. The center builds on what started as TechSpace Bend, formerly located on NW Greenwood Avenue and, before that, NW Harriman Street.

Of the renters, Gentes said about a third are startup companies, a third are tech telecommuters and a third are support service businesses, such as a patent attorney and marketing firm.

Gentes likes having a variety of companies sharing a space. He said it leads to a sharing of ideas.

"You generally have something in common,"said Gentes,who has an office himself in the building.

Most have made a career out of working in tech, like him. Gentes grew up near Orlando, Florida, and got into tech before he was done with high school.

He started programing when he was 8, creating text-based video games on his family's computer.

"I actually have them on floppy disks," he said of the games."I just have no way to get them off the floppy disks."

He landed his first tech job at 16 with a company called Software Support, Inc., providing phone support for Gateway computers, and later Netgear and Cisco Systems equipment.

In 2000, atage 23,he m oved to the Bay Area to work as a product manager for Symantec, an antivirus and computer security company. In charge of a multimillion-dollar product line, he traveled to

Australia, India and Europe.

After being laid off from Symantec, Gentes was part of a startup before moving to Central Oregon. A yearning for a change of pace and family ties brought him to Bend.

His wife, Jill Gentes, grew up in Bend and is a Bend High graduate.The couple moved to Bend to start a family and now have two boys, ages 3 and 5. He said the Bay Area was a great place to be — he was there for 10 years — but not a great place to raise a family.

In his time in Central Oregon, Gentes said the biggest change he has seen in the tech landscape is the number of startup companies, increasing in the past six years from about 15 to about 50.

He thinks co-working spaces like the one at the 1001 Tech Center will keep the number increasing, and that a Central Oregon startup might eventually make a big name for itself.

"Hopefully we' ll have a success story," he said.

— Reporter: 641-6tr=7812, ddadtng@bendbullettn.corn

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44 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

By Joseph Ditzler The Bulletin

hen the roll-up doors on the Old Cigar building on NW Harriman Street in Bend get raised, sunshine floods the employees inside, sprawled like lazy cats on mismatched sofas and chairs.

But the mostly young software developers are not napping. They' re focused squarely on laptops, working on the programs that power Manzama, an online service that searches, filters and delivers news to the desktops of lawyers and an expanding circle of other professionals in financial services and at pharmaceutical makers. The company that started in Bend in 2010 with two men is now 35 employees, half of them outside Bend, including Australia and

trump card, a lifestyle that attracts prospective businesses and the talent they need, it needs to develop its own talent. you' re serious about starting a business, you start it in Portland. "It's definitely isolated here. In fact, I had somebody tell me, if you're serious And that's from an angel investor, but I think that's changing." about starting a business, you start it — Brian Vierra, venture catalyst with Economic Development for Central Oregon in Portland," said Brian Vierra, venture catalyst for Economic Development for Central Oregon. "And that's from an angel investor, but I think that's changthe United Kingdom. that as much."

"As faras our decision to locate here Businesses in high technology kept ing. You can start a business here, and in Bend, I think it's been a great decithe flame of economic life in Central it can be successful, and there are actually benefits to being here." sion," said Mark Hinkle, chief operating Oregon burning during the Great Reofficer and co-founder of Manzama cession — but the recovery presents its Funding is one benefit. In 2014, the with CEO Peter Ozolin. "We' ve had very own challenges.

Bend Venture Conference, the largest investment mechanism of its type in high retention. Especially if you know The ability to attract talented softwhat's happening down in Silicon Valware developers, a tight housing marthe Pacific Northwest, put more than $1 ley or Seattle, that companies are really ket, a location considered by some to be million into startups.

That's a far cry from the first Bend struggling, their people are constantly off the beaten track: Voices in the tech running after the next shiny object, you sector agreed these and other concerns Venture Conference, held in 2004, when know, options and the promise of a big are on their minds as the industry here no money was awarded. The annual event did not start awarding cash inpayday. We haven't had to worry about matures. While Central Oregon has a

"It's definitely isolated here. In fact, I had somebody tell me, if

BIOTECH Opportunity and challenge here, too Within the region's broader technology landscape lies a small but growing bioscience technology sector.

By some estimates, Bend has about 700 bioscience-related jobs, and Bend Research, a division of Capsugel, employs more than a third of them. Founded in1973, Bend Research is the region's pioneering pharmaceutical research company.

Over the years, its employees have started more than a dozen bioscience or related businesses, such as Suterra, Agere Pharmaceuticals, VR Analytical and others.

John Audette is the co-founder and CEO of Amplion Inc., a startup software company that sells drug-development

researchers access to its biomarker database, biological molecules that are currently being used and tested. Amplion won the launch-stage competition at the 2014 Bend Venture Conference, along with an additional investment.

With core companies like Bend Research and other successful biotech companies in the area, Audette is optimistic about the role biotech will play in Central Oregon's economic future.

That being said, Audette expects growth to be slow and steady rather than fast and furious. The region's lack of a major research center or research hospital is a big obstacle; "It's a challenge," he said. "Communities with a thriving biotech industry

usually have a major research hospital."

It's a major barrier but one that can be overcome by leveraging other trends in the biotech industry, including outsourcing lab work and focusing more on biotech software startups.

The region has a group, the Bend Bioscience Consortium, that seeks to grow biotech businesses in the High Desert.

One idea discussed has been establishing a bioscience business incubator at OSU-Cascades, according to the Oregon Bioscience Association. Audette's in favor. "A four-year university "can't do anything but help an industry that requires educated workers, especially with the software side," he said.

"The computer science part of the curriculum could be a boon to businesses already here or wanting to relocate."

— Jasmine Rockow, for TheBulletin

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 45

Gash infusion

PPED CTONS FROM ...

PRESTON CALLCOTT

Investors have taken notice of the business climate in Central Oregon and have begun pouring record amounts of capital into the market in the form of debt, equity and grant funding in the startup sector.

CEO, FIVETALENT SOFTWARE

VENTURE CAPITAL RECEIVEDBY CENTRAL OREGONSTARTUPS

By Jasmine Rockow

$20 million-

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$15 million The cumulative total of investments represents a new record for Central Oregon startups.

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Bend has become a rising star among tech clusters across the country. Finding experienced software developers has been a challenge, but Five Talent Software CEO Preston Callicott believes a four-year university will allow technology companies to recruit more talent locally.

"We' ve been trying not to do a feeding frenzy of the Bay Area, but we also don' t steal from other Bend companies, so we' re often recruiting from outside," he said.

A bright future With a rich ecosystem of more than 200 startup and technology companies in Bend and a reasonable cost of living compared to other tech clusters across the country,

$5-

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the future of tech in Central Oregon is bright, Callicott said. He fields an increasing number of calls from companies interested in moving to Bend, and the pool of qualified applicants is growing.

Where will newcomers live?

Scarcity of housing is a "short-term glitch," as long as the urban growth boundary is expanded, he said. Without expansion, Callicott, like many others, worries Bend will become another Aspen, Colorado, where only the wealthy can afford to live within city limits.

"We' re getting back to being a more balanced city, but the only thing holding us back is the stranglehold on the UGB," Callicott said. "Property values are already climbing, and if we don't add acreage and

housing for people with average monthly incomes, people will be living in Prineville and commuting into town."

In the future, Callicott sees Bend as a sort of innovation center, fed by the many people who either created their jobs in Bend or found a way to bring their jobs with them. In turn, they have created a demandforemployment and a sense of community that makes Bend unique.

"People sacrificed to get here — I left the Bay Area because I didn't want to raise a family there," he said. "People move here with a purpose, and that creates a sense of community. It's still happening.

Peoplemove hereas conscious choice, not because a job forced them."

-

2011-'12

'12-'13 '13-'14 '14-'15 in fiscal years

Source: Economic Development for Central Oregon Pete Smith / The Bulletin

vestments until 2006, when the winner got $100,000.

About a half-dozen companies benefited from the $1 million in investments last year. About $400,000 of that came from the Cascade Angels Fund, which plans on investing again this year. Seven Peaks Ventures, like Cascade Angels a Bend-based fund, raised $7 million to invest over three years, Vierra said.

"And then there's the Oregon Angel Fund, which has grown in just seven or eight years from under $1 million to over $8 million, and they deploy every year," he said. e You go three or four years back, you didn't have Cascade Angels, you didn't have Seven Peaks and Oregon Angel Fund was half the size it was.

So things are moving quickly in that space, and the one area where we probably need more is venture capital."

Once established, firms like Manzama and Five Talent, a build-to-suit software company in the 1001 Tech Center

at 1001 SW Fmkay Drive, require fresh talent to grow. Bend has a small pool from which to draw and most firms refrain from cannibalizing one another, said Hinkle and others. So Central Oregon competes for new hires with firms in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

"The next challenge is, you know, salary expectations; a kid out of school ridiculously being offered $150,000 and definitely north of $100,000, when their skill set in any other market would say, hey, you' re a $70,000 person," said Preston Callicott, Five Talent CFO. "Well, the price point of these people is climbing because of supply and demand."

The Central Oregon lifestyle provides some compensation. But not every coder is a rock climber or snowboarder, so the lure has limited appeal. And once they arrive here, new hires are finding housing an issue, tech business leaders said.Rental vacancies are as rare as unicorns, and the median sales price of a home in Bend has risen from $166,000 in November 2011 to $325,000 in May. "It's a huge problem," Hinkle said.

"People have always found a way to make it work. It hasn't always been the best scenario."

— Reporter: 541-817-7815, jditzlerC<bendbulletin.corn

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46 SHAPING 0 R UTURE THE BULLETIN

more studentsâ&#x20AC;˘ bigger co eges â&#x20AC;˘ imited resources or most Central Oregon schools, the recession meant more students and a struggle to find the resources to serve them.

Higher education was the savior for some unemployed Central Oregonians, as the recession eliminated jobs and sent them scrambling for new skills and careers.

Central Oregon Community College faced skyrocketing enrollment that strained the system, but voters approved a $41.58 million bond in 2009 for expanded facilities.

Now, as jobs return and students go back to work, the college faces declining enrollment and must work on right-sizing. It is focused on developing anchor programs for each of its four campuses and increasing recruitment efforts in Central Oregon and beyond.

In the K-12 system, enrollment increases helped cushion budget limitations for many schools, but all faced some sort of cutbacks, including fewer school days, frozen salaries, layoffs, positions eliminated by attrition and more. For faster-growing districts such as Bend-La Pine and Redmond, additional students brought additional state money, helping to ease needed reductions. And voters approved several bonds to build new schools.

For Oregon State University-Cascades, opening a new four-year program was delayed by opposition, but the campus is now under construction and the college is developing programs suited to Central Oregon, such as sustainability and wellness.

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 47

BACK TOSCHOOL GOGG enrollment soared —for atime The number of students taking classes at COCC peaked during the recession and started to fall in 2012 as the local economy improved.

COCC ENROLLMENT CHANGES FROM 2006-07 TO 2014-15 Total enrollment Students taking credit courses Students taking noncredit courses 20,000 students-

The recession pushed lots of workers into college classes. Now COCC is looking to settle into the right size and develop anchor programs at each campus.

By Abby Spegman The Bulletin

he economy is tanking, you' ve just been laid off and there's a panic of long-term unemployment in the air. What do you do?

Across the country, community colleges saw their numbers swell during the Great Recession with students looking to wait out the downturn.

Central Oregon Community College was no different: From 2006-07 to 2012-13, the number of students taking credit courses grew by more than 60 percent. Many enrolled in career and technical programs, specialized training to help them re-enter the workforce, said Jason Frost, assistant director of admissions and records. Programs that saw the most growth included culinary arts, automotive technology, manufacturing, computer and information systems. Enrollment in aviation, for instance, more than doubled in three

years.

But as the economy has recovered and would-be students have headed back to work, COCC is now forecasting continued enrollment declines, budgeting for a 7 percent drop in 2015-16 and another 5 percent drop the year after.

Officials refer to this as "right-sizing," though COCC has not determined exactly what that right size is, according to Ron Paradis, director of college relations.

"We know that we were growing too fast to keep up," Paradis said, noting the college added staff in those years and can now serve more students than it did before the recession. "We' re hoping to end up somewhere in between."

The growth corresponded with major construction on the Bend campus and beyond. In 2011, COCC opened branches in Madras and Prineville, joining its branch in Redmond that opened in 1997. The move wasn't tied to enrollment growth — officials say

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they had long planned to open those campuses — but having the Bend campus overflowing with students made it a politically viable argument, and the college passed a $41.58 million bond for construction in 2009.

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48 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

saw their enrollments start to decline this past school year. Now officials are looking to develop anchor programs at each campus — business in Prineville, manufacturing and applied technology in Redmond — enhancing those that have been popular with students so far.

In the meantime, COCC has put a new emphasis on student recruitment. Brochures proclaim it is "Outside of Expected," a message crafted with the help of a local advertising agency to combat the notion of community colleges as a place where you "show up, put your head down," said Drew Jones, assistant director of recruitment and outreach, a position created this past school year.

The college is targeting students from theedges ofits 10,000-squaremile district as well as the Portland area, Eastern and Southern Oregon.

COCC is opening a sleek 330-bed residence hall that could attract more out-of-town students. (Its previous dorm was built in the 1960s and had about 100 beds.)

"For so long we had more students than we knew what to do with," Jones said. In those years, the college could do hardly any recruitment and still students would have poured in. Now, she said, "We are moving toward more targeted-specific, data-driven recruitment."

— Reporter: 541-817-7837, aspegman@bendbulleti n.corn

Anchor programs atGOGG'scampuses Central Oregon Community College opened campuses in Madras and Prineville in 2011 at a time when enrollment at the Bend and Redmond campuses was booming. Now administrators are planning for the future of the outlying campuses, including developing anchor programs at each. Most students take basic math and writing courses, but the college is working on offering more subjects taught by more full-time faculty. Today, at each campus except Madras, a student can earn an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree without taking classes online or at another campus.

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•

Administrators in Madras are working to develop a precision agriculture program, incorporating technology in the field. The campus doesn't offer agriculture courses now, but those offered through OSU-Open Campus were popular. Obtaining a degree requires classes online or at another COCC campus.

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COCC's first campus, on Bend's west side, features a residence hall, library and bookstore and is home to student clubs and sports. Students can earn degrees and certificates or fulfill requirements needed to transfer to a four-year school in more than 50 areas, from chemistry and anthropology to outdoor leadership and exercise science.

Prineville's most popular program is business, and the campus is working to offer an . associate degree in business without making students take classes elsewhere. COCC's building in Prineville is co-owned by Crook County, which put money from a federal grant toward construction.

Source: Central Oregon Community College Abby Spegman and Day>d Wray/The Bullet>n

PROFILE

Lost a job, ained a de ree from COCC

By Grant Lucas The Bulletin

Jodi Roan had long pined to return to the classroom.

She had graduated early from high school — not to more quickly advance to the next stage, she says, but because "I just knew I didn't want to be in high school."

She had seen the education world from afar: As an event coordinator at the Crook County Fairgrounds, Roan watched as students arrived at the nearby Prineville campus

of Central Oregon Community College, and, earlier in her professional career, she worked at Oregon State University in Central Oregon.

Some time ago, her interest in returning to education was piqued. But between her career and raising three sons, there was just no time.

That is, until fate opened up her schedule.

In fall 2012, to save on costs during tough economic times, the Crook County Fairgrounds reduced Roan's hours, she said, and merged the responsibilities of the event

coordinator with those of the manager. Suddenly, Roan faced a half-time, secretarial position, as she describes it.

She holds no animosity toward her former employer. She understands the tight spots organizations find themselves in and that sometimes, she said,"you' ve got to do what's best."

"I was forced to go,'OK, so you know you can move forward, but you really are going to have a difficult time fighting your way back up to the top to show that you are

just as capable as anybody with a degree,'" recalled Roan, 53, who lives just east of Prineville."It still means something. So I knuckleddown and said,'Yup,I've gotto bring it to the table.'

"All the jobs I had were wonderful," she said. "But not having a degree puts a glass-ceiling effect on moving up just because it's so much better to have."

Roan looked at a roadblock and saw a turnstile.

For some time, she had yearned to fur-

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 49

OSU-CASCADES

Bend has been embroiled for years in a fight over the location of OSU's local four-year university. But what are the goals for that campus once it's finally built?

ther her education. Finally an opportunity had arisen for her to do just that.

She enrolled at COCC. She att ended classesatthe Bend,Redmond and Prineville campuses and helped found the business club at COCC. Beginning in January 2013 and wrapping up this past winter, Roan was in the classroomthrough spring, summer, fall and winter. She earned her way onto the dean's list and graduated with an associate degree in business administration, finishing with a 3.89 GPA. "I was so determined," Roan said."I was extremely determined. Now I'm just ready to hit the ground running with my new skills."

More than ever, Roan is confident in her skills and abilities. And while she understands the competitiveness of the job market she now prepares to re-enter, she

By Tyler Leeds The Bulletin

hile all the attention has been on OSU-Cascades' decision to build a campus on Bend's west side, and most of the worries tied up in the driving habits of college students, when the dust clears, the school will be about more than dorms and diplomas.

Maria Hacker, who as dean of academic programs oversees the university's majors and faculty, said research centers will be an essential part of OSU-Cascades' future. The school has already nailed down where it will start, too, beginning to develop a hub for sustainability research, a focus that complements the school's sustainability degree program and ambitions to build a net-zero campus.

recognizes that, without this degree and without the bachelor's degree she began working toward this past spring, it would have been even more difficult to stand out to prospective employers.

"I do want to bring something to the table because skills have changed over the years," Roan said.

"Even though I' ve been in the workforce, all the skills that I' ve learned here at COCC were pretty remarkable in that I learned them thehard way, by nothaving a bachelor's degree (in positions that) require degrees. I' ve learned the hard way.... I really do think I'm bringing quite a bit more to the table as far as education that I think is going to be helpful. It was well worth it." â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Reporter: 541-383-0307, gtucasCmbendbullettn.corn

76-acre county demolition landfill

10-acre site of first

buildings 46-acre site of old pumice mine The Bulletin

Senior Instructor Matt Shinderman is leading the development of the center, which he says will be a home for the college's best students, graduate students from OSU's main campus in Corvallis and visiting scholars.

"Where we will likely go is in assisting communities that want to develop sustainability plans or greenhouse gas emission inventories, but we could also do strate-

Jodi Roan shows off her associate diploma in business administration. She decided to pursue an education at Central Oregon Community College after having her hours reduced at her previous job.

Ryan Brennecke The Bulletin

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50 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

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As an example, Shinderman said the university could help a coastal community plan for a rising sea level, or even help determine how to handle a tsunami or volcanic event.

OSU-Cascades also has its eyes on a wellness center, which would build on the college's programs in counseling, early childhood development and kinesiology. However, Hacker said for right now the focus is on building ~'stet ee up the school's staff and selecting programs that match the region's needs • The schoolstill needsa state board's approvalfor the $12.8 milion landpurchase Tfte ronr pwtrnnteetsm, and the interests of students.

Having majors that appeal to students is key, Hacker insisted, as the college is starting its freshman and sophomore program from scratch. A campus would also help, said Becky Johnson, OSU-Cascades' top administrator.

• osu-Cascades stil facesminedeanapafter $128Mland btty A legal challenge by residents worried about traffic impacts OSU-Cascades has been in on the city's west side, where the campus is being built, dethe headlines since area leaders layed the campus' opening for a year, pushing back the date from fall 2015 to fall 2016. The Oregon Court of Appeals embraced the idea to build a fouryear university here.The latest: The recently upheld a favorable ruling from the state land use school is under construction, and board. If Truth in Site wants to push its case further, it could appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. the Court of Appeals recently upheld a decision by the state Making do with what spaces it already has, OSU-Cascades land use board approving decided to begin hosting freshmen in 2015, even without a stand-alone campus in place. "Other than the stress and shortenthe site. ing my lifespan by 10 years, I think the delay has impacted our enrollment for this upcoming fall," Johnson said. "That impact lingers, as the students we' ll have as freshmen will stay for four years. We wanted to have 100 freshmen, but that's looking difficult."

As construction crews have become ubiquitous in postrecession Bend, Johnson sees the campus as a lightning rod for all growth-related gripes.

"Other things, like the ice rink, whitewater park, NorthWest Crossing expansion and such will have a much bigger impact, but for some reason, we' ve become the symbol of growth issues," she said.

Opponents of the west-side campus have questioned whether it can even be built, pointing to the university's desire to rehabilitate an adjacent pumice mine and Deschutes County-owned landfill. The school has an option on the 46-acre mine and is evaluating whether the cost to fix up the site would fit in its budget. Under a nonbinding agreement with the county, a similar process is underway at the 76-acre landfill.

"Who else besides a university could rehabilitate those sites?" Johnson asked. "It's a challenge that a standard developer can't take on, but we S ~ s~ rse ~~ r se rewstee ~ e r tlstt r have the expertise of our faculty in engineering and other areas to remove re ft l osU-cAscArsE s these sore spots."

Seel While academics maybe able to turn a big hole into usable space, Johnson insists they bring much more. "OSU-Cascades will bring in a lot of intelligent people to this community," she said. "They can volunteer and are likely to be involved in their kid's education. We' ll have lectures and cultural programs; they will bring something new to the city." ow e esse ose Johnson added the university should encourage economic grow by filling the community with graduates, while also helping to sustain the city through a future recession, as the university isn't likely to go out ofbusiness if real estate turns south once again.

"I think there are obviously divisions in the community, but I think they will heal," Johnson said. "We want to and will have to demonstrate that this camrs tssl e Opponents ofOSU.Gts pus will add something to the community, and I think over time that divisivecodes' proposed west-side ness will go away, as it has with fights over the Old Mill District and parkway."

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— Reporter: 541-633-2160, tfeeds@bendbulletin.corn

LATER INTHIS REPORT: Predictions on the i mpactofthenew OSU-Cascades

The new OSU-Cascades campus is a cause for "a great deal of enthusiasm."

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 51

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SCHOOL DSTPCTS Student enrollment up dramatically in tiig districts

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Enrollment changes at Central Oregon school districts during the recession ranged from a gain of about 10 percent in Bend-La Pine and Redmond to a drop of more than 25 percent in Sisters. ~

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or some Central Oregon school districts, the recession corresponded with growing enrollment, providing a partial cushion for otherwise dire financial years. For others, dips in enrollment only worsened the budget blow.

Bend-La Pine's enrollment had been growing since 1985; it grew more than 10 percent from 2006-07 to 2014-15, though it dipped slightly two of those years. More students mean a need for more teachers,more staff,more classrooms and more buses. But because state funds are determined by enrollment, more students also mean more money, partly offsetting cuts related to the economic downturn. Still, in those years, Bend-La Pine left teaching positions vacant, put off salary increases, cut school days and required employees take unpaid days off.

"Relentless growth was not unusual," said John Rexford, who worked at Bend-La Pine for more than two decades and was deputy superintendent from 2009 to 2012. "I know this may sound Pollyanna, but we tried to treat it as an opportunity."

The growth kicked into high gear the district's long-term facilities planning. From conception of a new school to opening day takes four to five years, enough time to pass a bond, design and build it. In those years, the district opened three schools. It passed another bond in 2013 that paid for an elementary school and middle school, which opened this month.

"You almost need just a bit of overcrowding for the community to say, 'Oh yeah, we need new schools,"' Rexford said.

Redmond School District's enrollment grew by 9 percent in those years, though there were some years when

programs, the High Desert Museum

has been sparking curiosity and expanding minds in Central Oregon for 33 years. Over those years, we' ve

heard just about everything from

our 4.7 million enthusiastic visitors.

One thing we never hear? "Been there, done that." Visit our website to see what's new.

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52 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

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The past few years have been busy for school construction across Central Oregon. Examples, from left: Silver Rail Elementary, under construction over the summer, is BendLa Pine's newest elementary school. In Redmond, Ridgeview High opened in 2012. And in Jefferson County, the Warm Springs K-8 Academy opened in 2014. it was up, some when it was down. The district passed a $110 million bond in 2008, the largest in Redmond's history.

Most of that went toward building Ridgeview High School to help alleviate overcrowding at Redmond High School.

(By the time Ridgeview opened in 2012, the charter school Redmond Proficiency Academy hadalsoopened, taking more high schoolers out of Redmond High.)

"It seems like the next day the economy tanked," said Mike Mclntosh, who became Redmond's superintendent in 2012. In response, the district cut contractand school days, froze salaries and spending and laid off staff. At one point it was operating on a four-day school week. It was an emotional time, Mclntosh said, with people working more hours for less money.

But such growth was not spread across

Central Oregon. Culver's enrollment grew about 3 percent. The district narrowly passed an $8.8 million bond measure in November 20D forbuildingupgrades after previous measures for more money failed in 2006, 2011 and 2013.

Enrollment at Crook and Jefferson county schools fell slightly but both managed to pass bonds — in Crook County in 2013 for a new elementary school that will eventually replace two smaller schools, and in Jefferson County in 2012 for a new school on Warm Springs Indian Reservation, a performing arts center next to Madras High School and other upgrades.

In Sisters, enrollment fell by about 400 students, though for the already small district that accounted for about 26 percent.

"It's created challenges in the dis-

trict," said Curtiss Scholl, who started this summer as Sisters' superintendent.

"One student's funding is a larger percent because our funding is smaller than a large district."

Scholl said he is hopeful the trend will turn around if housing developments can attract more families to town.

The larger districts, meanwhile, expect steadier growth in the coming years — about 200 students a year in Bend-La Pine and 100 in Redmond.

Both districts are working on updating their facilities and are identifying properties for future schools.

Redmond will likely need a new elementary school in the next 10 years, Mclntosh said. It last opened an elementary school in 2010 and next fall will move all Redmond kindergartners into one building to free space at other

schools.

In Bend-La Pine, Brad Henry, the district's chief operations and financial officer, said he expects the district will need a new elementary school and high school in the next five years or so. By 2030, the district expects enrollment to top 20,000.

But accommodating that growth may not be easy. Rexford, who now leads the High Desert Education Service District, points to state funding per student that has not kept up with rising costs, meaning schools across the state have larger classes and fewer resources now than before the recession. It's a recovery, but not a complete one.

"It's still not what it looked like in 2007, 2008," he said.

— Reporter: 541-817-7837, aspegman@bendbulleti n.corn

PPED CTONS FROM ... JOHN WEXFORD SUPERINTENDENT,HIGH DESERT EDUCATION SERVICE DISTRICT

By Jasmine Rockow

work done."

Education has already begun to adopt As the son of two teachers, John Rexford more digital resources, and Rexford believes e-book readers and personal computing grew up in the education business. Now he is the superintendent of the High Desert Eddevices will become "this century's slate and ucation Service District, an organization that chalk." helps Central Oregon school districts access But brick-and-mortar schools aren't going resources and special programs offered at the to disappear any time soon. Performing arts, state and national level. athletics, leadership classes, and speech and He's optimistic about the future of educadebate all require community learning centers tion, both nationally and locally. to serve students and families.

"I am certain my children got a better eduAccounting for growth cation than I did, and that my granddaughter will receive a better education than her parWith the amount of growth expected in the ents," Rexford said. "I am bullish on schools. region, Rexford expects to see at least one Despite the headlines, great improvement new elementary school every other year, with has been made over time by a profession that middle schools and high schools following was well under fire. We' re getting a lot of great suit in proportion.

For The Bulletin

"Basedon the numbers Ihave seen,these

(new) schools aregoing to openfairly full," he said. "In the future I see a need for a new high school, certainly within 10 years. But the need will be felt within four or five years. It's felt a little even now."

A more personal experience He believes learning will become more individualized and personalized, allowing schools to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. The lines between grades 11 through 14 will become fuzzier, with high schools exposing students to more community college and university courses.

"More and more kids are going to come out of high school packing a whole transcript of college courses already, giving them a

great head start on whatever their next choice is," he said.

The role of higher ed OSU-Cascades will play a significant role in the development of this trend, making a fouryear degree more accessible to local families, especially first-generation college students.

"Geography is a barrier for many college-goers," he said. "That 127 miles (to Eugene) is big. If you have traveled the world it' s nothing, but if you have only grown up in Central Oregon, or if your family has less means, thatgeography is an ocean,as opposed to a mountain pass."

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t's a rhythm Central Oregonians know well. Enjoy the day outside — summers on trails, winters on snow — and reward yourself with a beer, dinner and a night on the town.

The bounty of activities available here sustained locals during the Great Recession. We learned the word "staycation." And tourists continued to visit to enjoy the fishing, hunting, hiking, climbing, camping, cycling, mountain biking by day and the abundant drinking, dining, music and arts opportunities by night.

While our beer culture grew in ways no one could see coming, our once-sizzling dining scene suffered, forcing some high-profile closuresand rebrandings, before eventually bouncing back, in many casesunder different ownership.

The arts, music and culture scenes here have always been fl uid.M usicvenues come and go.A rtists and their projectswax and wane. But nothing in recent history has tested the stability of Central Oregon's cultural bastions like the Great Recession did.

The vaunted Cascade Festival of Music couldn't weather the economic storm, and bankruptcy shut the tent flaps of its Drake Park concertsin 2008.Likewise,severalmusic venues closed.

But therewere some surprising winners. Community theaters such as Cascades TheatricalCompany came back from the brink of closure. Some venues, such as Les Schwab Amphitheater, employed strategic cuts to bide their time through the downturn, only to come out stronger. And the music culture on the whole continued to grow and develop. Bend now boasts a vibrant and active music scene that rivals those of much bigger cities.

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Newestoutdoor feature inBend Jayson Bowerman, a member of the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance, tested the waves below the Colorado Street bridge in early June. The

Bend Whitewater Parkoffers a safer paddling and floating experience right in the middle of town.

It's not just the surrounding beauty of the Cascades or the High Desert anymore.

Outdoor opportunities and open spaces are enhancing Bend itself.

By Mark Morical The Bulletin

entral Oregon is an outdoor paradise on its own, but the forward-thinking vision of the Bend Park 8 Recreation District has given outdoor enthusiasts many other big reasons to enjoy working and playing in Bend.

Bond Measure No. 9-86, passed in November 2012, authorized Bend Park 8 Recreation District to sell $29 million in bonds to fund many projects that would expand the park system and add significant recreational opportunities.

Some of the more ambitious projects included were the Bend Whitewater Park, the Simpson Avenue Recreation Pavilion, an expansion of the Deschutes River Trail and parks, and acquisition of land for more parks in southeast Bend.

"Given that we have so much here already,

it's exciting that we' re going to add to that," said Michelle Healy, director of strategic planning and design for the Bend park district. "I think there's a lot of enthusiasm from the people that are living here. Clearly this community cares about the resources we have here and values them. People say they really appreciate having these things in Bend, and it's one of the reasons they love living here. And it's because the community is willing to invest and be part of it that we are able to have this."

More than a decade went into the planning of the Bend Whitewater Park, a vision ofboth the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance and the park district. After the renovation of the Colorado Dam, that section of the Deschutes River now includes three separate channels: a safe channel for paddleboarders and other floaters, a whitewater play area for surfers and kayakers and a natural river area to enhance habitat.

Outsidethecity, too, something todo â&#x20AC;&#x201D;rain, shineorsnow Central Oregon has only built on its reputation as a recreation destination. National sporting events includingUSA Cycling,which now holds championships here (below), have noticed, and the region is a playground for people who live here, too.Mt. Bachelor is using its strength during summer and winter tourism seasons to attract skiers and snowboarders (right) and bikers,

hikers and disc golfers (below right) when it's warmer. And if you haven' t noticed a theme, the scenery is the icing on the cake.

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Rock (right) is seeing bigger crowds of climbers, hikers and campers; trails elsewhere keep expanding; RVs keep rolling into town, filling the coun-

ty fairgrounds (left); and local fishing (above) is touted nationally.

A Tvadifion of Sevvice Bend Garbage k Recycling is a local family owned business, proudly serving our communityforover50 years!

S ERVING C E N T R A L O R E G O N W I T H H O P E , FA I T H A N D C H A R I T Y The Giving Plate serves over 600 families every month. Each food box is custom made andcontains between 25 to 100 pounds of food depending on the size of the family. This results in 35,000 pounds of food distributed monthly.

Guests are able to receive one food box a month,plus come inon any open day and get breads and perishables from the Grab 'n'Go area. The Giving Plate serves

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Bend Church United a Methodist l

68o NW Bond Downtown

Bend 541-382-1672

bendumc.org SUNDAY: g a.m. 8 11 a.m.

'r"j! 7'tyy

approximately 50 children lunches every Saturday. They focus on providing nutritious food to the children, offering freshly made sandwiches, fresh fruit and a tote full of wholesome and fun snack food. We collaborate with other agencies to make sure no one goes hungry. www.thegivingplate.org Saint Edward the Martyr Roman Catholic Church is a parish of 210 families covering the Sisters area. St. Edward seeks to foster a Christian community by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, the worship of the Triune God in the celebration of the sacraments - especially the Eucharist - the fostering of family life, and service to the human community.

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We are taking steps to provide Safe Families for children and parents in distress, Hope boxes for children placed in foster care, and Adventure camps for boys and girls at risk. God's love compels us to give to the poor, welcome the stranger, and reach out to the lonely and hurting in our community. It really is all about extending the life and love of Jesus. Find out more at westsidechurch.org.

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I Westside Church There are over 250 children in foster care in Central Oregon.

Hundreds more live in crisis, not knowing if tomorrow is the day that everything will change, and their family will disintegrate.

Hundreds of youth and young adults live on the streets of Central Oregon. It is a challenging picture, but we believe God has called us to change it.

St. Edward the Martyr

CALVERY + GRACE CHAPEL

Roman Catholic Church

LUTHERAN CHURCH AT EAGLE CIIEST

MASS SCHEDULE

"By Grace You Are Saved"

Saturday Vigil 5:30 p.m.

Sunday 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.

O F RED M O N D P.O. Box 1643 Redmond, OR 97756 OFFICE

THE

G IVING P L A T E

541-923-8614 www.calvarychapel redmondoregon.corn

7525 Falcon Crest Dr., Eagle Crest Resort

Pastor JamesRupple: 509-899-5018 pastrupcmhotmail.corn Sunday Service: 10:30 a.m.

Bible Study & Sunday School:9:30 adm

email:ccredmond Q bendbroadband.corn

emergency food bank 1245 SE 3rd St. Ste. C-7 Bend, OR 97702 541-410-3621 Gary Kelso 541-410-3086 Debi Raney-Kelso

www.thegivingplate.org

"We are a church family, centered on the Eucharist, living and sharing our faith and God-given talents and gifts."

W ESTSIDE CHURC H Westside Church is FOSTERINGHOPE now-toshape a better community for tomorrow. Our Big Dream is to live in a community where every child has a safe family and hope for

HOLY REDEEMER CATHOLIC PARISH ' 541-536-3571 ' 16137 BurgessRoad, La Pine, OR

SUNDAY MASS SCHEDULE:10:00 A.M. WEEKDAY MASSES: Tuesdays, 6 00PM.,Wednesdaysand Fridays, 9 00 AM. Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturdays, 3:00 PM.-4:00 PM. or by appointment Eucharistic Adoration: Fridays, 9:30 PM. to 3:30 PM.

MISSION CHURCH

MISSION CHURCH

MISSION CHURCH

Our Lady of the Snows

Holy Trinity, Sunriver

Holy Family, Christmas Valley

541-536-3571

541-593-5990

541-536-3571

the future.

120 Mississippi Drive, Gilchrist, OR

18160 Cottonwood, Sunriver, OR

57255 Fort Rock Rd., Fort Rock, OR

OurFOSTERING HOPEministry is about making that dream a reality. Visit us online at

SUNDAY MASS SCHEDULE:

WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE:

SUNDAY MASS SCHEDULE:

westsidechurch.org

Sundays, 12:30 p.m.

Sacrament Reconciliation: BeforeMass orbyappointment

Saturdays, 5:30 p.m. ' Sundays, 8 p.m.

Weekday Masses:Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.

Eucharistic Adoration: Thursdays, 10-11 a.m.

Sacrament Reconciliation: Before Mass orbyappointment

Sundays, 3:30 p.m.

Sacrament Reconciliation: Before Mass orbyappointment

RECONCILIATION: Saturday 4:30 p.mi-5 p.m. or by appointment

123 Trinity Way, P.O. Box 489 Sisters, OR 97759

541-549-9391 www.stedwardsisters.org

't one world

Unity Community of Central Oregon

We transform lives by awakening people to the unity of all that is: God, people, animals, earth, cosmos. We are one! we give 5% of all donations back to inspiring service organizations in our community.

541-388-1 569

The Salvation Army - Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

A single woman came into our facility having just moved to Bend and asked for a Food Box.When giving hera food box, she teared up and said thank you. She had been taking care of her mom who was dying and left everything in Arizona. With her emotions a wreck, she was thankful for The Salvation Army and their generosity." w w w.centralusa.salvation army.org/usc/Igbt discrimination debunk ing the myth

Cascade Seventh Day Adventist Church - A major part of our community outreach in 2015 is a new Christian radio station in Bend, KEGB 102.1 FM. This station specializes in music that soothes the mind and touches the heart. The children's programing includes Bible stories and other entertaining and uplifting items.

For adults, programs on health, marriage and family, current events and sound Biblical teaching are available. The station reaches a large part of Central Oregon, and is commercial free.

St Francis o f A s s isi C a tholic Church is introducing innovative ideas for reaching out to the community. Among these are the Stations around Town, as parishioners visited 14 landmarks in town to pray the 14 steps Jesus took before being crucified. Another is to have a donkey procession on Palm Sunday, with the donkey leading the procession to the church.

On Holy Thursday, 24 children were introduced representing the 12 apostles and other Passion characters as their feet are washed, symbolic of what Jesus did at the Last Supper. Throughout all these events, the ever-growing Latino community were included and represented.

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Highland Baptist Church has added several thousand square feet to its facility to be able to accommodate the growth in our area and the increased interest people are experiencing in becoming a part of a community of faith and worship. HBC regularly opens its doors for non-profit community groups to hold meetings and events, gives thousands of dollars in aid each year to struggling C.O. families and hosts the Redmond Cold Weather Shelter in winter months.

Each year, Father's House Church partners with ForHope.us to sell Christmas trees with 100% of the proceeds benefiting families locally and globally.

Through this effort, Father's House was able to donate thousands of dollars to local non-profits to help Central Oregon families.

Cascade

hbc SEVENTH-DAY

Father's HouseChurch 61680 Pettigrew Rd.Bend 541382.1632

VENTIST

CHURCH 60670 Brookswood Blvd.

Bend OR 97702 www.cascadesda or 541-719-9005 Services: Saturday 10:45 A.M. Wednesday 6:30 P.M.

fathershouse,church •w

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We welcome ALL to worship with us, regardless of faith.

We also work on behalf of ALL including, for example, the Bethlehem inn and Relay for L ife .

Our min i stry extends tothe homebound a nd t hose i n l o c a l c a r e facilities.

Mass Schedules and Information at hol communionbend.or Phone: (541) 408-9021

541 NE Delald Ave.

Bend

541-389-8888 An international movement, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church devoted to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needsinHis name

connecting. growing. living

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH

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"Only the Truth Makes Free" Every Friday 7 PM 1034 NE 11th St., Bend 541-390-4431

Expanded facilities for worship, study L fellowship.

Supporting local schoolsL teachers, non-profit meeting rooms, aid to struggling families, cold weather shelter.

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Highland Baptist Church 3100SW Highland Ave.,Redmond 541.548.41 61 I hbcredmond.org

Welcoming all Catholics to pray with us, supporting all families and visitors in two beautiful churches in town, on 27th Street and at the corner of Franklin and Lava Road.

WEEKEND MASSES AT 27TH ST LOCATION Sat at 5 pm ,Sunday 7:30 am, 10 am

and 12;30 pm (in spanish) WEEKEND MASS AT FRANKLIN STLOCATION Sunday 4;30 pm, (historic downtown church)

541-382-3631

~

~

Red m o n d ' Community Churchn

www.redmondtt.org I xsr nwvthst., redmond

for more info: www.stfrancisbend.org

We are aChrist CenteredCommunity that exists to helpevery person experience thetangible love of Jesus.

SUNDAYSERVICES

8:30 Lm. Rt 10:80 aarL-MornmgWorship 6:00 paL Evemng Gathrig

WEDNE SDAY 7:00 pan.<amityNight Classes for all ages CelebrateRecovery www.redmondng.corn IS55 W.Aoncr Are. 541548.4555

We are a Christ centered community that exists to help every person experience the tangible love of Jesus. One of the many ways in which we do this is through our Celebrate Recovery program each Wednesday @7pm. This is a group of

loving people committed to helping each other overcome hurts, habits, and hang ups.

All are welcome regardless of your current life situation. To find out more about what we do and how to get involved join us anytime or check us out online.

58 • SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

BEND: PARKLAND PARADISE Parks havedeenexpanded, addedandimproved

Park projects funded dy 2012 dond measure Q Deschutes River Trail Project Status: Planning Total funding $4 05M Fund source:BondandSDCs Completion date:Summer2017

Q Riley Ranch Nature Reserve Status: Designandpermitting Total funding: $3.47M Fund source:BondandSDCs Completion date:Summer2016

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6 Pine Nursery Park infastructure Status: Completed Total funding: $1,280,836 Fund source:Bond

Q McKay Park Status: Design Total funding: $1.1 M Fund source:Bond,SDCsanda state parks grant Completion date:Summer2016

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Q Simpson Avenue Recreation Pavilion Status: Construction Total funding: $11.35M Fund source:Bond Completion date:November

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Status: Openingfall 2015 Total funding: $9.68M Fund source:Bond,property taxes and$1.13M from BendPaddleTrail Alliance d

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Q Southeast Bend land acquisition and park development Status: Landpurchased Total funding: $3.63M Fund source:Bond

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Q Ponderosa Park

© ©

improvements Shevlin Park development and nature resource center Alpine Park trailhead improvements

© Canal RowPark Greg Cross /The Bulletin

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 59

I

GOLE More growth ahead for area courses? pk

If you' replaying golf in

Central Oregon, you may not realize how fortunate you are.

While the Great Recession had an effect on courses in the area, Central Oregon still holds its place as a golf destination.

Two planneddevelopments, Remington Ranch and Thornburg, went by the wayside, Qg gpg Sa but the other courses Golf courses like survived — unlike across Bend's Lost Tracks the country, where made it through the courses have closed at a recession — perhaps rate of more than 100 per better than those in year since the start of the other parts of the recession. country.

"We' re in a lot better shape than other parts of the country," said Barb Trammell, CEO of the Oregon Golf Association.

"We don't have the supply outweighing the demand.InOregon we havea really good balance in terms of number of available fa-

Healy said the Bend park district has a river recreation specialist who can control the size and type of the waves in the whitewater channel.

"What we' re looking at is setting up a schedule for how the waves will be," Healy said. "Like, 'today will be surf-type waves.' There are bladders (rocklike plastic) that are blown up with air that help us adjust and shape the waves. It's also based on flow of the river."

The whitewater park will give novice paddlers a chance to experience whitewater in a relatively safe setting, compared with the natural river.

"Whitewater is not just a sport for extreme athletes or adrenaline junkies," said Drew Oldfield, manager at Tumalo Creek Kayak 8 Canoe and a member of BPTA. "It's an activity for everybody, and families, and when it's done right it can be very safe and enjoyable. That's why I'm really excited about the park, exposing that to people who have been thinking about getting into it but aren't sure how to do it."

Elsewhere Farther downriver, Mirror Pond has been a source of concern among the park district and city officials. A recent proposal calls for the removal of the 100-year-old Mirror Pond dam and the addition of a natural-looking structure that will maintain the current water level while providing fish passage and a path for kayakers and floaters.

"There have been folks that would like the community to consider additional whitewater features (at Mirror Pond)," Healy noted.

Another area on which the park district is focusing is Bend's largest

park, 660-acre Shevlin Park in northwest Bend. While the park is a favorite among many folks in Central Oregon, the park district recognizes a need for some changes there.

"I would say the majority of people still have a wonderful experience out there, but there's some things that have come up, concerns and issues with off-leash dogs, bicycles, different uses, and how you balance it all," Healy said.

She added that some physical changes to Shevlin Park might include a saferroad crossing,be tterdefined parking areas and more trail signage.

The park district is also planning a new park in southeast Bend, its most underserved area, according to Healy.

The district recently purchased 37 acres ofland offof 15th Street,near where the Murphy Road extension is being built. Construction of the park is expected to begin in the next couple of years, Healy noted.

"I' ve heard from a lot of other people who have come from other places and how Bend compares (with parks and open spaces)," Healy said. "We really have it very good here, which makes it special."

— Reporter: 541-383-0318, mmoricaIC~bendbulletin.corn

cilities versus the population base — some markets were really oversaturated and they couldn't keep up."

In Central Oregon specifically, Trammell said, the region's wide range of other outdoor recreation has been a huge factor.

"Bend is the destination place for people that like to recreate outside and it's geared toward the family," she said. "The courses were able to stay open because of this and the health of the tourism industry in Bend."

Crooked River Ranch professional Pat Huffer agrees.

"The bigger corporations probably had other amenities to keep them going," he said. "The courses may have been down for a while, but with all the other activities they offer, they' ve been able to keep them

open."

Bruce Wattenburger, the head professional at Juniper Golf Course in Redmond, thinks it is the quality of golf facilities in the area — and the short drive from the more populated areas of the state.

"I think it's the quality of the product

and the proximity to the population centers of Portland, Eugene and Salem," he said.

"Several of the courses in the area are on (national and statewide) Top 10 lists. With courses like Sunriver and Tetherow, we' re fortunate to be in an area where we have great golf to offer."

Huffer points to another factor — the influx of people moving to Central Oregon.

"We' re in an area of tremendous growth," he said. "... Some of those people are going to be golfers."

Efforts to keep the tourists coming here for golf have also played a role, Huffer said.

He helped to start the Central Oregon Golf Trail, which features a card that gives players discounted green fees at 21 area courses. The COGT also donates money to local junior golf and spends advertising dollars promoting Central Oregon golf.

"The Central Oregon Visitors Association and Central Oregon Golf Trail are doing a good job of promoting golf in the area," he said.

— Kevin Duke, TheBulletin

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'Too many seats and not enough people' is how one owner Big-citydishes, small-townstruggles Chow's watermelon and roasted tomato salad, alongside a bloody mary

(above), highlights Bend's culinary aptitude. The eatery on Newport Avenue (right) opened in late 2007, with the recession just on the horizon. "I knew something was happening," owner David Touvell said. "I saw it in people's attitudes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in my clientele, my business partners, commercial brokers.

The restaurants kept coming and coming.... There were too many seats and not enough

people."

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 61

Trendsetter With Merendaand Deep, chef Jody Denton helped bring a sophisticated restaurant scene to Central Oregon — then left town, and a trail of creditors, behind. His struggles were the highest profile, but not the only ones.

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Professional triathlete Linsey Corbin moved to Bend from Missoula, Montana, in December 2013. She and her husband, Chris, were drawn to Central Oregon in part because of family — Linsey Corbin grew up in Bend and graduated from Mountain View High School — but also because of a larger number of training benefits. Bend's climate is more forgiving than Missoula's, a larger number of elite athletes live and work out in Central Oregon, and pool hours are relatively easy to find here.

Having gas stations with more beer handles than most bars wasanadded bonus.

"I still can't get over that," Corbin said about a month after returning to Bend.

"The gas station down by our house has like 30 taps in it! And it's good beer!"

Welcome to Central Oregon, home of growler fill stations, the Cycle Pub, barber shops with kegerators and the Bend Ale Trail. Locals may not consume all of the beer the area's breweries produce, but it's not for a lack of trying. Whether it's a 5K community fun run or a toddler's birthday party, if it's in Bend, there's a good chance that a locally produced beer will be there.

"People like to engage in different things here, that's why they come to Bend," said Teague Hatfield, the owner the downtown Bend running store FootZone. Hatfield and his store host a monthly Pub Run from FootZone to a local brewery or taphouse. "It's a great way

hef David Touvell has seen the rise, fall and recovery of Central Oregon's restaurant industry over the past 14 years. He' s concerned that the progression of peaks and valleys may not yet have settled into a pattern of steady growth.

Touvell arrived in Central Oregon in 2001, when the restaurant business was, as he puts it, "going gangbusters." Tourism and a burgeoning real estate market were driving the boom; the popularity of Bend and Central Oregon as a vacation destination was fueling rapid growth in the restaurant quadrant.

For more than 60 years, Central Oregon dining had been defined by the venerable Pine Tavern. But at the start of the 21st century, diners were being treated to a more creative, contemporary outlook.

Restaurants such as Cafe Rosemary, Cork and the Jackalope Grill were at the vanguard. The arrival of a pair of ambitious big-city chefs — Jody Denton, who established Merenda in2002, and Gavin McMichael, who founded The Blacksmith in 2003 — helped to earn the culinary scene recognition well beyond Central Oregon.

Such restaurants as Ariana and Zydeco, both still prominent in the local dining scene, followed. So did Marz, Bluefish Bistro, Fireside Red, Staccato, Volo and Bistro Corlese, all of which, like Cork and Rosemary, closed their doors during the recession era.

Touvell, born and raised in the restaurant business on California's central coast, was just 24 when he came to Bend and found work as a line cook at Rosemary. In ensuing years, coupling his creative sensibilities, business acumen and an W

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In all facets of Bend life: recreation (e.g., at the end of Tetherow's Blitz mountain bike race, pictured at left), transportation (Bend Cycle Pub, at the Old Mill, above), and, of course, at the annual Bend Brewfest to get locals and people new to Bend out and aware of what's going on in town....

And it's not like people are going on a run and having five beers. It's a beer. You can get your carbs in and relax."

As the brew scene in Bend has grown, so has the passion for locally produced beer. In 2010, Visit Bend introduced the Bend Ale Trail, a self-guided, city-sanctioned pub crawl of sorts promoting the region's brewery. The first Ale Trail included eight breweries and encouraged participants to collect stamps from each brewery in order to receive a prize. Five years later, the Bend Ale Trail is up to 16 breweries, and while brew fans can still print off a physical map, most ale investigators check into breweries through the program's smartphone app.

"That first beer off the bike or a run, especially when it's shared with friends, that's a lot of what we do inCentral Oregon and why we live here," says Scott Douglass, executive race director for the Cascade Lakes RaceGroup.

The Cascade Lakes Relay, the 132.4mile race from Diamond Lake to Bend that Douglass' group produces, doesn't just have a pint for participants at the end of

(bottom).

the race but a full beer garden. Douglass also started up the BendBeer Chase, a relay running event that bounces participants from brewery to brewery in Bend, Redmond and Sisters.

Events such as the Bend Brewfestwhich this year expanded to four days — the Little Woody barrel-aged beer festival at the Des Chutes Historical Museum in Bend, the Old Mill Fermentation Celebration, Beer Wars IPA Fest, Zwickelmania and Sisters' Fresh Hop Festival have helped ensure Central Oregon's reputation as home for hop heads.

In Bend, beer enthusiasts can pound a porter while their bikes are being fixed at Crow's Feet Commons or the Hub Cyclery, grab an IPAandwatch a movie at McMenamins, nurse a paleale in the middle of a haircut, or sip a stout while their children play at the indoor playground Bouncing off the Walls. Local mountain bike race The Blitz ends with competitors chugging a craft brew. And the Cycle Pub transports tourists from brewery to brewery on a pedal-powered bar.

"Beer is the culture here," said Jim Wilson, the owner of Bend's Bond Street Barber Shop, which has served beer on tap since 2003. "Everything else is secondary."

FootZone's Hatfield agrees.

"People come here because it's not like everywhere else," he said. "We try to do things that aren't like everywhere else, things that make this community special and unique."

— R podar541-6fr=7829, beastes@bendbttffetin.corn

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ability to "crunch numbers," he was hired to consult at several area restaurants and became a keen student of the regional dining scene.

In 2007, he was ready to open his own restaurant. He chose the former Rosemary location on Newport Avenue, remodeling it with an outdoor patio and a seasonal garden where he still grows many of his own herbs and vegetables. It opened Dec. I of that year as Chow.

But he was nervous, Touvell said, that the economic boom might not last.

"I saw the writing on the wall beforehand," he said. "I saw it in October-November of 2007, when I was building

Chow." He opened serving breakfasts only. Two months later, he added dinner service. But he stopped doing dinners by the end of July 2008.

"At that point, I knew something was happening," he said. "I saw it in people's attitudes — in my clientele, my business partners, commercial brokers. The restaurants kept coming and coming. I didn't want to compete with all those dinner restaurants trying to make a buck. There were too many seats and not enough people."

By Dec. I, 2008, said Touvell — exactly one year after he opened ChowBend had added another 3,000 restaurant seats for evening dining. "That' s

not sustainable."

Serving only breakfast and lunch, Chow has succeeded where other restaurants have failed. Touvell, now 38, continues to be the owner and executive chef of the Newport Avenue restaurant. In 2012 he also opened the Local Slice pizza cafe in the Brookswood Meadow Plaza.

Successesandfailures The roster of restaurants that have come and gone is highlighted by the high-profile travails of chef-owners Denton and McMichael.

Denton, who came to Bend by way of Dallas and San Francisco, opened

Merenda in 2002 on the busiest street corner in downtown Bend. So popular was the restaurant, he added a sushi-focused establishment called Deep in mid-2007.

"In this city, in this business, you' ve got to make your money between Memorial Day and Labor Day," Denton said at the time, as if to explain why he had rushed to open Deep in July.

"There's a slight bubble in winter, but really, if you can't capture the tourists in summer, you are totally reliant on local business the rest of the year."

He managed todo well enough through the following summer, but as Central Oregon became mired in re-

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 63

cession, his bills began to mount, creditors clamored for payment, and his financial backers became disillusioned.

The writing was on the wall by the end of 2008.

"I remember walking down the street past Deep late that year," Touvell recalled. "I ran into Jody. He told me, 'It was nice to know you."'

Both Denton restaurants have survived, but in new forms: Merenda, purchased by a group of former employees, is now 900 Wall. Deep has been reborn as 5 Fusion 8 Sushi Bar. McMichael, a Texan like Denton, ran into similar problems at The Blacksmith and wound up overextending himself. After he coined the term "New Ranch cuisine," his restaurant was honored by Conde Nast Traveler magazine in 2004 as one of the "best new restaurants in the world."

"We were the first restaurant ever chosen in the entire state of Oregon," McMichael recalled. "It took the wind out of me. I was thankful and terrified at the same time."

Immediately, expectations for The Blacksmith were set very high, perhaps too high. Living up to newfound fame didn't come easily. The owner experimented with his concept, adding a nightclub, renovating the lounge area and expanding the dining room. He invested in additional restaurantsBourbon Street, a New Orleans-style spot, and the retro-themed Gatsby'sand explored the possibility of a separate nightclub on Minnesota Avenue.

But again, during the recession, the financial pressures were too great.

He left town in late 2011 with a trail of creditors on his heels. The Blacksmith still lives, under new ownership. Bourbon Street is now Brickhouse, a highend steakhouse, and Gatsby's is home to Barrio, a Spanish-inspired cafe. The would-be nightclub is now the Dogwood Cocktail Cabin.

Standard wisdom in the restaurant industry is that an establishment that survives for 18 months will ultimately succeed. In Bend, suggested Touvell, the time frame is a little longer: "If you can't make it five years," he said, "keep trying!"

Many local restaurants have met that criteria. Among them are High Tides, Hola!, Jackson's Corner, Joolz, Kanpai, La Rosa and Trattoria Sbandati. Indeed, the outlook today is bright.

Neighboring communities, including Redmond and Sisters, went through similar ups and downs. In Sisters, Jen's Garden showed lasting power, persisting for nine years until its owners

changed from a fine-dining to breakfast-and-lunch concept (Cottonwood Cafe) in April. In Redmond, the Red Martini Wine Bar 8 Grill opened following the recession to join Brickhouse Steak and Seafood as top-end downtown restaurants.

But Touvell remains cautious. "I think the people who are well established and organized in this town are murdering it," he said. "It seems as though everybody has done really well, and grown and learned a lot. Numbers are up 30 percent over last year at this time. But my instincts tell me to see if things are where they are this time next year," he said.

Howard Friedman, partner and president of Compass Commercial Real Fstate Services, noted a telltale difference in the market between the start of the recession and more recent years.

"In 2008-09, there were quite a few restaurants on the market," he acknowledged. "That usually means they' re not profitable, so it's hard to sell them. But 2012-13 saw a real pickup in viable restaurant sales.

"Over the last couple of years, commercial real estate has tightened up a lot," Friedman continued. "Prices have increased dramatically, lease rates are going up and vacancies overall are going down. You talk to almost any restaurateur and if the price is right, they' ll sell."

In spite of that, Friedman said, "I'd say downtown (Bend) is strong."

Chuck Arnold, until recently executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association, concurred. "I think we have seen a lot of stability in the food scene over the past three or four years," he said. "There's has been a diversification in the offerings and I think the variety has helped all restaurants.

"But the challenge still remains during lunch. Many businesses can' t make a lunch service 'pencil' because there just aren't enough customers (typically other downtown employees) to make the numbers work. As we see more large employers move into downtown, I am optimistic that lunch numbers will improve so more businesses can offerthat service.

"The owners are already paying the rent, so if they aren't doing lunch, you know they haven't found a way to make it profitable. Once that critical mass of employees increases, I believe you will see more business open for lunch. It' ll follow that there will be even more food options in downtown Bend."

— Reporter: jandersonC<bendbulletin.corn

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 65

Some of Bend's venues tightened their belts — but there are more tunes than ever now

By Ben Salmon For The Bulletin

rom the outside looking in, Central Oregon's music scene seemed to be one of the few sectors in the region that continued toboom when the local and global economy busted. But that success was predicated on some behind-the-scenes belt tightening.

Sure, many venues that hosted pop, rock and hip-hop came and went, most notably The Grove and Be Bop Coffee House in 2007 and Mad Happy Lounge in 2011. But that's what a lot of music venues do — they come and go, not only in Bend, but everywhere.

Meanwhile, there are more opportunities now to go out and catch live music in Bend than ever before. Winter, once reliably quiet, has filled in with big shows at Oregon WinterFest, an annual concert series in Sisters and more pop/rock at the Tower Theatre.

The shoulder seasons in spring and fall, once a wasteland, now feature lots of live music, anchored by such events as Bend Spring Festival and the Bend Roots Revival.

Humming along are old mainstays such as the Domino Room, Midtown Ballroom, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Munch 8 Music and the Sisters Folk Festival, plus the bevy of bars in town that host local bands (and occa-

sional nonlocals) every weekend. And in the past year or so, the Volcanic Theatre Pub, tucked away in the Century Center on Bend's west side, has become the busiest spot in town, with concerts three, four and sometimes five nights per week. Summer has exploded with music — free concerts are an integral part of the Bend Summer Festival and The Bite of Bend, and free concert series have sprung up in the Old Mill District, Sunriver, two Redmond parks and just about anywhere else folks can gather around a stage. The 4 Peaks Music Festival near Tumalo is growing every year, the Century Center and Crow's Feet Commons each host multiple outdoor shows per summer and the Deschutes County Fair, which consistently draws some of the biggest concert crowds in the region, added a fourth show to its annual schedule in 2010.

And Bend's biggest venue, Les Schwab Amphitheater, just hosted the biggest season in its 13-year run, with 15 shows, up from the typical eight to 12. In its past two seasons, the Schwab has hosted seven sold-out shows, including the unprecedented two-night run by jam-band Phish this summer.

The venue sold out just twice in its first 11 seasons combined.

Indeed, the local music scene has, generally speaking, been growing steadily since the mid-2000s, at least W

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66 SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

in terms of the number of concerts and diversity of styles.

But behind the scenes, it took some smart business decisions and serious belt tightening to weather the economic storm, according to concert promoters and venue managers.

"Fewer people wanting to come out and spend money ... meant fewer shows, and fewer marquee or expensive shows and less agents interested in getting bands out here," said Chris Lohrey, who co-owned and booked popular bar, restaurant and music venue The Grove from 2003 to 2007.

Another scene veteran, Bret Grier, founder and senior talent buyer at Bend-based concert promoter Random Presents, said business was "really bad at first" when locals started scaling back spending. The shift forced Grier to undertake what turned out to be a four-year effort to keep his business afloat.

"The first two years it was necessary for me to financially absorb roughly 60 events with the majority of them landing in the red," Grier said.

"Then during the second two years, I had to slowly recoup as much of that lost revenue as possible while not taking huge risks."

Random has had a much easier time convincing booking agents to send their bands to Bend recently, and Grier attributes that to Bend's constant population growth, consistent efforts — both his own and others' — to bring club-sized acts to town, and the work of Portland-based Monqui Presents, a longtime promoter that books Les Schwab Amphitheater's concerts. Monqui's big-name bookings — wide-ranging acts such as Coldplay, Tenacious D, Norah Jones and Bob Dylan, plus the aforementioned sellouts including Phish — have paved the way for others by "exposing Bend to agents who might not have known there was potential in the market," Grier said.

But make no mistake: Monqui and the Schwab had to weather the storm as well. The amphitheater, with capacity of about 8,000, hosted 10 concerts with an average attendance of around 3,800in 2006. Ithosted 10 more shows in 2007, but average attendance dropped to around 3,000 people. The 2008 season — booked months in advance, before the extent of the economic downturn was known — was the venue's largest to that point, with 11 concerts throughout the summer. Ticket sales remained low, with an average attendance under 3,200.

"We saw a marked increase in the

Joe Kline/ The Bulletin

Truck Stop Gravy performs during the fifth round of this year's Last Band Standing competition at the Volcanic Theatre Pub, now one of the hottest music venues in Bend. number of people coming down to the Old Mill District on the days of ticketed shows, but that didn't translate to ticket sales," said the Schwab's manager, Marney Smith. "The slowdown ... was not unique to our venue, or to Central Oregon. There were many venues and tours with the same woes. As a result of the national economy, however, there just weren't as many tours interested in landing in Bend."

So Monqui adjusted, booking only six ticketed concerts in 2009. At about the same time, amphitheater officials started seeing "much greater attendance" at the venue's free Sunday afternoon concerts.

That boom in the Schwab's Sunday seriesreflected a trend across the region: free live music, which "popped up seemingly everywhere ... between 2006 and 2010," Smith said.

Again, the Schwab adjusted, cutting back on the free Sunday shows for fear of cannibalizing its ticketed events.

The amphitheater hosted six free concerts in 2015, half featuring local bands.

"From our point of view as a venue, the music scene suffered a bit due to the influx of free music events, solely because of market saturation," Smith said. "Why pay for a concert ticket when you can catch an act for free across the river, or at another venue?

I think artists and venues have had to fight to balance the scales between free and ticketed shows."

Cameron Clark understands that balance. Twenty-five years ago, he founded both Munch 8 Music and his own event-production company, now called C3 Events, which puts on Bend's spring, summer and fall festivals, NorthWest Crossing's farmers market, ticketed concerts at the Tower Theatre and the Athletic Club of Bend, and other events.

"We noticed that attendees thoroughly embraced 'free' events during this window," Clark said, putting the word freein quotes because so-called "free" events are usually financially supported by sponsors. "Free gatherings, festivals (and) events were more purpose-driven than ever. Meanwhile, the public was more protective of any disposable income, and ticketed events became more challenging. Couple that with increasing artist fees, and there was greater risk and exposure, for sure."

But Clark doesn't think Central Oregon's music scene suffered during the Great Recession, but in fact was bolstered by the challenge.

"I think there was a lot of innovating, partnering, pooling of resources, and, in general, a must-survive attitude that prevented any sort of massive collapse," he said. "Having said that, I think the local arts and festival scenes were stressed ... as the ability for sponsorship and patron-saint folks to be as generous as they were prior to the fallwas affected,aswas the general business community's ability to ex-

tend graceand/or creditas resources evaporated."

But happier times are here. Grier said he noticed "an impressive increase in sales and general enthusiasm" as the recession came to a close, partially because "people were tired of cutting an important aspect of culture out of their lives." Smith said Les Schwab Amphitheater's partnership with a respected firm like Monqui Presents carried the venue through the tough times, and that booking agents now have a better understanding of "the draw of Bend to guests and artists alike."

And Clark said Central Oregon's music scene is "on fire" and comparable to areas with a larger population base.

"In the context of ... national talent, for a town our size to be offering up the number of free and ticketed concert events that happen (here) circa 2015 is nothing short of remarkable," he said.

"This community is crazy blessed in these ways."

Lohrey said the local music scene has been on a "long upward surge" for the past 15 years, "as well as some periods that were more flat. But always forward." And that's true now more than ever before. eYes, there are some pretty serious holes that could be filled, but when I first started going to shows (here), there was one or two a month that everybody would go to," he said. "Now there's 12 in a weekend."

— Reporter: bensalmonC<gmail.corn

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 67

PROFILE

a e owner + ormerc urc rea venue

By Brian McElhiney

was going for a while, and then it was just The Bulletin kind of a vacant space."

Angeline Rhett spent her first winter In summer 2012, the building's prein Sisters selling sandwiches and baked vious owner invited Rhett to take a look inside. goods from a street cart.

"I had lived here forever, and I just had This year, Rhett celebrated her 20th year in the small town and her 18th year as never really been in here," Rhett said."And it looks kind of like it does now. We made owner of Angeline's Bakery in downtown Sisters. some changes for sure, but the whole vibe In November, she' ll reach another mile- of this place (is the same)."

On Nov. 15 that same year, she purstone — her third anniversary as owner of The Belfry, a bustling, 240-capacity music chased the building, hosting her first show venue only a few blocks from her bakery. there that night. Since then, she's worked Rhett has been a constant presence on the extensively on the building, making imentertainment scene in Central Oregon, provements to the electrical systems, weathering the recession and, through her installing fluorescent stage lights and venue, changing the live music landscape uncovering the original hardwood floors in Sisters and beyond. under "acres of orange carpet," among Over the past three years, The Belfryother projects.

A successful Kickstarter project in 2013 housed in a 100-year-old church located on E. Main Avenue — has hosted shows helped Rhett pay for a number of repairs, by national touring acts such as Tift Merincluding a sprinkler system, to bring the building up to code. She's been able ritt, Greg Brown, Loudon Wainwright III, Suzy Bogguss,Hot Buttered Rum and to boost income by renting space in the more, along with many local bands and building and the adjacent annex, which houses Preston Thompson Guitars. other events.

"I' ve heard it several times that we' re At this point, the shows are doing well the best venue in Bend, which kind of enough that Rhett is able to give back to the community. She said she donates makes me a little bit proud," Rhett said before a recent Belfry show featuring Deproceeds from shows to nonprofit ortroit rockers Jessica Hernandez and The ganizations including Circle of Friends and Rise Up, and in the fall will open the Deltas.

Rhett moved to Sisters in 1995 to be a basement up to Sisters High School's wildland firefighter. She did that for two new transition program for students in special education. summers and decided she "just didn' t "The stuff that happens in the world want to leave." In 1997, she opened her bakery; two years later, she was hosting that is really meaningful is made by people musicians in the backyard there during the who went out on a limb," said Sisters summer. She settled in an old house bemusician Hobbs Magaret, leader of Hobbs tween the bakery and the site of the future the Band and a frequent performer at The Belfry and Angeline's Bakery."After 2008, Belfry. A lover of old buildings, she was drawn to the former church, which had sat after the economy crashed, in a small vacant for a number of years before she town, not everyone has a whole lot of anytook it over. thing. Angeline was the first breath of life, "My kids have run up and down the the first to go on a limb and get something ramp when they were toddlers, and I' ve happening in Sisters." walked by here lots of times on the way to — Reporter: 641-61r=i814, the library or whatever," Rhett said. "And it bmcelhiney@bendbullet/n.corn

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Ryan B rennecke / The Bulletin

Angeline Rhett is the "Angeline" of Angeline's Bakery in downtown Sisters, but she' s also the owner of The Belfry, an old church that has hosted musicians from across the country. "I' ve heard it several times that we' re the best venue in Bend," Rhett said — about her Sisters venue — "which kind of makes me a little bit proud."

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Some SLINIVOFS One quintessential local festival, BendFilm,weathered the Great Recession. Going strong since 2004, the film fest screens and celebrates independent movies, documentaries, shorts and animated features, and continued handing out trophies through hard times.

The

Sunriver Music Festival,which conducted this kid-friendly Family Concert

during the recession in 2008 (right), avoided the fate of the popularCascade

Festival of Music(below), which shut down that same year. "That was a year we started feeling a little bit of the pinch," said Pam Beezley, the Sunriver festival's executive director. "The next couple of years, we tightened up our belts."

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SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 69

Some local arts organizations shuttered; others were able to adapt

By David Jasper The Bulletin

he Central Oregon arts community experienced a sea change over the past decade.

The late 2000s saw the shuttering of several key cultural institutions as the clouds of recession thickened. Casualties included the 26-year-old Cascade Festival of Music, as well as Obsidian Opera Co., which staged operas from 1997 until early 2008 in Bend. Fans of indie films said goodbye to Pilot Butte 6 in 2013, its audiences being too limited to sustain it.

The popular literary festival The Nature of Words, which over its nine-year lifespan brought in the likes of Annie Proulx, David Guterson, Benjamin Percy and dozens of other authors, closed in May 2014.

Two Bend community theaters survived close scrapes: In 2009, 2nd Street Theater announced it would stop producing in-house shows, holding on as a rented space for other theater groups until a nonprofit, Stage Right Productions, was formed to operate the theater and stage shows. In 2013, Cascades Theatrical Co. nearly sold its longtime home, the Cascades Theatre, before cutting staff to reduce costs.

Adaptation In interviews with the heads of arts organizations that weathered the Great Recession, the theme that comes up

Pilot

Butte 6(below left) — the theater off U.S. Highway 20 that was the only one to regularly screen documentaries and foreign films in Bend — and

Nature ol Words(below) — the popular Bend literary festival that hosted authors from across the country — were later victims, shutting down in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

repeatedly is adaptability.

Shortly after the beloved Cascade Festival of Music in Bend closed its tent flaps, the neighborly folks at Sunriver Music Festival scrambled to provide a special concert for ticketholders of the bankrupt festival. But Sunriver Music Festival, founded in 1977 and held each August, was also suffering, said Pam Beezley, its executive director since 2005.

"In 2008 when we (saw) Cascade Festival shut down ... that was a year we started feeling a little bit of the pinch.

The next couple of years, we tightened up our belts," she said. "Thank goodness, we didn't have to do anything drastically different to our business model."

Though able to sustain sponsorships for its annual main festival, "it was getting harder through the year," she said.

So the festival cut back the number of its offseason "Fireside" presentations, diverting those smaller concerts' sponsors to the August festival. Further, to accommodate classical music fans to the north of Sunriver, a few of the main festival concerts were performed in Bend, that change has endured; two of the festival's seven concerts this year were held in Bend.

Cameron Clark, founder of concert and event promoter C3 Events, also credited sponsors with helping Bend Summer Festival and Munch 8 Music, both free and open to the public, reach age 25 this year.

"Fortunately, during the recession, Bank of the Cascades, key sponsor of Summer Festival, and Bend Memorial Clinic, sponsor of Munch 8 Music, made the decision to keep sponsoring the respective events.

"Both of them consciously were like, 'The community needs this more than ever,' and free means all parts of the community — people suffering, people not suffering," said Clark. "Bend is the most generous city I think I' ll ever encounter. The corporate community is

profoundly generous."

In addition to its other offerings, Bend Summer Festival brings more than 100 artists to downtown Bend. The fine-art element of the event took a bit of a hit with the 2008 debut of Art in the High Desert, a juried fine art festival held each August in the Old Mill District.

Again, being malleable helped. C3 Events shifted focus to other areas of the festival.

"You gotta dance," Clark said. "You can't resent. You can't get frustrated.

You havetogo, 'Oh, God, we have this cool new neighbor. We just lost 30 percent of our top artists. What do we do to renew?'"

The need for culture and entertainment does not disappear in a recession, noted Ray Solley, executive director of the Tower Theatre Foundation.

"During a recession, two things happen. One is people prioritize their giving ... to make sure humans are surviving through the worst of times.

The second thing that happens — and

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it happened in the Great Depression as well — entertainment becomes something you still do. You don't give it up entirely," Solley said. "Not that entertainment is recession-proof, but it moves down the ladder a little bit for people's discretionary income. They' ll still spend the money. They just won' t spend quite as much on entertainment."

With discretionary income down, many looked to free or inexpensive options, such as the Deschutes Public Library, which has been steadily expanding community programs for years. Despite having to cut back hours in 2011 because of reduced property tax revenue, the library an east Bend branch in 2011 and has continued its popular Novel Idea and Author! Author! programs.

New during the recession While some looked to endure — including Redmond Community Concert Association, which dates back to the early '80s, and BendFilm Festival, going

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70 SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN

strong since 2004 — other organizations were launched in the midst of the recession.

When professional violinist Isabelle Senger moved to Bend in 2007, she saw a need for chamber music concerts and education. She wasted no time launching, in 2008, the nonprofit High Desert Chamber Music, which brings in professional chamber groups, and also offers educational outreach and instruction.

Senger grew the organization and its offerings over time, and in 2014, High Desert Chamber Music, now in its eighth season, moved into a small office in downtown Bend.

"It was certainly a difficult time to start in 2008," Senger said. "And it was a big learning process for me to start a nonprofit organization from an idea."

Improving conditions In 2013, Bend soprano Nancy Engebretson told The Bulletin, "I think five years is long enough to go without a hometown opera."

Last year, Engebretson and her husband, Jason Stein, a tenor who, like Engebretson, had performed with Obsidian Opera, launched OperaBend.

Upcoming shows include an opera based on the book "Via Lactea," by Bend author and poet Ellen Waterston.

Also in 2014, Bend actor and director David DaCosta, already a strong presence in the Bend theater community, began staging large-scale musical theater productions through Thorougly Modern Productions, including the well-received shows "Wizard of Oz," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Peter Pan." A number of other arts and cultural institutions and destinations have launched in recent years, from the community theater Sunriver STARS to the Old Ironworks Arts District, which holds a monthly gathering called Last Saturday, and the music and theater venue Volcanic Theatre Pub. Red Chair Gallery in downtown Bend opened in August 2010 and recently celebrated five years.

Senger tracks demographics of High Desert Chamber Music concert audiences and has noticed some trends as it enters its eighth season, including more families in attendance.

"We had an extreme influx of new concertgoers in our last season, which is really encouraging as we look forward," she said. "The town of Bend is growing so quickly, and I think a lot of those people are coming from places where they had equivalent organizations or series they attended or had some sort of interest, and they have

found High Desert Chamber Music as an outlet."

High Desert Chamber Music and a number of other organizations mentioned above — Sunriver Music Festival, Art in the High Desert and the Tower Theatre among them — belong to the Arts and Culture Alliance of Central Oregon, often referred to as the ACA. Formed in 2010, it boasts more than 30 members working together to "create collaboration and networking opportunities for local arts and cultural organizations," according to www. artsandcultureco.org.

"It has been challenging over the last several years, and I think that' s one reason even ACA found its time.

If nothing else (we) needed time coming out of a recession to sit in a room and go, 'Hey, we' re not in this alone.

There are other people finding ways to survive.' It's not as much a support group as a place to re-energize, and to know it is a small area, it is a small but dedicatedgroup ofpeople and we have a lot of shared interests, a lot of shared goals, and probably a lot of shared headaches."

Sally Russell, a Bend City councilor who once served as executive director of CascadeFestival ofMusic, said recession shook the cultural foundation

in the community, but here in 2015, "The arts community in Bend and Central Oregon is much broader and deeper and richer than 10 years ago."

Solley echoed that sentiment of improving conditions.

"Everything seems to be operating on all cylinders," said Solley. "Summertime visitation seems to be going through the roof."

But there were lessons learned during the recession he's kept with him.

"I do think there is a general knowledge that everything works in cycles, and that we' re probably several years out from the cycle turning again," he said. "The (last) thing anybody wants to do now is buy into a bubble and say that's the new reality."

And so while arts organizations are optimistic about the future, they' re being cautious.

"We have the chance now to be sustainable and to really address some endemic issues that nonprofits, especially the performing arts, have. We want to address those now. We want to get those fixed and solved so that when the bad times come, as they inevitably will, we won't be caught off-guard, and we won't be caught wanting."

— Reporter: 541-383-0349, djasperC<bendbulletin.corn

PPED CTONS FROM „, PAY SOLLEY EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR, TOWER THEATRE FOUNDATION

By Jasmine Rockow For The Bulletin

If you ask Ray Solley, there are two big signs for encouragement and growth in the Central Oregon arts scene: the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund and OSU-Cascades.

Solley is executive director of the Tower Theatre Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and operates the historic downtown venue.

He serves as co-vice chair for Arts Northwest, as a board member of the Arts and Culture Alliance of Central Oregon, and as an ex-officio commissioner on the Deschutes County Historic Landmark Commission.

Tourism Visit Bend created the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund to attract tourists during the winter and shoulder seasons. This year, the fund issued $125,000 in grants to nine organizations for marketing art and cultural events.

Solley expects more groups to receive money next year.

Not only is the fund likely to become an economic driver for the region, it has also led performing and visual art groups to rethink the kinds of projects they can develop, and the audiences to which they can be marketed. In years to come, the fund could create a significant increase in tourism.

"Sure they' re going to ski, but they will also come to see an art exhibit, or a performance, a film festival, or to experience a museum," Solley said."Those people have been peripheral visitor and revenue generators, but now I think we' ll see people coming to Bend for cultural tourism and performing arts in the same way they have come for outdoor recreation over the last decade."

University town The new OSU-Cascades campus is an-

other cause for "a great deal of enthusiasm," Solley said.

The four-year university will likely change the area's demographics and some of the reasons people visit.

More parents and relatives of college students will be drawn to the area, and in a few years Central Oregon may have a pool of young, college and post-college age people ready to ply their trade in the performing arts.

The theater as a classroom Solley looks forward to alliances and collaborations formed between the college and local art groups, providing students with performing arts experiences in the classroom, in workshops throughout town and on-stage.

"There's no reason the Tower couldn't be used as classroom," he said.

A cultural corrIdor From these two new developments could rise a cultural corridor, an area of town full of art galleries, artisan shops and pop-up performance spaces.

"At some point in the next decade, there will be serious discussions on how to coalesce the arts and cultural expertise coming to and living in this town," he sa>d.

"The question is, do you funnel resources into one area, like maybe a new building, or do you capitalize on the fact that they are popping up in all different places? Like the ale trail, could we do an arts and culture trail?"

SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE BULLETIN 71

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end is booming.

The evidence is everywhere: Houses are under construction, tourists are filling our hotels, trails and river, roads are being built or repaved, water pipes are being laid and the sewer system expanded. The jobless rate is way down.

It's a far cry from a few years ago.

But what's next?

We wondered: What direction should Bend take, and what kind of town will it become? How do we make smart decisions we won't regret in the future? So we posed a question to people we met on the street, then asked community leaders-

"What do you think Bend needs going forward to thrive'?"

The answers reflect worry about traffic, crowding, housing, road repair, helping the less fortunate and other concerns.

But they also convey optimism about the quality of life the region offers and the impact of a new university, as well as our ability to work together to solve problems and enhance our community.

ll We asked, and here' s what you told us

"l feel like it already is thriving. l guess if the real estate economy stays as it is, it will keep thriving."

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"We need adecent plan. We're so congested with long-term plans....

Hopefully the city has a plan for the long term."

"Wehave so much going for us in Bend. As l look ahead, the most important investment we can make is in a four year university with OSU-Cascades. A university is the missing piece to take us from a good city to a great one as we grow, building on our track record of citizen engagement, thought leadership and collaboration. OSU-Cascades will provide economic stability and support for the business community with trained workers, opportunity for youth, innovation and internships, along with many cultural benefits for the region's residents."

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Brant Medonich

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Amy Tykeson, Economic Development for Central Oregon president

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Amber Roy

Collected by KaileyFisicaro The Bulletin

"More low-income housing. Myself and a lot of people have noticed more wealthy people moving into town. They' re not always the nicest.... A lot of people are having to move to be able to afford housing."

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— Andy Gustafson

"I think that we need to focus on keeping our working and middle class, and that is going to help us thrive, and not becoming an elitist resort town.... Bend has always been a working town, it has all sorts and types.... When you look at resort communities they tend to be somewhat unbalanced, where the working class live outside the city, and all the rich folks inside. I think those cities

can be successful, but they aren't thriving.... Having a healthy economy is really a backbone for the rest of the community.... I think we' re headed in the right direction."

— Brian Rankin, city of Bend planning manager

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"It needs a better infrastructure, both in housing and services."

"I think about our goals as a board, and with the new superintendent we have coming in, we' ve really been talking about preparing

— Dennis Sell

kids for the world they will enter as adults

politically and with jobs. I think we' re lacking

"It's got to be housing and education ... If you just build your town on tourism, that' s a very bad idea ... what happens when there's no snow? This year it's Bend, but next year it could be another town."

— Phyllis Milkon

and workers — the skills they will need to be successful in that world. It's about transforming education and I think we' re really starting to do that.... I'm really excited with the

new superintendent that we have. What Bend needs is well-prepared students who are ready to be leaders in the community and leaders in industry, and in turn, the city of Bend needs to have opportunities for them and for all of us.... If we have well-trained, well-prepared students who want to work here, that will draw industries to come here."

— Peggy Kinkade,Bend-La Pine Schools board member

"The growth rate is such that it's tough to manage. For any community, it's important to have hard infrastructure and clean drinking water, good roads, but that's only one side of the coin. From that perspective I think we' re doing all right, depending on how our street repairs go. A big thing will be connecting east and west Bend, making less of a physical and psychological barrier; that's both from an economic disparity and Highway 97 being in the way. That will be a huge component: transportation, connecting Bend as a whole.... Wehave to make sure we continue to allow everybody who wants to be in Bend to live here, not pricing out certain parts of the community so it's not just a high-end resort community."

— Nathan Boddie, Bend city councilor and physician at St. Charles Health System

"We need to come together as a community to address affordable housing, low workingclass wages and our transportation infrastructure. And we shouldn't rest on our laurels of being a safe community. Weare safe, but we' re not as safe as we think. And if we don't take proactive steps to enhance our crime-prevention efforts, we' ll be less safe than we want. To this end I' ve launched DeschutesSafe: an inclusive and representative community-based advisory panel that will address holistic ways to reduce crime within Deschutes County.... By working together as a community, leveraging resources, and using data and evidence-based strategies, we can become even better at preventing crime and keeping our community one of the safest places in the country to live, work and raise a family."

— John Hummel, Deschutes County district attorney

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"Thrive doesn't just mean growth economically or in population.... The No. 1 would be maintaining our active outdoor lifestyle and keep what makes Bend, Bend.

We have a great appreciation for nature and taking care ofit, and also a great appreciation for arts and culture. I think that's part of what makes Bend vibrant. Wecan't close the door behind everyone that comes in; we need to have smart growth and get out of cars.... Bend is going to grow no matter what."

"I live kind of on the west side of town. It' s

just the traffic. It's scary to pull out when you' re at places like Galveston. I just get worried about my kids. It's kind of hard to

see it grow from a small town ... I think with everything else the priorities in town are good.

— Todd Lafrenz

— Becky Johnson,OSU-Cascades vicepresident

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— Robin Burford

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"People choose to live in Bend.... We need to continue that. I think what you get r from that is a diversity of values.... For Bend to be successful from a physical form standpoint, the more we can create a sense of a human walking environment, if you like walking in residential areas, if you like walking in commercial areas, when you get down to that level, it's a very personal, up-close level, ... you accrue a lot of benefits, more monetary benefits and it goes back to people want to be together. From my viewpoint, it' s really about a city's form.... You start enjoying the building fronts and you start enjoying the community more."

— Nick Arnis, growth management director, city of Bend

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"I think from all ages, we as a community and asa society need to become more comfortable with addressing and speaking to what happens at end of life. We as Americans don tre'ally have a culture for that, but it can be such a beautiful and

special time for the person and family members if they have the opportunity to share that with one another.... If I look at Central Oregon, we have such a unique opportunity; we have such wonderful resources for health care. A lot of the people retired here have so many options.... I see The Bloom Project as being one small piece of that. We' re trying to complement the health care communityin a small way."

"I'm here for the summer but looking to move to Bend.... Housing just seems

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Atlanta and Toronto."

— Kari Olson

"The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement team needs to be better. Pot's one thing, but you see a lot more drugs now ... they' re too easy to get."

— Justin Clarke

— Heidi Berkman, founder of The Bloom Project, a nonprofit that takes donated flowers to hospice and palliative care patients

"I'd like to see population control. I realize that Bend is expanding ... but it's not the

same asitused to be.Bend can'tkeep growing like this."

— Jim Woodbury

"There's some pretty bad potholes.I think road maintenance is important because it' s how you get from place to place."

— Danielle Williams

"I think the overarching goal for Bend is to keep high-quality everything, of course starting with education, not only with elementary and high school but with community colleges, that give you a path from start to finish all the way.... I think

sports programs are important because it gets you a lot of exposure.... Supporting the student athletes from elementary through the middle schools right up into the high schools, that attracts parents, that attracts people who want to get a good education but also promotes the kind of theme of Bend: being healthy."

— Joe Viola, director of campus services, Central Oregon Community College

"There are many people who believe Bend is fine just the way it is — that it doesn't need

better, wider roads or a four year college — and that service-level jobs are fine, too.

Changing that perspective might help."

"It needs a zipline. Up on the river trail....

People come here to go mountain biking, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding. It'd be perfect."

— David Hart

— Gary Fish, Deschutes Brewery president

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