It’s crazy how much development is going on around here these days. Downtown, they’re just about to tear down the old post office and start erecting a new parking structure. The “Firehall” is ongoing, with a giant plastic bag over the top of it (it’s truly surreal). The new building on the corner of Wall and Franklin looks mostly finished. Something’s going up on the old Eagle Lodge location, on the corner of Greenwood and Hill. The Old Mill District continues to grow and change. Up north, there’s of course talk about the Super Wal-Mart, but good grief, Bed Bath and Beyond is already open, Best Buy can’t be far behind, CostPlus and PetSmart are going up. Target is expanding, I hear.
And everywhere you go, residential development is gangbusters. You can’t swing a dead cat in this town any more without hitting construction. (Ironically, I work for a builder that’s contributing to all this mess. And live in one of their homes.) I know growth and change has kind of been the theme for Bend and Central Oregon this past decade, but right now it seems like there’s more going on than ever before. Or is it just me?
And of course the one thing Bend really needs—a mass transit system—is nowhere in sight.
No, it just isn’t you. There’s stuff getting bulldozed and built up all over. Downtown, The Old Mill, and the Cooley road area are the biggest areas, and, sadly, it’ll be a cold day in hell before they get a mass transit system here.
I forgot that you work for that builder (won’t mention names here — you can advertise them if you want, but I won’t so I don’t get ya in trouble). They probably gave you a good deal on the house, didn’t they? Man, I need to work for a big builder like that 😉
Whoa…that was freaky…how did my site end up in what looks like a google ad on the right side? It’s obviously not a google ad, but …Okey Dokey 🙂
I’m using Google’s alternative ad mechanism to roll my own ads when none from Google show up– that way I can control the look and feel and avoid the PS ads. You just happen to be in the list 🙂
"Good" deal is relative; I got a minimal deal on the house, but we still paid more than we probably should have.
I read yesterday that Bend was ranked #1 in mid-population cities for best places to start a business.
it’s here
try this:
http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/specials/2005/small_biz_towns/best_towns.html
We still don’t have a Hooters either!
"I read yesterday that Bend was ranked #1 in mid-population cities for best places to start a business"
I don’t doubt it. We have so many empty office buildings here that are sitting empty, there’s good enough reason right there.
Shannon, where’d you find that? I have Google News Alert set for Bend, and didn’t see it. I just passed the link down to the newsroom, could be a real good story for us to use over the weekend. And we are looking at various elements of the growth/transportation story for package(s) in the next sweeps (rating time) in May.
Hm, I even though of another big development downtown today: the old Lumbermen’s Insurance building on the corner of Bond and Franklin that’s been knocked down. Anyone know what’s being built there?
Geez. All that building, and there *still* isn’t a shop where I can buy myself a dead cat to swing around.
I found plenty of them in the gutters, but if I’m livin’ the life in a mid-population city I wanna go to a *store* to find my dead cat. Hello? Any savvy entrepreneurs out there? We’ve got you a killer business opportunity!
There’s a reason I left that town, I suppose. At least Hood River has dead cats:
http://www.rivercitysaloon.com/rcs_demo2.asp
Who would actually be using the mass transit system? They started the parking shuttle and no one uses it. The dial a ride has about six regulars. Mass transit is just something to whine about. No one would ever really use it.
Anon,
I would have used it many years ago when I didn’t have a car and had to walk everywhere and keep my business downtown and near the westside where i lived. I couldn’t go south or north (east wasn’t developed yet). I was miserable carrying groceries home from IGA (newport market now) up that huge hill on Juniper St. Mass transit would have helped me a whole bunch back then! Now, I do own a car and have kids, so I do not have a need, but I’m sure there are many who may need it.
Jon and I used Mass transit in Spokane when we lived there. We depended on it!