91视频

For 40 years, Al Sather has tried to develop his 33-acre property on the outskirts of Corvallis.

He bought the property in 1972 with plans to build a house next door to his parents’ home. Eventually, when Sather’s parents died, he and his brothers, Ronald and Larry, began to pursue development of student housing for neighboring Oregon State University. But first, the city needs to annex the land 鈥� and that hasn’t happened yet.

In 2001, an annexation proposal was placed on a city ballot, but voters rejected it. In 2007, the brothers tried again, but the project’s developer dropped out at the last minute because of the poor economy.

But Sather, who owns a sports retail store, is trying again. He and his brothers have teamed with , a Georgia-based student housing company, to propose a 650-unit project. If the city were to approve the development, named the Retreat at Oak Creek, the November ballot would include an annexation measure. Voters would be more likely to pass this one, Sather said, because it calls for lighter density and the city is facing a greater need for student housing.

鈥淲hen (the development) was originally denied, nobody believed that the university would get as big as it has,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ight now, students rent every house they can close to campus and stuff as many in there as they can. This would alleviate a lot of the pressure.鈥�

The number of students enrolled at OSU has doubled previous projections, Sather said. And over the years, Corvallis has built significantly fewer high-density residential buildings than Eugene, where the University of Oregon is located. The proposed development, which would be next to OSU’s foundation offices, would be within a short walk of campus.

鈥淭he demand is obviously there for our kind of product and so we wanted to step in and fill that need,鈥� said Blair Sweeney, development manager for Landmark Properties. 鈥淭here are some students living as far away as Albany, which really points to the need for housing to us and hopefully for others in the community.鈥�

The development would occupy almost all of the property and include apartment buildings, townhomes and a large number of multi-bedroom cottages.

A wetland area on the corner of the property would be preserved and open areas would accommodate gardens and green spaces. A number of bike-friendly features, such as on-site bike pumps and a bike rental facility, also would be included. None of these features was part of the development proposed in 2001.

鈥淟ast time, it seemed like we had to change priorities every month,鈥� Sather said. 鈥淭his time, we made sure to put those priorities up front and work with the community to understand those priorities.鈥�

However, both Sather and Sweeney know that annexing property in Corvallis is not simple. Almost all proposed annexations, regardless of their size, face heavy opposition, according to Sarah Johnson, associate planner with the city. Voters are reluctant to pass measures that seek to expand the city’s limits, she said. In recent years, only a few properties have been annexed 鈥� none intended for student housing.

The neighborhood associations surrounding the property were not prepared to comment on the project, nor were the city’s land-use organizations, including the League of Women Voters and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. Most officials said they would wait to issue a statement until today, when Landmark Properties will host a public meeting.

After living in Corvallis for 64 years, Sather said he still does not understand why its citizens usually vote against property annexations.

鈥淐orvallis citizens want to have a lazy little college town, but they don’t want to have the students,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s long as we have a football team and a basketball team, (they say) let’s not deal with student housing. I’m hoping the community sees the obvious need we have.鈥�