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Salem-based White Oak Construction is planning to open a Bend office because of increasing opportunities in the area.

The commercial contractor had planned to open a new branch office in southeast Bend in 2007, but the economic downturn squashed that idea, owner Mark Fox said. But the economic rebound is fueling more projects now.

A variety of school and park projects, OSU-Cascades‘ new campus and an increasing need for housing all factored into the decision, Fox said.

“There’s a lot of work over there and there’s more than the primary generals can handle,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been hearing from a variety of levels.”

White Oak’s expansion is a sign of confidence that more construction activity could be on its way to Central Oregon, said Bruce Kemp, co-owner of Compass Commercial Real Estate Services, which brokered the deal for the contractor.

Office vacancy, which was 20 percent for four years through 2012, dropped from 16 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 12.2 percent in the first quarter of 2014, according to Compass Points, a quarterly newsletter authored by Compass Commercial.

Industrial vacancy, meanwhile, dropped 1 percentage point to 11.3 percent and could fall further, Kemp said. That could lead to higher rents and ultimately more construction, he said.

“As we draw down vacancies, we should start seeing construction out of the ground,” he said. “It’s still a little ways out, but it’s the next phase. We’re starting to turn the corner where we’ll start seeing projects again.”