By Alan Torres
Eugene Register-Guard / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Eugene City Council has advanced a measure that would require people selling homes in Eugene to disclose the home’s Home Energy Score to prospective buyers.

City staff, recommending councilors pursue the requirement, said in surveying Eugene residents, people wanted more guidance on how to improve their home’s energy efficiency and passing the requirement would do that.

“It would expand access to information about energy usage, energy improvements and available incentives,” said Danielle Klinkebiel, Eugene climate policy analyst.

A Home Energy Score is a standardized measurement of a home’s energy efficiency. A Home Energy Score report includes a home’s estimated energy costs, recommended improvements, and available rebates. Klinkebiel said this assessment costs $150 to $250 and examines the home’s insulation, air sealing, heating, cooling, windows, doors and water heating.

Under the proposal, people selling homes in Eugene would be required to include a Home Energy Score and Report in the real estate listing and home showing. Eugene would be the fifth Oregon city to adopt such a requirement.

City staff said they had researched Home Energy Score requirements in other cities, and found implementing them didn’t have an impact on housing supply. But staff recommended the city create a program to train energy assessors to ensure there are enough of them to meet the demand generated by the requirement.

Councilors unanimously voted to advance the proposal to a public hearing. Because of City Council’s upcoming summer recess, the earliest this could occur would be Sept. 21.

Councilors expressed a range of enthusiasm and skepticism of the proposal.

Supportive councilors said the requirement would provide more information to home buyers and help people make the homes in Eugene more energy efficient.

Critical councilors said it would likely be redundant with expected federal regulation and worried about the home inspections being inaccurate and sellers passing along the cost of the inspection to buyers.

Other Oregon cities requiring the disclosure are Portland, Milwaukie, Hillsboro and Bend.

Celeste Schmorde, president of Eugene Realtors, shared mixed thoughts on the requirement.

Schmorde said earlier in the process the Realtors had weighed in with concerns that the energy score may not accurately reflect the value or livability of older homes, and questioned the theory the requirement would encourage homeowners to make energy improvements.

But Schmorde also said the organization supports “transparency around a home’s expected utility costs and operating expenses,” and that at this point Eugene Realtors has switched from debating the policy to “helping buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals understand any new requirements so they can navigate them successfully.”

Meredith Tufts, coalition coordinator for Fossil Free Eugene, celebrated the vote. She called the proposed requirement “a common sense measure that will help to ensure prospective home buyers have the knowledge they need to make informed purchases.”

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�ճ����Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA) and the Oregon chapter of the American Concrete Institute (OACI) celebrated the top projects in their industry during the 46th annual Excellence in Concrete Awards banquet on May 1 at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel.

In addition, the organizations recognized Jim Lang of LaRusso Concrete with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lang has worked in the concrete industry for more than 40 years. Originally based in Denver, he moved to Seattle and then Portland, serving in various capacities with LaRusso from apprentice, cement mason and foreman, to superintendent, branch manager, president, owner and board chair.

In 1996, Lang opened LaRusso’s Portland branch, and in 2007 he purchased the company; he later sold it to his employees in 2018. He stayed on as president until retiring in 2023, and he remains the acting board chair.

Lang was a member of the Local 555 union his entire career. He was involved with OACI for several years in various roles, including as a board member, committee member and examiner. He is known for advocating for training and education of the next generation of leaders.

In addition, owners, architects, engineers, concrete suppliers, contractors and concrete finishers were recognized for their projects in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Projects were recognized for sustainability, innovation and design.

Eight category winners were selected:

Bridges

Project: US 97 & US 20 Bend North Corridor – Flyover Bridge, Bend

Owner/developer: state of Oregon

Engineer: Kiewit

General contractor: Kiewit

Concrete contractor: Marcum & Sons

Ready-mix supplier: Knife River

Decorative

Project: Inlow Hall Grand Staircase at Eastern Oregon University, LaGrande

Owner/developer: Eastern Oregon University

Engineer: AHBL

Architect: Peter Meijer Architect

General contractor: Garco Construction

Ready-mix supplier: RD Mac LaGrande Ready-Mix

Education

Project: Reed College Sports Center, Portland

Owner/developer: Reed College

Engineer: KPFF

Architect: ZGF Architects

General contractor: Fortis Construction

Concrete contractor: Pence/Kelly Concrete

Ready-mix supplier: Glacier Northwest/CalPortland

Concrete finishing: LaRusso Concrete

Additional contributor: R2M2 Rebar & Stressing

Infrastructure

Project: Palensky Highway 30 Wildlife Underpass, Portland

Owner/developer: Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce

Engineer: Murraysmith

Architect: Murraysmith

General contractor: Moore Excavation Inc.

Concrete contractor: Whitaker/Ellis Builders

Ready-mix supplier: CalPortland

Concrete finishing: Whitaker/Ellis Builders

Low-rise

Project: QTS HIL2 – DC2, DC3, DC5, Hillsboro

Owner/developer: QTS

Engineer: Peoples Associates Structural Engineers (PASE)

Architect: Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects

General contractor: HITT Contracting

Concrete contractor: Whitaker/Ellis Builders

Ready-mix supplier: CalPortland

Concrete finishing: Whitaker/Ellis Builders

Mid-rise

Project: Waterfront Block 7 Parking, Vancouver, Washington

Owner/developer: Gramor Development

Engineer: JWSE Structural Engineers

Architect: International Parking Design

General contractor: Robertson & Olson Construction

Concrete contractor: Marion Construction

Ready-mix supplier: CalPortland

Concrete finishing: Industrial Concrete

Paving & Flatwork

Project: Cottage Grove Main Street Revitalization, Cottage Grove

Owner/developer: city of Cottage Grove

Engineer: Branch Engineering

Architect: Dougherty Landscape Architects

General contractor: Wildish Construction

Concrete contractor: Wildish Construction

Ready-mix supplier: RiverBend Materials, a CRH Company

Concrete finishing: Wildish Construction

Repair & Restoration

Project: DAS Executive Building Renovation, Salem

Owner/developer: state of Oregon

Engineer: KPFF

Architect: SERA Architects

General contractor: Pence Contractors

Concrete contractor: Pence/Kelly Concrete

Ready-mix supplier: WCP

Concrete finishing: LaRusso Concrete

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Construction of the second and final phase of a 48-unit affordable housing development is wrapping up in Bend.

Canal Commons was designed by LRS Architects, which has offices in Bend and Portland. The project team also includes general contractor SunWest Builders and developer Pacific Crest Affordable Housing.

The multibuilding, 44,525-square-foot complex, at 21192 Thornhill Lane, has unobstructed views of the Cascade Mountains. Residents have begun moving in, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony is set to take place this spring.

Work started in 2018 and was split into two phases. Crews completed the $10.8 million Phase I during the pandemic, and then started on the $11.2 million Phase II.

Canal Commons is close to a 120-acre park, local shops, schools, and city services. Amenities include raised gardens, a community room, a fitness space, a meeting area, a leasing office and a playground. Additionally, agencies’ staffers regularly visit to offer residents continuing education and employment opportunities.

Solar infrastructure at the complex provides 300 kilowatts of power through expansive arrays and reduces energy consumption by 75-80 percent. Other sustainability features include thermal-break, double-stud exterior walls, raised-heel trusses, and cold roof /attic ventilation. Lighting is 90 percent sensor-controlled and 100 percent LED, and all appliances are Energy Star-qualified.

Canal Commons features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, which are connected by open breezeways. Initially, units are being offered to people earning up to 60 percent of the area median income in Deschutes County, according to the Canal Commons website.

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Three new buildings are in the works at Bend’s Old Mill District – a popular mixed-use development along the Deschutes River. The project team is planning to break ground on the first two buildings next year.

TVA Architects is designing the project for developer River Bend Limited Partnership. Kirby Nagelhout Construction Co. will serve as the contractor.

The Old Mill District has generated a lot of interest from prospective tenants and not had sufficient space to meet demand, said Peter McCaffrey, director of leasing and development at River Bend Limited Partnership – also known as William Smith Properties. The new buildings will offer leasable space for businesses complementary to existing ones.

The design team began conceptual site planning in fall 2021, TVA Architects principal in charge Tim Wybenga stated in an email. Options were sought for three sites at the Old Mill District’s north end.

The first phase is expected to include buildings “Y” and “Z” and cost around $8 million, McCaffrey said. Building “X,” which would follow in a second phase, could cost around $3 million.

“Amazingly, with all of the constriction in brick-and-mortar retail in the last few years, there is a great demand for space in the Old Mill because it’s such a unique and successful development,” Wybenga said.

Wybenga, at the beginning of his career, worked with developer Bill Smith on the first seven buildings at the Old Mill District. Wybenga was on-site when it was just an abandoned mill.

“To see what (Smith) envisioned then come to reality and become this huge success is just fantastic, and it’s really exciting to be connected to the future success of this place,” he said.

For these specific buildings, TVA Architects has incorporated types of outdoor spaces that represent the shops and placed parking behind buildings so that they instead open toward hot ponds and the Deschutes River.

Building Y will have approximately 7,300 square feet, possibly for three tenants – most likely retail or food and beverage. The front doors will face the Old Mill District’s hot ponds and the pedestrian bridge that crosses them. The ponds formerly supported wood production, McCaffrey said, and now serve as decorative and place-making features. Construction is estimated to begin in spring 2023.

That is also when construction may start on Building Z, slightly east of Building Y. Building Z will have approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail or restaurant space as well as nine apartments – with one or two bedrooms – above. Five to seven residential units will likely be furnished for short-term use, McCaffrey said. They could be used by people visiting Bend for business, serving as a seasonal worker, or contributing to a performance at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater directly across the river. The others will have long-term leases. The units will be clean and simple, with a focus on hospitality; they will have small balconies.

Building X is expected to have between 5,000 and 7,000 square feet. It will sit next to the river, directly across from the amphitheater. Building X will likely be built to spec for a single tenant.

“We are seeking a restaurant operator with a concept and a menu that will fit within the district and is not currently being provided,” McCaffrey said.

That building will have ample outdoor seating on a ground-level patio as well as a significant roof terrace with views of the district, the river, and the amphitheater. The start of construction of Building X is estimated for 2024.

“The sites will also have really nice views on the river and towards the Cascades from where we sit,” McCaffrey said.

Buildings Y and Z are estimated to open for business in late winter or early spring of 2024.

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The city of Bend has selected two firms to design and construct the new 26.5-acre Juniper Ridge Public Works Campus.

Kirby Nagelhout Construction and Hennebery Eddy Architects will work together on the project to bring together the city’s engineering and infrastructure planning, fleet, transportation and mobility, and utilities functions in one location. The campus will include administrative and employee support services, fleet maintenance and shop and warehouse facilities, vehicle wash and storage spaces, and other specialized areas.

The city chose progressive design-build project delivery, which allows all parties to collaborate from the beginning. The streamlined process between owner, designer and contractor results in faster project completion.

“It brings all of the experts – including the general contractor and their trade partners – it brings those experts on early in the process,” Hennebery Eddy associate principal Camilla Cok said.

Those parties look over the budget and more from the outset, helping manage risk. If needed, the architects can adjust the design. When it comes time to build, the team should know the costs, because people are providing confirmation along the way.

“Traditionally, you don’t get that expert input early on,” Cok said.

The city of Bend is bringing together onto one campus five departments that currently are spread apart. The goal is to create a regenerative design that is resilient and adaptable. There is also a strong desire of the city to create a strong work environment for employees, as well as a place that benefits the community.

“We’re really early in the project,” Cok said. “We wrapped up programming and we’re jumping into concept design.”

The team is looking at several buildings to house the departments, as well as a main headquarters building, vehicle storage, a fleet maintenance building, and more. Design will begin early next year. Construction will begin mid-2023.

The city of Bend wants to start moving into the facilities in 2025.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the city of Bend,” Cok said. “They established a climate action plan and a strategic energy management plan.”

The city worked to align the project goals with sustainability aspirations. Bend’s strategic energy management plan calls for new facilities to be designed for net zero energy use or be net zero ready. The team is looking into this as a possibility.

With “the progressive design build process, we’re all collocated in a shared space in Bend,” Cok said, adding that she can see the benefits of such an arrangement.

Both Kirby Nagelhout Construction and Hennebery Eddy Architects have offices in Bend as well as design-build project experience.

“We have a history of working with Kirby Nagelhout,” Cok said. “They are a great partner. Our first project experience was actually a more traditional design-bid-build project.”

That was the Harmony West Building for Clackamas Community College. The two companies also are working on a fire station project for the city of Boardman.

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Central Oregon is bursting at the seams. Deschutes County grew at a 3.6 percent clip in 2016, according to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate. In the past five years, the county has grown by 13.5 percent, gaining more than 20,000 residents.

“Just the amount of people moving here is crazy,” said Allison Rambel, a manager at Deschutes Property Management.

Now Oregon State University-Cascades officials are asking the state Legislature for $69.5 million in bond funding to kick-start in Bend a major expansion to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students. House Bill 2782 would authorize issuance of construction bonds; it’s now before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, and no meetings are scheduled.

Eventually, the Bend campus could provide housing for 1,700 students, in addition to 300 units already in place, totaling approximately 595,000 square feet. Plans also call for 362,000 square feet of academic buildings, 147,000 square feet of campus life buildings, 95,000 square feet of recreation buildings and approximately 7 acres of parking.

Bend’s housing market already is by some measures even tighter than Portland‘s. Deschutes Property Management oversees 892 apartment units. During April, the vacancy rate at the company’s properties was 0.8 percent.

“In the Bend market, we just do not have enough supply to meet the demand,” Rambel said. “We need more.”

Bend has bounced back strongly from the Great Recession, when real estate values plummeted. Homes sold for a median price of $375,000 during the first quarter of 2017, up 13 percent compared to a year earlier, according to Regional Multiple Listing Service data. The average price per square foot of sold property has risen to $213, up from $199 a year earlier.

Homebuilders such as Pahlisch Homes are busily building single-family residences, and more multifamily projects have cropped up within the city. But strong demand for second homes as well as low-wage jobs tied to tourism and service industries have created greater pressure on housing affordability in Bend, according to a city report.

OSU-Cascades plans to build enough housing to allow about 40 percent of students to live on campus. That would leave from 1,200 to 2,000 students seeking off-campus housing in Bend.

Several residential buildings are planned, said Christine Coffin, spokeswoman for OSU-Cascades.

“Both the campus and the community are interested in housing as many students as possible on campus,” she said.

Housing matters for recruiting and retaining not just new students, but also instructional staffers at OSU’s expanding Cascades campus.

“It’s a tough housing market, both for students and for new faculty and staff we’re hiring,” she said.

OSU-Cascades’ planned expansion hinges on state funding, which could be tough to come by as Gov. Kate Brown and state legislators grapple with a $1.6 billion funding gap. Brown’s budget would supply only $20 million of OSU-Cascades’ $69.5 million request. That would enable the university to begin infrastructure improvements, but little else.

“That infrastructure would simply sit until at least the next biennium,” Coffin said.

Failure to expand the campus would limit OSU-Cascades’ capacity to serve students, she added.

“Without those buildings, we’ll have to cap enrollment,” she said.

Currently, OSU-Cascades’ campus serves 1,215 students and can accommodate up to 1,890.

The first phase of campus expansion would focus on two structures. One would be a 55,000-square-foot academic building with room for laboratory science, kinesiology and engineering programs, along with classrooms and faculty offices.

The other building would be a “student success center,” according to university officials. The three-story building would have academic advising, student life and gathering and study spaces. OSU-Cascades students recently agreed to increases of their own fees to help pay for construction of the center.

The expansion is planned for property adjacent to the existing campus, on a 46-acre former pumice mine and a retired county landfill that is filled with timber and construction waste.

The university is considering development of biomass and solar facilities in hopes of becoming the nation’s first “net-zero” campus able to generate as much energy as it uses.

OSU-Cascades officials also plan an “innovation district” to incubate businesses.

“Faculty and industry could come together with public-private partnerships,” Coffin said.

Officials are hoping for more businesses to spin off from the university. Onboard Dynamics, a company that works on technologies that compress gas within natural-gas-powered vehicle engines, grew out of research at OSU-Cascades, Coffin said.

University-led innovations could help stabilize the swings in Central Oregon’s economy, she said.

“This area was hit hard by the Great Recession,” she said. “Part of that was lack of industry diversity. Universities are known to be a stabilizing force.”

Bend has growing health care and tech industries. A company that began in Bend, Agere Pharmaceuticals, was acquired by Pantheon in 2015 and was part of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $5.2 billion purchase that was announced Monday.

Growth in Bend has pushed the city to expand its urban growth boundary. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development gave its approval in December for a 2,380-acre expansion of Bend’s UGB.

Growth assumptions for the university were considered as part of the UGB process, according to city documents. The OSU-Cascades campus is well within the UGB.
“One of the benefits of the campus location is that it supports Oregon’s and the city of Bend’s land-use goals and provides infill development and avoids sprawl,” Coffin said.

The city applied for, and received, a grant to develop a management plan to examine growth in the central westside, which includes OSU-Cascades. The Southwest Century Drive area is expected to have capacity for 410 housing units by 2028, with about 275 homes planned for vacant land.

City officials also are implementing a transportation demand management plan to address traffic around the university’s growth.

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Oregon school districts planning for growth face a delicate task balancing demographics, politics and money before asking voters to approve property tax increases to build new schools.

For an illustrative example, look to Hillsboro School District.

The district is seeing strong growth, particularly in single-family homes, in areas around North Plains and South Hillsboro. Those families will eventually send their children to Hillsboro schools.

Hillsboro School District has convened a bond advisory committee to look at what facilities the district needs and when the community will need them. Timing is critical: If Hillsboro waits too long, schools will be overcrowded. Yet if it builds too soon, schools could be left underutilized.

“There’s that fine line before really crowding your schools and working proactively to build schools,” spokeswoman Beth Glaser said.

Hillsboro School District is tentatively looking to ask voters to approve funding for two to three new schools through a bond measure on the November 2017 or May 2018 ballot, Glaser said.

School districts across the state track a range of data to decide when to pursue money for a new school. Enrollment is the most important factor, but housing starts, population projections and even birth data from prior years can help predict enrollment.

Each district typically has a committee that evaluates facility needs. School staff members work with the committees, and the school board and superintendent, to plan for growth. Any major school construction requires a bond that is referred to voters’ ballots by school boards. When boards opt to do so, and how much money they ask for, requires them to delicately balance political needs and practical realities.

For Hillsboro, a future bond issue would most likely fund three new elementary schools – one in North Plains and two in South Hillsboro, an area where developers are building infrastructure ahead of master-planned housing developments. Reed’s Crossing, led by developer Newland Communities, could eventually encompass 4,000 housing units.

Other developments could double that number, bringing many new families to the area, Glaser said. The district anticipates about 600 new housing units per year will be constructed in South Hillsboro over the next decade or so.

Then there’s North Plains.

“North Plains is one of the areas where we’re looking at putting forth a recommendation for a new elementary school, and that’s because of the building that’s currently under way,” Glaser said. “We simply don’t have enough capacity up there in our one elementary school for all of those students.”

Hillsboro School District anticipates asking for about $300 million in bond funding, Glaser said. The bond measure, if approved, would keep property taxes roughly equal to current levels because of a “natural drop” in tax levels, she said. In part, that reflects a political calculation.

“If we don’t fill that gap with another bond ask, rates will drop by about $1.25 (per $1,000 of assessed value), and it’s pretty difficult once they drop to ask voters to raise it again,” she said.

Hillsboro School District serves more than 20,000 students in 25 elementary schools, four middle schools and four high schools. The district has no immediate need for additional middle or high schools, Glaser said.

Bend and surrounding communities are also experiencing strong growth. Bend-La Pine Schools, a district that serves Bend, La Pine and Sunriver, plans to build four new elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools by 2035, said Mike Tiller, the district’s executive director of facilities.

“The most immediate need on that list is a high school,” said Brad Henry, Bend-La Pine’s chief operations and financial officer. “Our high schools are currently at capacity (and) projected to go over capacity next year.”

Bend-La Pine officials use population projections from Portland State University, along with internal enrollment data, to gauge future growth. The district looks at birth data from five years prior to estimate kindergarten enrollment.

This fall, the district saw overall enrollment jump by 500 students, or nearly 3 percent.

“It’s fast growth, which is good,” Henry said. “It allows us to offer more programs. There are some challenges that come with it and most of (the challenges) are around facilities.”

Fall 2016 enrollment represented the strongest annual growth since 1991, Tiller said.

“We’re seeing growth in our schools across all grades, which suggests people are moving into the area,” he said.

The Bend district’s Sites and Facilities Committee is expected to bring a recommendation to the school board soon with a plan for a bond to pay for the next five to seven years of construction.

“We’re not quite to a point where we know the timeline yet, but there will be something that goes to the board this calendar year,” Henry said.

Portland Public Schools has faced declining enrollment for years. The district is focused on renovating existing buildings rather than new construction, spokesman Jon Coney said.

“Opening new schools hasn’t really been on our radar screen,” he said.

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Oregon State University-Cascades has agreed to purchase 46 acres in Bend to expand its campus.

The property, a former pumice mine, is adjacent to the university’s existing 10-acre site, which is expected to open in September.

The university agreed to pay just under $8 million. OSU will also pay $11,931 in closing costs and $131,500 in fees for security services and for extending the due diligence period, the university said in a news release.

For years, state leaders have recognized a need to extend the reach of Oregon’s flagship universities beyond the Willamette Valley and Portland. Deschutes County has grown to more than 170,000 residents, up nearly 8 percent in the past five years, according to Census data. OSU-Cascades officials expect the expanded campus to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students by 2025.

Purchase of the pumice mine property was approved by the former State Board of Higher Education in 2013.

OSU’s pending purchase, along Southwest Chandler Avenue, follows the completion of a due diligence period that included title, environmental, geotechnical and engineering reviews.

It comes after legal challenges by Truth in Site, a citizens group in Bend that voiced concerns regarding the planned land use and parking and anticipated traffic.

Becky Johnson, vice president of OSU-Cascades, said in a statement that the campus location will increase density and avoid sprawl. She said OSU-Cascades is “committed to extending transit to other Central Oregon communities so that they can easily access the new campus.”

The university also is weighing whether to add to its campus a 76-acre Deschutes County landfill nearby. A nonbinding letter of intent between the county and university provides a two-year framework for assessing the possibility.

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The design of a recently completed church in Bend reflects the natural environment — inside and out.

Lead designer Corey Martin of Portland-based THA Architecture said the congregation at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon is very tuned into the volcanic landscape of central Oregon which influenced the design.

“We looked at the natural processes of erosion in Central Oregon where there really are new eruptions you can see and the process of change going on right before your eyes,” he said.

Parts of the building are designed to seem like it is going through erosion or change, he said, and the building itself suggests a giant tree or log in a forest.

The $9 million, 20,000-square-foot project includes a 250-seat sanctuary, kitchen, meeting rooms, classrooms and a fellowship hall.

“The whole thing is designed to have continuity and they can open up the whole south side through telescoping sliding doors,” he said.

The building is also energy efficient and designed to maximize potential for heating with the sun, he said.

“In the winter, when the sun is low, it hits big thermal mass walls and heats them up,” he said. “And in the summer, when the sun is high, the building has a deep overhang that shades the whole building.”

General contractor for the project was Kirby Nagelhout Construction Co. of Bend with landscape architecture by Walker Macy Landscape Architecture. PAE Consulting Engineers of Portland was in charge of electrical and mechanical engineering.

Striking components of the design include two sliding interior doors, 10 feet wide and 20 feet high. The doors are meant to reflect the columnar basalt cliffs that are abundant in the region, said Martin, who also has a background in sculpture and furniture making.

“Sometimes you can see when the cliffs were first created under high temperature, they didn’t grow straight and it looks like the columns have been bent,” he said. “So the doors were inspired by the columnar basalt cliffs, but more abstracted.”

The doors were rough milled based on a computer model, he said, and then hand-worked and chiseled to get the final result.

Work on the new church at 61980 Skyline Ranch Rd. was completed about two months ago.

“The important thing about the project was a real attempt to design something that was really fit for that area,” Martin said, “a beautiful and amazing place where people appreciate their landscape.”

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Construction is scheduled to start this week on a $9.7 million Bend Park & Recreation District project to renovate the Colorado Dam on the Deschutes River and build a new bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Crews from Springfield-based Hamilton Construction are expected to begin site work on Wednesday, said Chelsea Schneider, project manager for the project. Over the next two weeks, work will involve trail construction; installation of trailers, fencing and signage; and preparation for detours around the work site.

The dam will be renovated to create three channels. One will allow recreational river floaters and fish to pass through the dam, a second will serve wildlife habitat and a third will be used by whitewater kayakers. Also, as part of the project, an existing pedestrian bridge will be removed and replaced, Schneider said.

When Farewell Bend Park opened up in 2005, it provided public access to a calm portion of the Deschutes River above the Colorado Dam that has become popular for river floating. Several accidents and one death have since occurred at the dam, Schneider said. After the renovation, floaters will no longer have to get out and walk around the dam.

“There is this structure, the Colorado Dam, that is very unsafe for people,” she said. “We want to provide a safe way for people to get through the dam.”

A $29 million bond measure approved by voters in November 2012 helped pay for the project. Also, the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance, a nonprofit that supports river and lake recreation in Deschutes County, contributed $1.1 million.

Portland-based Otak is the principal engineer for the project. Carbondale, Colo.-based RiverRestoration designed the whitewater and safe passage channels. Wilsonville-based Pacific Habitat Services is the environmental consultant and Portland-based GreenWorks is the landscape architect.

The project is scheduled to finish next year. In 2016, crews will begin a related $1.6 million project to improve nearby McKay Park, including construction of new restrooms and installation of river viewing platforms, Schneider said.

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