BEND, OR — The new 10-acre OSU-Cascades facility became one step closer to being a reality yesterday.
City of Bend Hearings Officer Ken Helm approved the site plan application with certain conditions recommended by the City’s planning department.
Some of those conditions include improving adjacent public roads and monitoring nearby off-campus parking to minimize the impact to local neighborhoods.
Despite the opposition from some local residents and the possibility of appeal, Vice President Becky Johnson is optimistic about how the new four-year university will benefit Central Oregon.
“The biggest difference is our ability to recruit students who don’t already live in Central Oregon,” Johnson says. “And I think it’ll do a lot for Bend culturally and economically, to bring these new people in and keep some of our best and brightest in Central Oregon.”
Johnson says that the new facilities are scheduled to be ready in fall 2016, but that recruitment for the four-year university will aim to bring in students in Fall 2015.
Click here to listen to our conversation with Vice President Becky Johnson.
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