OCTOBER 2007, AROUND THE STATE
Another resort on tap for Central Oregon
As it turns out,
Central Oregon’s destination resort market
isn’t tapped out just yet. The Oregon Cascades
are again the backdrop for another resort in Crook
County.
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CROOK COUNTY This
summer, Oregon-based developers 818 Powell Butte LLC applied to
build Central Oregon’s 11th destination resort — a
sign that the resort market has yet to reach its peak,
according to Linda Swearingen, a consultant and lobbyist for
the industry.
At 580 acres, Seven Peaks is one of the smallest destination
resorts in the nexus formed by Deschutes, Crook and Jackson
counties. But it arrives in a year when residents, and
officials in neighboring cities like Redmond, have voiced
concern and criticism about the traffic and infrastructure
impacts of new resorts. This year, Sen. Ben Westlund, D-Bend,
introduced legislation that would have prohibited resorts near
the Metolious River in Jefferson County.
The bill died after Gov. Ted Kulongoski threatened a veto,
saying local land-use laws could sufficiently handle any siting
conflicts. Despite its death, Erik Kancler, the executive
director of Central Oregon Land Watch, a critic of the resort
industry, says some developers will probably heed the
bill’s intent. “At the very least, if they propose
to build in sensitive or beloved areas, or it will impact an
endangered species, they’ll think twice,” he
says.
Seven Peaks doesn’t fall into the category of a
sensitive area. It sits in the Powell Butte area, now the
epicenter of destination resorts in Crook County. Hidden Canyon
(3,200 acres), Remington Ranch (2,200 acres) and Brasada Ranch
(1,900 acres) are all nearby.
Which begs the question: When will Central Oregon reach a
saturation point? There are different kinds of saturation;
Kancler mentions the cumulative impacts on the region’s
infrastructure and environment.
Swearingen says the best indicator of market saturation is the
developers and investors who’ve done the research before
putting up millions of dollars for construction.
As she puts it: “You don’t come in on a wing and a
prayer to develop these resorts.” In other words: Market
saturation? Not
yet.
ABRAHAM HYATT
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