Building demolitions in the village could begin late this month

Plans to tear down three buildings in the Village at Sunriver were to be presented at an SROA-required neighborhood meeting April 24 in the village.

Rediscover Sunriver Village LLC(RSV), intends to demolish building numbers 0, 3 and 11. Only building 11 is proposed to be replaced with a possible brew pub and movie theatre. The sites of other buildings will be restored to natural condition or replaced with landscaping.

Shelli Petersen, RSV manager, said the purpose of the meeting was to satisfy SROA requirements to obtain comments, and to incorporate the comments into RSV’s application to the SROA Design Committee for a demolition permit to conduct the work.“The goal is to take them [the three buildings] down after Memorial Day and to present preliminary drawings and proposed color palettes,” of the proposed brew pub/movie theatre. Petersen said the brew pub/movie theatre building would be similar in size to the existing structure.

Petersen said RSV intended to submit an application for demolition the week following the neighborhood meeting, and hoped to be included on the May 15 SROA Design Committee agenda.If approved, the earliest RSV could obtain a demolition permit is May 26.

The May15 Design Committee meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the SROA board room (57455Abbot Drive). Both the Design Committee’s regular meeting and workshop that precedes the meeting are open to the public.

Petersen said crews have already stripped windows, doors,light fixtures and reclaimable building supplies from the interiors of the three buildings proposed for demolition. She said some of the reclaimed materials have been used to replace windows and doors in other parts of the village. Other recyclable materials will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.

This project will also be processed publicly through the Deschutes County Planning Department before SROA’s Design Committee considers its final review.

(May 2009 SR Scene-Article)

Sunriver Mall Makeover Plans Welcomed-Read More!

Article provieded by Cascade Business News
March, 2009 - Volume 16, Issue 5
by Simon Mather CBN featur writer

Sunriver Mall Makeover Plans Welcomed

Hopes are high that new ownership will help restore Sunriver’s Village mall to its former glory as the economic, cultural and social epicenter of the community.

Rediscover Sunriver Village, LLC is set to outline further plans for revitalization of the dated mixed-use complex at an area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Community Forum at the resort’s Great Hall this Friday, March 20.

The Salem-based group purchased the Village at Sunriver in a cash deal late last year (for reportedly less than half of the $26 million previous owners, Silverstar Destinations, LLC, paid) and has already outlined initial steps to “stop the bleeding” and refurbish some of the aging infrastructure seen among the deteriorating buildings and plazas.

On the short-term horizon, an 18-month window has been touted by Curry Architecture, which is part of the team tackling the regeneration project, to address pressing issues such as tearing down four buildings that are damaged or blocking views; creating entry ways and sprucing up grounds with new landscaping, lighting and restrooms.

Preliminary plans also include expanding the Country Store and relocating tenants to remodeled buildings echoing the design elements of the existing Bank of the Cascades building.

“We are going to keep a lot of the existing mall,” said RSV Managing Partner Cliff Curry in an address to the Sunriver Owners Association (SROA) Board. “The overall character the next 18 months will be similar in terms of roads and pathways.

“But we are going to totally restore it and change some of the visuals, heading towards the Bank of the Cascades design concept. We’ll also replace and repair electrical service.”Curry commented that residential elements, previously the subject of controversy, would be considered two to four years down the road. “The economy is such a mess right now,” he said. “We really don’t know how things are going to settle down.


“Our approach here is to just stop the bleeding. There is a lot of value here and we want to stabilize that.

“During the next year we will be planning. We’ll focus a lot of energy on the Village at Sunriver.”Local community groups like SROA have been encouraged by what they have heard so far, after a number of false starts with previous ownership entities who failed to deliver on transformation promises as empty storefronts proliferated.

“We are very pleased to see what’s going on already in terms of architectural energy and engagement,” said SROA Vice President Tom Ped. “The plans laid out for the next year and a half for items like safety and rejuvenation are encouraging.

“And it seems like the new owners are open to involving the community in discussions on how this core of Sunriver should be renewed.

“Obviously, they don’t have a concrete long-term vision as yet, but they are showing good early signs of credibility in terms of wanting to get the community involved and developing relationships with local merchants.”

One of the more notable moves suggested by RSV involves relocating the Village Bar and Grill to the north end of the mall, with a reshuffling of Sunriver Sports and Sunriver Music Festival within the complex.
Initial overtures to tenants have been enthusiastically embraced, with RSV aiming to create anchor points on both sides of the Village designed to attract more people into the facility.

“We will also make it more inviting by clean-up and maintenance,” added Rachel Rudiger, also of Curry Architecture.

“We’ll make archways, consistent signage and maps where people are entering. We have a landscaper studying problem areas and have had estimates on re-lighting.”

Other near term upgrades planned include updating restrooms to current code, and relocation of the entry closest to the Country Store to the middle of the mall. The short-term redevelopment plans are also set to be posted in storefront windows.

The 18-month master plan calls for inspection of every building; prioritizing repair needs and identifying safety hazards, as well as drainage and grounds areas needing improvement. The initial aim is to increase project “sparkle” with higher standards of cleanliness inside and out and consistency in hours of operation, signage, common area activity/music and window fronts.

Longer-term redevelopment possibilities include a fire pit; more outdoor seating; an amphitheatre; more public artwork/sculptures; communal activity areas and water technology/pool.
Indications are that RSV will also coordinate an increase in the number and frequency of events held at the Village with everything from a monthly art walk, to a micro brew festival and farmer’s market suggested as additional regular attractions.

The Village was originally an integral part of founder John Gray’s vision of Sunriver as a self-contained community, says Citizens for Sunriver, an organization formed to help spur revitalization efforts.From the beginning, the idea was for a mixed-use combination of retail, restaurant, commercial and residential units to serve as the business and social center of the entire community.

Originally, it was named the Country Mall, with the Country Store being one of the first retail businesses to set up shop. It also housed the post office, police department and SROA offices.The mall grew into a vibrant retail hub, with a variety of shops and restaurants attracting throngs of customers. When Portland-based Weston Investment Co. bought the project in 1989 they renamed it the “Sunriver Village” and added four buildings, though relations with the owner later soured after plans for employee housing were rebuffed.

By the early 90s the Village began a slow decline as businesses quit and others curtailed operations. The post office relocated to the business park, while later in the decade SROA and the police department shifted offices to their current administrative building, which saw pedestrian traffic reduced further.
As businesses suffered, so did maintenance of the structures and common areas, with wooden boardwalks falling into disrepair.

Weston sold to Boise investment company DBSI in 2003 and anticipation grew that a new face at the helm could mean a turnaround for the Village in the face of vacancy hovering close to thirty percent.Unfortunately, promised upgrades and marketing plans never materialized, and by December 2006, the Village had been sold again, this time to Silverstar.

Silverstar planned a dramatic new Village at Sunriver, featuring a comprehensive rebuild - complete with shops, restaurants, condominiums, a boutique hotel, plazas and walkways – in a Cascadian lodge-style of architecture to complement the resort’s forest setting.

Members of the community envisaged restoration of the Village as a fun, exciting place to visit and both SROA and CFS were supportive in helping Silverstar persuade County chiefs to approve a special zoning designation – Sunriver Town Center District – to spur development.

However, when the real estate and credit markets slumped in late 2007 and early 2008, Silverstar shelved construction plans and ended up defaulting on its loan.

Enter RSV, which has thus far demonstrated tangible commitment to renovation to the hub of Sunriver’s unique resort community and is putting a full-time manager on the ground.

The group’s backers are said to have ties to central Oregon and the extent of their immediate plans and long-term vision should become clearer in the near future.

“They are committed to enhancing the look, feel and draw of the Village and have ideas on what is needed to enhance this commercial core of Sunriver,” commented Ped.

“We are very supportive of the anticipated progress and would certainly like to see some long-term stability of ownership and execution of remodel plans.

“After all, we are all stakeholders in this community and this would do nothing but enhance the pride of ownership we’ve always felt here.”

For Sunriver Lodging Contact Mountain Resort Properties Today
www.MtResort.com
or
1.800.346.6337

Suspension of Sunriver Village Development Agreement

Hi Everybody,

Here is the latest on the Sunriver Village Mall redevelopment.
The below letter was sent to Sunriver owners via email from the SROA Board of Directors on Thursday, 10-16-08.

"It is important Sunriver owners recognize that the SROA Board of Directors is committed to redevelopment of the village and, therefore, completion of a Development Agreement (DA). This is a top priority, and the original intent of redeveloping the village remains, which is to create a vibrant, commercial core and center of activity within the community.

It is essential the DA be done in a measured, deliberate method that best serves the community's interest. During the Board meeting of Oct. 11, 2008 it was concluded the interest is best served by suspending action on the Development Agreement for 90 days.

The formal board actions reads as follows:

[The board] approved suspension of the Development Agreement (DA) for 90 days so the following conditions can be investigated ad achieved:

SilverStar agrees to 1) A maintenance plan for the existing village acceptable to the SROA Community Development Department, 2) Provide substantive evidence of probable ownership in which a DA can be developed, 3) Provide best revised view of a presentable concept plan for the village property.

During the 90-day suspension, the Development Agreement Task Force (DATF) will continue to evaluate and advise board.

Three conditions underlying the completion of the DA are: 1) The DA should contemplate both a developer and a specific development project. 2) The DA should contemplate a developer who is going t move the project ahead. 3) The DA should be framed around a vision for the village, which can be conveyed in a number of ways, such as a detailed concept plan, schematics or an architectural rendering of vision of the village. An example of this is what SilverStar originally displayed to owners in the Scene and during meetings. There is concern regarding the following open-ended issues and questions:

Is SilverStar having financial difficulty, and is it currently in default with its lender?

Is SilverStar looking for new investors, positioning for sale, or reorganizing? There is insufficient information as to who the new owners may be, and thus the vision or long term intentions for the village may be unknown.

The former leaders of SilverStar may not be the new leaders.

The original vision of the village may be replaced with a modified version driven by the world's new financing and real estate economics. Will the new concept permit lower density and/or height? If so, should the DA address this with, for example, a cap, or should other options be explored?

Could the land be sold in parcels? If so, how is that to be handled within the DA to assure the community achieves what it seeks, a vibrant commercial core?

In reaching the decision to suspend, the board has consulted in depth with our attorneys and DA consultant, James Lewis. You may be assured the pros and cons of this decision have been carefully weighted. The driving considerations were these: No matter who owns the village there will be no development for at least two years or until the national and world-wide credit crunch eases. Secondly, the three conditions mentioned above need to be reasonably met in order to construct a DA with a solid foundation that will withstand the test of time.
Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome and can be made known by e-mail to Dimbears@aol.com"

http://www.mtresort.com/

1.800.346.6337