An undated, provided photo of the Oregon State University-Cascades campus in Bend, Ore.
Hannah O'Leary / Courtesy of Oregon State University
Oregon State University-Cascades is close to adding a student recreation and health center while also preparing for decades’ worth of growth, thanks to the Oregon Legislature’s approval of more than $42 million in bonds.
A bill from this year’s short session included the general obligation bonds for OSU’s Bend campus, along with a long list of other projects. The bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Tina Kotek.
“This is going to be transformational for the campus,” said OSU-Cascades Chancellor and Dean Sherm Bloomer. “It’s going to let us continue the remediation of an old landfill and an even older pumice mine, and give us probably 90 acres of land to build out probably the next two decades of the campus.”
The money would help fund the development of a student recreation and health center and also cover remediation of 24 acres.
“It’s also going to let us grade and shape all of the land on the west side of the campus, where it’ll be enough space to get us to 4,000-5,000 students several years out. But it is a lot of space and a really huge milepost for the campus,” said Bloomer.
He said the student health and recreation center will be followed by student housing focused primarily on first-year students, followed by more academic buildings.
OSU-Cascades has already committed $20 million for the center through a student fee approved by its student government.
Bloomer said the remediation process will be lengthy, so work on the center is not expected to start until 2028.
Zac Ziegler is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
