THE INITIATIVE
We are at the intersection of
Now and Future Bend
Building Sustainable and Equitable Communities for the Future
Supported by
Meyer Memorial Trust
Oregon Community Foundation
Arts Build Community grant from the Oregon Arts Commission
Central Oregon LandWatch donors
BCD Visionary Board
The BCD Visionary Board is a diverse group of stakeholders who have established a foundation for inclusive, effective, and durable collaboration in the neighborhood. This broad and representative board is stewarding the community’s vision for the future of the Bend Central District.
As the Bend Central District changes, we want to keep in mind what already makes this place special for so many people. It is important to recognize the beauty that already exists here and the diversity, culture, history, and people that make this area unique. By capitalizing on the local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, we are reimagining the BCD as a place that promotes people’s health, happiness, and well-being.
The BCD Initiative continues to form deep partnerships with the community and explore new models of urban revitalization in which the existing residents share in the wealth-building as the neighborhood becomes more desirable.
The BCD Initiative is a grassroots effort advocating for the Bend Central District’s transformation into a vibrant, healthy, and resilient mixed-use neighborhood.
Our Guiding Principles
DEVELOPMENT: Catalyze vertical, mixed-use development that supports existing residents and businesses. Provide space for new housing with affordable options and living wage jobs within walking distance of community services, parks, schools, Hawthorne Transit Station, Historic Downtown Bend, and other amenities.
TRANSPORTATION: Create safe, vibrant , and complete streets for people traveling through and within the district by foot, bike, car, transit, assisted mobility, or other modes. Improve transportation connections through the heart of Bend and between districts by addressing barriers such as the BNSF Railroad, Greenwood Ave, and Third Street.
PLACEMAKING: Develop a sense of place unique to the BCD that builds on the existing Maker’s District and surrounding community’s cultural and socio- economic diversity, retains historical context and landmarks. Extend Bend’s quality of life to the center of the city with mountain views, public art, cultural amenities, and attractive, green and civic public spaces for the community to gather.
COMMUNITY: Build upon the diversity, culture, and history that make the BCD unique to establish a healthy, resilient, accessible, and connected urban neighborhood where people from a variety of socio- economic, cultural, ethnic, and generational backgrounds thrive.
EQUITY: Begin to repair historical inequities by supporting development, policies, and programs that elevate the needs of marginalized communities in this area with a specific focus on the Latinx community, the houseless, and the indigenous communities.
ECONOMY: Encourage small-scale manufacturing, homegrown businesses, and entertainment as part of neighborhood revitalization as demonstrated in The Maker’s District. Anticipate future needs for growing a strong local economy by responding to housing, workspaces, transportation, and human services needs such as childcare, education, healthcare, and more.
BUILDINGS: Become a model for economical use of land, high-performance design, and contemporary building practices that ensure long-term efficiency by using environmentally sustainable and socially responsible building practices, adaptive reuse of existing buildings and materials, and self-sufficient energy and waste systems throughout the district.
CONTEXT: Understand, respect, plan, and design within the land’s context which is situated in the high desert bioregion and is the ceded territory of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.