The Pendleton Development Commission approved a grant to knock down and redevelop two houses along the Umatilla River as part of an effort to enhance the riverfront.
The commission at its meeting July 18 approved a $250,000 grant for the demolition and new construction of two vacant city properties at 103 and 107 SW Ninth St., next to the BackFire Station.
The funding went to the Randy Baker, of Baker Investment Group, who is proposing a multi-million dollar housing development. According to a city staff report, the grant would provide coverage for projects at 25% of the cost up to a maximum of $250,000.
The two empty homes were part of the property that included the old Fire Station No. 1. When the city transferred the station to restaurant business owners Scott Hart and Erin Bennett, the two homes remained as city property.
“The short term goal is just to get these townhomes built,” Charles Denight, Pendleton Urban Renewal associate director, said. “Long term, is to encourage other developers to build similar quality, along the riverfront.”
Denight said the idea is to spur on people who own parcels to develop them in a way that dresses up the city and takes advantage of the river corridor.
However, Ed Miltenberger, owner of Sign Men, said that the development project is not conducive to the million dollar investment already spent on BackFire Station.
“Pie in the sky stuff,” Miltenberger said. “This is how backwards they think. They just invested like $650,000 into the old firestation which has limited parking. Why not sell those houses to those people so that they can provide parking for their customers. The BackFire Station is a facility now that actually employs about eight, maybe 12 people, but with nowhere to park how long is that business going to last.”
The city has long wanted to increase and promote new housing and commercial development on the riverfront. In 2010, the city adopted the Pendleton River Quarter Enhancement Plan, which laid out the standards that envisioned connecting Main Street with the Round-Up Grounds, focusing on the northern stretch of Southwest Court Avenue from First Street to 10th Street.
By 2015, some of the standard code requirements that were implemented in the design for developers sparked resistance from local businesses.
Owners of Sign Men, at 803 SW Court Ave, led an ad hoc group that advocated for the full repeal of the plan. Three years later, the Pendleton Planning Commission returned to the drawing board and revamped some of the codes.
“It took us a year to get rid of that bad idea,” Miltenberger recalled.
Denight said while the resistance from local businesses led to eliminating some code standards, the concept of building housing and other structures along the river has not gone away.
City Manager Robb Corbett said building along the levee comes with the challenge of additional regulations.
“I don’t how many units he’s going to build there, but substantially upscale from what is traditionally constructed in Pendleton,” he said.
Corbett emphasized that’s why the project comes with incentives that propose to contribute to the value of the property. For this development, the city would give Baker Investment Group the land in addition to the grants.
Plans to demolish the two vacant homes by the riverfront are being discussed.
This house at 103 SW Ninth St. along the Umatilla River in Pendleton, and the house adjacent at 107, are part of a package the Pendleton Development Commissioners on July 18, 2024, approved a $250,000 grant for to replace with upscale housing.
