The Southeast Area Plan (SEAP) is a comprehensive plan for 479 acres where 27th Street becomes Knott Rd., now known as the SE Elbow, in SE Bend. The Southeast Area Plan was initiated in the fall of 2018 and brought together property owners, area residents and other stakeholders to create a plan and implement land use regulations and funding strategies (per the SEAPAC Executive Summary).

The plan adopted May 21, 2021 opening the window for developers, some with land in contract already, toapply for annexation into the city. An April 9th city council meeting amended the current plan to revise the zoning to encourage denser housing and allocating approximately 34 more acres to residential versus employment uses. House Bill 2001 may also add to upcoming residential development as it requires Oregon’s medium sized cities to allow denser housing in single family residential zones.

The current plan includes the following:

  • 321 acres of employment use (ME & IL zoning)
  • 10 acres of high density residential for apartments (RH zoning)
  • 35 acres of medium density residential which can include, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes (RM zoning)
  • 105 acres of standard residential for single family homes (RS zoning)

ME zoning can include residential in a mixed-use development when the ground floor is retail/office with residential above.

With all this activity and SEAP adoption on the horizon, real estate in the area is in high demand: the only RH land (10 acres) is already in contract along with 7 acres of the RM land. Lake Oswego based developer North Peak Development has the 17 acres in contract and has had preapproval meetings with the City of Bend proposing 264 units of garden-style multifamily and 100 townhomes in the Western portion of the most NE corner of the Elbow. Mark Taylor, Acquisitions Director for North Peak Development said, “The SE Elbow project appealed to North Peak Development because of the
significant housing demand that Bend currently faces. Due to its high-density zoning, this project appeals to the regions need for work force housing.”

With Ferguson Rd. frontage and 27th St. exposure, SEAPAC member, property owner and commercial real estate broker, Jeff Reed, would like to the see the remaining acreage of that parcel (zoned CG) as a grocery store as the SE Elbow is by all standards, a food desert.

The increase in population and services will be supported by continued development of Avion Water and the SE sewer connector along Murphy. There are also plans for two more collector streets: North South connecting Ferguson and Knott and East West connecting 15th to 27th just south of Ferguson with a roundabout where these two collectors meet as well as where they connect to the existing roads.

Caldera High School in the area will open this fall with an anticipated daily occupancy of 3,500 students and staff when at capacity in the 2023-2024 school year. The area has plans for a new middle school and new elementary school as well.

As Bend continues to experience the “Zoom Boom”, houses can’t be built fast enough. Out of area developers looking to get out of urban markets experiencing volatility due to COVID 19 and political unrest, are capitalizing in Central Oregon and the SE Elbow will be “the next big thing”.