After years of uncertainty, renovations should continue through late next yearSeptember 20. 2009
After years of neglect and fleeting promises, change is finally under way at the roughly 35-year-old Village at Sunriver, formerly known as the Sunriver Village Mall.
Two of the outdoor mall's buildings were recently demolished and replaced with grass. Portions of the large courtyard area — covered in pavers — have been ripped up to make room for benches and landscaping, and plans for further renovations and demolitions are in the works.
“It's about time,” said Kevin Slane, co-owner of Village Bike and Ski Shop. “This place was kind of run-down, (and) any improvements, we're all for.”
The mall's owner is Rediscover Sunriver Village LLC, a partnership between Curry Architecture LLC and Colson & Colson Construction Co., both based in Salem. The mall's fourth owner in the past five years, Rediscover Sunriver Village purchased the mall in December 2008 for an undisclosed sum.
At the time, the mall was subject to foreclosure proceedings after then-owner Silverstar Destinations LLC had defaulted on its loan agreement.
Silverstar had plans to demolish the mall and replace it with multistory buildings featuring condominiums along with retail and commercial units on the ground floors, similar to other “village” redevelopments found at ski resorts such as Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia and Squaw Valley USA in California.
The company's vision for the mall, which is posted online at www.villageatsunriver.com, includes a smaller footprint with more natural areas but with significant cosmetic improvements, such as arched entryways and pedestrian features designed to make the mall more inviting.
Shelli Petersen of Rediscover Sunriver Village said that while her company would like to eventually incorporate a residential aspect into the mall, right now it's concerned with rehabilitating what's currently in place. This includes new cosmetic features for existing buildings, such as natural wood siding, stone columns and new gray composite roofs.
In a nod to sustainability, the new siding will actually be the old siding stripped of its paint, Petersen said.
Two additional building demolitions also are planned, along with the construction of a new arched entryway to the outdoor mall's retail interior, a welcome center, a 4,000-square-foot addition to the Sunriver Country Store and new vehicle access points to the mall.
The ice-skating rink also will be remodeled, with the addition of a warming hut, public restrooms and a heightened roof.
The company hopes to have remodeling work on the mall finished by next spring, Petersen said. The addition to the Sunriver Country Store — which measures 14,000 square feet — will begin after Labor Day next year.
All told, the project is slated to continue through December 2010.
“We're focused right now on getting that retail core really healthy and revitalizing what's currently there before we take on any future building,” Petersen said. “There is going to be a residential component to the village, so we're trying to get away from it being just a mall and more of (a) lively, thriving mixed-use development for daily business.”
Petersen said it's too early to say what the residential component might look like, but she said she would be surprised if it's more than 300 units.
Lingering in the mall Thursday afternoon enjoying Goody's ice cream, Seattle residents Linda Combs and Lew Humphreys said they were longtime visitors to Sunriver who used to spend afternoons with their children at the mall, but the couple said they would be reluctant to bring their grown children back.
“There's not enough to do here,” Combs said, critical of the retail mix and number of real estate rental companies. “And stuff is closed; (there's) no place to rent a movie. The building where Subway used to be is just gone.”
The mall has a number of empty storefronts. Sunriver Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dennis Smeage said a revitalized mall will be key to attracting new tenants. While there are some slight headaches now that accompany the remodeling, the end result will be worth it, he said.
“This is a good thing,” he said. “After so many false starts and high hopes, it's nice to see a group of owners with the resources to substantially renovate the village.”
Another of the mall's tenants, Jim Stone of Sunriver Sports, said a “fresh look” will help the mall bring back the shoppers who might nowadays head into Bend to shop downtown or at The Old Mill District. Stone said his business is down this summer roughly 10 to 12 percent over last summer, although he blames the economy rather than the state of the mall.
Still, Stone said he could expect next summer's business to increase if the mall is more inviting.
“The mall could possibly be a destination,” Stone said. “One of the things about malls is they are somewhat fixed in time ... they get old and stop attracting customers, and so this renovation is really required. It has to happen, otherwise people stop coming.”
Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or at amoore@bendbulletin.com.
Central Oregon Symphony’s Maestro Michael Gesme will teach music appreciation classes from 6 to 7:30 pm, Oct 7, 14, 21 & 28, at the Sunriver Library. The classes, which include outlined discussion, music samples and enlightening stories, are free & open to the public (although donations are requested to help cover Maestro Gesme’s costs). The program is being hosted jointly by the Sunriver Music Festival and Friends of the Sunriver Library. Info – 541-593-9310.
Michael Gesme will be starting his tenth season as Conductor of the Central Oregon Symphony and Associate Professor of Music at Central Oregon Community College. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he founded the Luther College Chamber Orchestra, and a Masters of Music Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Missouri-Columbia. In his first season in Central Oregon (1996-1997), Michael conducted thirteen performances: six with the Central Oregon Symphony, and seven with COCC’s Magic Circle Theatre. A great deal of growth and change has occurred in our region over the past six years and this season Michael will be conducting no fewer than twenty-five performances with four different organizations: COS, Obsidian Opera Company, Obsidian Opera Chamber Orchestra, and the Cascade Winds. In addition, he was recently appointed as Music Director and Conductor of the Linfield Chamber Orchestra in McMinnville, Oregon. Michael and his wife, Janet, (who is sitting in the cello section) are the proud parents of Alexander and Zeta.
