Pendleton sells 45 lots to housing developer - Local News
afternoon sun Tuesday in the Sunridge Estates housing development in Pendleton." />Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The concrete foundation for a new home sets in the afternoon sun Tuesday in the Sunridge Estates housing development in Pendleton.
Sunridge housing development on Tuesday in Pendleton." />Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Unfinished homes are nearing completion in the Sunridge housing development on Tuesday in Pendleton.
Pendleton’s Sunridge Estates could welcome as many as 45 homes over the next few years.
The southern Pendleton subdivision off of Tutuilla Road was part of a $660,000 deal with local developer Dusty Pace that the Pendleton City Council unanimously approved Tuesday.
Under the deal, Pace would redevelop 13 of the 17 lots and purchase all of them within seven years. Pace plans to re-plat the land into 45 lots and buy them each individually from the city for $15,000 per lot.
The $660,000 acts as both a floor and a ceiling. If he spends $660,000 but hasn’t purchased all the lots yet, he’ll automatically acquire the rest of the land. If he has spent less than $660,000 by the end of the seven-year period, he must make up the difference to close out the deal.
In a previous interview, Pace said he intends to build three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes and sell them in the range of $180,000 to $300,000.
The city was forced to play the role of real estate agent when Umatilla County foreclosed on the properties, which had city liens on them through a local improvement district.
The city still owes $759,287 to Banner Bank on the local improvement district and isn’t set to finish paying off the debt until 2025. Staff will use the proceeds from the sale to Pace and $162,000 in refunded money from a community development block grant to cover the costs.
Before voting on the deal, the council met behind closed doors to discussion the transaction. When they re-emerged, they unanimously approved the deal. The council also approved a separate motion from City Councilor Scott Fairley to use money from the block grant refund to cover the system development charge revenue that was waived.
Public Works Director Bob Patterson, who was also the acting city manager with Robb Corbett on vacation, said the system development charges go toward parks and transportation and would generate $1,400 to $1,500 per house.
Another Tutuilla housing development the city is involved in also received council attention.
The council unanimously voted to move $120,000 in liens the city had on Pendleton Heights’ townhouses to a later phase of the development.
The city placed $320,000 in liens on the townhouses to help cover $1.3 million in infrastructure improvements, which Pendleton Heights developer Saj Jivanjee was originally supposed to pay once they were completed.
As a part of the deal, Jivanjee agreed to pay the city $200,000 now and will pay the other $120,000 when he completes a planned 100-unit apartment complex on the property.
Other council action included:
• The council authorized staff to spend an additional $281,417 with engineering firm Murraysmith to provide pre-planning work for projects related to the city’s utility master plans. The authorization brings the total amount the city’s spent with Murraysmith to $1.1 million.
The council voted 7-1 to authorize the expenditure, with Councilor Becky Marks voting against. Marks called the proposals “complicated,” “not clear,” and suggested they were too expensive.
• The council unanimously approved a resolution to proceed with alternative method of building the new fire station funded by a $10 million bond.
Instead of bidding the project out after the design process is done, the city will solicit a contractor during the design process. City staff expect this method to result in a lower cost for the fire station.
• As the Pendleton Development Commission, the council unanimously approved a $23,532 Jump Start loan to Oregon Grain Growers Brand Distillery. Oregon Grain Growers will use the money to finance half the cost of installing fire suppression sprinklers in the restaurant it plans to open in September.
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Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.
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