OSU-Cascades Brownfield Redevelopment and Campus Expansion Plans Reach Key Milestone

Oregon State University-Cascades and Deschutes County have reached an important milestone in their negotiations for the sale of an inactive construction and demolition debris landfill to OSU.

On October 30, 2017, Deschutes County Commissioners voted to sell the landfill—a site adjacent to the OSU-Cascades campus in the heart of Bend, Oregon—to OSU. The campus is an integral element of OSU’s mission to serve Central Oregon’s educational, economic, and cultural goals. The property transfer represents a fantastic opportunity for the University to realize its expansion plans.

Innovative remediation and redevelopment approaches are envisioned and have been discussed in detail with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. For example, wood mill waste will be processed to produce suitable fill material for use in the campus expansion. This, and other creative steps, will significantly lower the greenhouse gas impacts of the site redevelopment by greatly reducing truck trips and impacts to local roadways. In addition to positive environmental benefits, these actions are cost-effective.

This brownfield redevelopment can also provide education and research opportunities for OSU students in the engineering and environmental sciences fields.

MFA is a leader in brownfield redevelopment throughout the Northwest. We have successfully provided land use planning, environmental sciences, and civil engineering services in the redevelopment and reuse of landfill sites throughout the Northwest, such as the Astoria Sports Complex.

MFA congratulates our client, OSU-Cascades, in its vision and creativity in carrying this aspirational project forward. We also tip our hats to the County for their support and leadership.

More information on the project is available at the following links:

• Our Expanding Campus, OSU-Cascades (2017, October 31).
• Deschutes County Approves Landfill Sale to OSU-Cascades for $1, OPB (2017, October 30).
• Deschutes County Commissioners Vote 2-1 To Sell Landfill to OSU-Cascades, Central Oregon News (2017, October 31).
• OSU-Cascades Could Finally Acquire Landfill, The Bulletin (2017, October 27).