Even before

Even before construction started on the first houses at NorthWest Crossing in Bend, Oregon, the local school district erected an elementary school and a high school in the 486-acre new urban development. The developer, West Bend Property Co., donated a 15-acre site for High Lakes Elementary School and sold the school district the 48-acre site now occupied by Summit High. The company, a partnership of Brooks Resources Corp. and Tennant Development, is planning 1,000 single-family dwellings, more than 300 multi-family units, a neighborhood-oriented “town center,” and a regional shopping area. Sprinkled through the development will be five parks totaling 32 acres. As of July 1, 2002, 22 houses had been sold. Median price has been $290,000. “We’d like it to be $250,000 to $270,000,” says project manager David Ford. Most houses at NorthWest Crossing will have their garages and utility boxes along lanes at the rear. Apartments will sit above the restaurants, shops, and offices in the town center. Lot sizes range from 5,000 square feet to a quarter-acre. Multi-use trails, in-street bike lanes, and extra-wide sidewalks are among the amenities emphasized by the development, one of the largest of its kind in Oregon.