PROGRESS 2017
January 2017
By JADE MCDOWELL
EO Media Group
As Hermiston prepares for a wave
of public investment in 2017, signifi-
cant private-sector developments are
also on the horizon.
In the spring, Lifeways is set to
open a 16-bed acute psychiatric care
facility on Linda Avenue in Herm-
iston.
The facility will allow patients
needing the highest level of psychi-
atric care in a secure facility to be
treated in Umatilla County instead
of somewhere across the state. It is
expected to provide 35 family-wage
jobs with an annual operating budget
of $2.8 million when complete.
Good Shepherd Medical Center’s
$11 million expansion is set to open
in the fall, and is also expected to
add about 35 family-wage jobs to the
community.
The former Umatilla Chemical
Depot won’t be cranking out manu-
facturing or tech jobs quite yet in
2017, but the Columbia Development
Authority expects to receive the depot
land from the Army in 2017, opening
up some of the most prime industrial
land in the state for development.
“I’m optimistic by this time next
year the development authority will
have full ownership of its portion of
the depot,” CDA executive director
Greg Smith said.
He said a variety of companies
have already expressed interest in
the property, and called a recent deal
with the Army to secure water rights
on the land “probably one of the
East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald
Partners in a
new 16-bed
acute psychi-
atric facility
that Lifeways
is building
in Hermiston
participate in a
groundbreaking
ceremony in
July 2016.
EO file photo
biggest economic development wins
for Umatilla County and Morrow
County for the next 10 years.”
The 2017 transfer of the land,
at the crossroads of two interstates,
a railroad mainline and two ports,
has the potential to attract hundreds
of new jobs and major construction
projects to the Hermiston area over
the next few years.
Some new developments in Herm-
iston opened at the tail end of 2016 but
will become fully realized in 2017.
The Holiday Inn Express on the
corner of Highway 395 and Hermiston
Avenue opened some of its 93 rooms
on Dec. 7, but the hotel will become
fully operational in early 2017.
One of downtown Hermiston’s
other landmarks — the former
RoeMarks building on the corner
of Northeast Second Street and
Page 5
Main Street — became home to
the Simmons Insurance Agency in
December after an extensive remodel.
In January the western portion of
the building will also be filled when
Bloomz Coffee moves in.
Siki Japanese, a sit-down restau-
rant offering sushi and traditional
Japanese entrees, will fill the former
El Cazador building on Eastern
Oregon’s busiest intersection where
Elm Avenue crosses Highway 395.
The former NAPA Auto Parts
building on Hermiston Avenue will
also be filled with Julissa’s Meat
Market, which is remodeling the
building now with the help of a
façade grant from the Hermiston
Urban Renewal Agency.
Ranch and Home has been
taking steps toward building a new
100,000-square-foot store in Herm-
iston off South Highway 395. In
December the Hermiston planning
commission approved a replat of the
lots there.
Photo courtesy of the Echo School District
A conceptual rendering of a remodeled Echo School.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
EO Media Group
Umatilla County school districts
were four-for-four in their 2016
bond campaigns and will now
follow their ballot victories with
2017 construction.
All four districts benefited
from the Oregon School Capital
Improvement Matching Program,
a relatively new program that
provided them with an extra $4
million for facility improvements.
The Milton-Freewater Unified
School District took home the
largest amount of money, using the
The new hotel tower won’t
be an exact clone of the other
one. Each story will rise 10
feet, six inches, versus nine
feet in the other tower.
“We learned from the
first one,” George said.
“These hotel rooms will be
a little larger. They would
be outfitted with the latest
technology such as charging
stations in the nightstands
and televisions built into the
walls.”
A drum-shaped rotunda
will link the two towers. The
hotel could include a spa,
coffee bar and large outdoor
sundeck with a pool and
cabanas.
The old 1995 hotel will
come down to make room for
a concert venue to replace the
state grant, a private grant and a
bond issue to raise $33.4 million for
a new elementary school, athletic
field and improvements to existing
facilities.
To get all of those projects done,
Milton-Freewater has a robust
construction schedule planned.
Milton-Freewater superinten-
dent Rob Clark said the district has
set aside the spring to begin demol-
ishing an old cannery on South
Mill Street, to convert the site into
the new Gib Olinger Elementary
School.
Summer will bring new heating
and cooling units for McLoughlin
current Rivers Event Center.
The ballroom would seat
1,500 people comfortably,
more than twice the number
of the current facility, which
would be repurposed into
additional gaming floor
space. The ballroom stage
would open to accommodate
either inside or outside
crowds.
The master plan also
includes a new powwow
grounds, a five-story parking
garage and expansion of the
Cineplex. The addition of
more screens will allow the
theater to play movies longer.
Suites with waiter service
will be available for private
viewing.
The indoor horse arena
will seat 2,500 and be large
enough to accommodate
rodeos. George said they’ve
High School, roofing at Central
Middle School and a generator at
Ferndale Elementary School.
When the power goes out,
we can’t flush the toilets,” Clark
said. “That can spell trouble at an
elementary school.”
Clark expects Gib Olinger to be
ready for the beginning of school in
2018.
The Echo School District has
also gotten a quick start on its bond
projects.
Echo superintendent Raymon
Smith said a revamped front office
with better security measures will
finish internal renovations within
discussed the idea of equip-
ping the arena to convert the
flooring for other events such
as basketball games.
Additional
restaurants
are a part of the plan, though
George didn’t yet know
specifics. The list could
possibly include another high
end restaurant, sports bar,
two weeks and a new bus barn
should be completed by the end of
the month.
Smith expects the rest of
the projects, which includes a
3,000-square-foot expansion and
a new façade, to be completed by
March 2018.
Athena-Weston School District
superintendent Laure Quaresma
said many items on the bond
package list will be checked off in
2017, including lighting upgrades at
Athena Elementary School and new
roofing at Weston-McEwen High
School, among other things.
Weston Middle School will be
burger place such as In-n-Out
Burger or Five Guys Burgers
and Fries and a mid-range
eating eatery, such as Chilis.
The upgrades will use
green energy, George said.
Wildhorse has applied to the
Energy Trust of Oregon to
qualify for energy incentive
rebates and is looking at
Thank you to our
clients for the
continued
confidence and
support of our firm.
targeted in 2018 and all schools will
receive security upgrades.
The Umatilla School District
was the only county district that
passed a bond in November rather
than May, meaning it’s still earlier
in the planning process than the
other three districts.
Umatilla superintendent Heidi
Sipe said roofing projects for the
district’s schools will begin in the
spring, but the schedule for the other
bond projects, which also includes
heating and cooling upgrades, secu-
rity improvements and an expan-
sion at McNary Heights Elementary
School, have yet to be determined.
possibly using geothermal
energy.
“Being green is important
to the tribes,” he said.
George hopes Pendleton
and the surrounding commu-
nities embrace the changes at
Wildhorse, such as increased
hotel rooms, restaurants and
convention space.
“Sixty percent of people
who visit us go into Pend-
leton to eat and shop,” he
said. “Some like to stay in
town. Our overflow goes to
Pendleton.”
———
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