REDMOND, OR -- Opening of the highly anticipated rooftop bar at the New Redmond Hotel has been delayed. "We were hoping to get it opened this year, but there have been some historic reviews and that’s going to be pushed to next year," says Chuck Arnold, Redmond's Urban Renewal Program Manager. He tells KBND News, "You get into an old building like that and you get a lot of challenges that you find – some requirements that adding the rooftop bar added to the project that were initially not expected. There’s a lot of reconfiguring. We’re working on getting new bids and an analysis of what the project’s true final cost is going to be, and get everything organized and march forward from there."

The New Redmond Hotel was built 90 years ago. While some upgrades have taken place over the years, Arnold says more is needed, "We want to build the safest possible hotel in a safe building and, while the fire sprinklers are not that old, when you add the rooftop bar, the state building code says, ‘hey, we’ve got to really make sure we put in a modern fire sprinkler system in.’ So, a quick item like that adds a large amount of investment needed on the project."

Renovations began last spring. Arnold says much of the work halted after those historic reviews revealed issues, but he says, "They will start working again, as soon as they get through some more historic reviews. But, really, the work right now is on the configuration of what are items going to cost." He expects the bar will open with the rest of the hotel, next year.