REDMOND, OR -- A number of new housing projects aim to eventually ease Redmond’s tight housing market. Mayor George Endicott is excited about the first two proposals recently approved by city planners. But, he admits they’re still in the early stages of development. "If you look at the proposals, it is a mix of single family, multi family. One of the projects is going to have cottages, which tend to be a cluster, they’re single-family homes but they’re small and tend to appeal to seniors. And then, the one down by the new high school will have a mixed-use component, i.e. a store or retail outlet of some kind." The Pahlisch Homes proposal near Ridgeview High School could bring as many as 224 housing units.

Endicott tells KBND the other project, proposed by Hayden Homes, could add another 187 units and bring life back to the area near 35th and Obsidian. "That land, during the boom, it got within a hair’s breath of developing, then the economy tanked on it. And, the land has laid there now fallow for some time; it’s kind of an eyesore really. It’s old farmland that’s just got nothing happening now. It’s all dried and the trees have all died."

And, there could be more on the way. "I’ll let a little cat out of the bag: we actually know of about seven total. But, these two are actually on the books, the others are just noise. I mean, that’s a lot of houses and that tells you that the economy is improving and people need homes. Ya know, supply/demand and if we get a huge supply going, then it should reduce the price, especially maybe for used houses," Mayor Endicott says.