The DMV is backing out of plans to open an office at Brookswood Meadow Plaza. David House with O-DOT says they decided to terminate their lease because they office would not be ready for them to move in on January 15^th: "We'd already pushed the date forward for December by 1 month because of the slowed process in getting it prepared. And thru no fault of his own he's unable to get it ready by the 15th. So, we’re going to back out of the lease and going to start a search with all options on the table." The permitting process by the City of Bend slowed down the construction timeline for the DMV project. House says they will start from scratch and include lots of public testimony in citing the new office; that process could take several months.

 

 

The "Stop the DMV" group has been working for the last three months to prevent the DMV from moving into the Brookswood Meadow Plaza. Leader Joe Mansfield reacts to today's surprise announcement. “Well honestly I’m a little shocked. This was our hope and goal, but I didn't expect the announcement to come until December 15th. Little shocked it came out today but certainly happy and elated.” Mansfield says neighbors want to work with the owner of the Brookswood Meadow Plaza to bring in more business to the shopping center. Specifically they would like to see a restaurant or retail shops in the southwest Bend location.