The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Roundhouse Foundation merges ranching and the arts at Pine Meadow Ranch at the southwest end of Sisters. The Foundation is now seeking to expand facilities on the ranch.

Deschutes County provided notice that the foundation is seeking a conditional use permit and site plan review to establish a “community center” on the ranch and to add a 2,499-square-foot expansion to the ranch shop.

The community center will, according to the application, “continue and expand agricultural operations on the subject property, such as refining farming practices and identifying conservation efforts for onsite natural resources.”

The foundation will also host an artist-in-residency program at the community center, using two existing homes on the ranch, with the shop serving both agricultural production and as artists’ studio space.

“Guest artists will be invited to live on the subject property to pursue creative pursuits while assisting in ranch operations and other onsite agricultural activities,” the county notice reads.

Erin Borla, a trustee of The Roundhouse Foundation, told The Nugget that, “It’s a way to preserve that space and hopefully boost the arts economy of Sisters.”

Borla said that artists-in-residence will work with local artists and on local projects as well as their own work.

“They’ll all be required to do some work on the ranch while they’re there, so they’re giving back,” Borla said. “We want this to be a gift to the community by preserving this special space.”