Developers purchase Sisters land

Sisters developer Shane Lundgren and a group of investors called Dutch Pacific have purchased approximately 40 acres of industrial land at the north end of Sisters.

The parcel includes land formerly owned by Multnomah Publishers. Multnomah had intended to develop a "campus" on the property. The development group also purchased Conklin's Guest House.

The purchase price for the former Multnomah property was $2,235,000 and the approximately four-acre Conklin's Guest House parcel sold for just over $1 million, according to Steve McGhehey, who is acting as a consultant for Dutch Pacific.

Plans for the large parcel bordering the Trapper Point subdivision are in the earliest conceptual stages, McGhehey told The Nugget.

"We're just beginning some design plans," he said.

McGhehey said the partners are exploring what may be possible on the property, which is zoned for light industrial use. McGhehey hinted at some general possibilities, including some residential uses, but he indicated that everything is in a "what if" stage right now.

"I don't know that we can get a residential component," he said.

There are other questions as well.

"We have some transportation issues that have been given to us from the city," he said.

Those issues include how to traverse the property with streets and roads.

In addition, the partners need to seek annexation of the bed-and-breakfast property. The property has long been approved for annexation by voters, but it has not been formally brought within the city limits.

McGhehey said the B&B will continue operating throughout the changes.

"It'll be basically the same management team except Frank (Conklin) and his wife (Marie) gradually phasing themselves out," McGhehey said.

It will be some time before the partners work their way through the land use process. McGhehey repeatedly emphasized that no design decisions have yet been made.

"We're going to do some master planning and run that through a good land use attorney and then start negotiating with the city," he said.