Commercial development will include new bank

The corner where Sisters Inn and RV Park now sits will look considerably different after the Green Ridge Subdivision is completed. Last week, the 12-acre commercial development along Highway 20 won unanimous approval from the Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission.

The development reconfigures the entrance to the Sisters Inn, which opens up the corner of Highway 20 and McKinney Butte Road for a new business. Also, a frontage road would parallel the highway extending from McKinney Butte to Railway where the new McDonald’s is located. This new road will allow local access to existing and future businesses.

“We’re pleased to see this development,” said Sisters City Planning Director Bill Adams. “I think it’s going to be a tremendous improvement in area circulation.”

Property owner Todd Taylor has a letter of intent from South Valley Bank & Trust to build a new branch on the corner where the RV Park’s pole barn now sits. Taylor said South Valley Bank & Trust would be a “great tenant.” The bank is headquartered in Klamath Falls.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is planning a traffic signal at that same corner on Highway 20 where McKinney Butte and Barclay Roads enter. Taylor and other nearby property owners will be asked to share the cost of the new signal. The new intersection could require some reconfiguration of the neighboring property.

“Some clarity sooner than later would help,” said Taylor. “It would be nice to be able to move ahead with our project on the corner.”

Adams said the new signal was at least one year away (see related story, adjacent). He expects the new signal and intersection to cost anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000.

Taylor told the commission that the project grew during the planning stages. After review, Taylor realized it made sense to make a public street through his property. The commissioners and city said the new frontage road will make the area safer by getting local traffic off the highway.

“I think it’s going to benefit this development as well as future developments across the street,” said Adams.