JV to Develop Smart Growth Plan with Goal of Infusing New Life into Bend

Kennedy Wilson recently entered into a joint venture with Matt Day, owner of Bend-based Hooker Creek Companies, to acquire and develop a vacant 21-acre site in Bend, OR. The joint venture intends to develop the site into a master-planned community that will likely include a mix of apartments, affordable senior housing, for-sale homes, office space, a boutique hotel and retail space.

The project is envisioned to create a residential and commercial hub that will feature open space accessible to the wider community in central Bend. The site is located south of downtown Bend, just east of the Deschutes River and adjacent to the city’s renowned Old Mill District.

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in Oregon and to partner with Matt Day and his family in bringing a thoughtfully and sustainably designed project to one of the most exciting and rapidly growing markets in the Western U.S.,” said William McMorrow, chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson. “Through this joint venture with local partners, we look forward to working closely with the city and community stakeholders to develop a smart growth plan that will help address the need for additional housing and infuse new life into an area crucial to the future of Bend.”

Located in central Oregon on the eastern edge of the Willamette National Forest, Bend is among the fastest-growing U.S. midsized cities. Bend population growth has outpaced the rest of the state with strong job growth in the last decade as Bend has become an economic center of Central Oregon.

The proposed development will align with the goals and objectives laid out in the Core Area Plan adopted in 2020 by Bend to address many of the city’s nine opportunity areas.