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Often equated in
the minds of many visitors as the primary initial reason for traveling to
Central Oregon, Sunriver has evolved into the Pacific Northwest’s premier
destination resort. In addition to three award-winning golf courses, 35
miles of paved bike trails (many more for mountain biking) and several
meandering miles of the Deschutes River, the community offers some of the
region’s finest dining and shopping.
History
Sunriver’s first residents were
Native Americans attracted to the excellent hunting and fishing along the
banks of the scenic Deschutes River and in the Great Meadow. The Sunriver
Resort’s origins begin with the Army Corp of Engineers training camp
in 1943. Today all that remains of the original Camp Abbot complex is the
Great Hall, an impressive officer’s club built of native logs and stone.
In 1968 development of the residential community began, including
construction of the Lodge, Meadows Golf Course, swimming pool, Lodge Village
suites and restored Great Hall. In 1979, the Woodlands golf course was
added, and in 1995 the spectacular Crosswater golf course opened just south
of Sunriver. That same year a multi-million dollar capital program was
launched by resort owners to expand and remodel a host of facilities at
Sunriver.
Stats
at a Glance
Deschutes County Building Permits
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001
|
|
Property
Valuation: Residential
|
New Construction
Total Valuation
|
764
$132,924,150
|
879
$165,089,679
|
784
$160,173,653
|
685
$155,000,000
|
604
$147,900,000
|
|
Property
Valuation: Commercial
|
|
New
Construction
Total
Valuation
|
111
$29,748,433
|
115
$20,629,011
|
78
$12,989,870
|
69
$12,500,000
|
35
$7,810,000
|
|
Assessed Value
|
Year
|
Assessed Value
|
|
1994
|
$
718,708,783 |
|
1995
|
|
|
1996
|
$
752,110,042 |
|
1997
|
$
768,065,741 |
|
1998
|
$
724,286,092 |
|
1999
|
$
766,949,621 |
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Top Private
Largest Employers
| Sunriver Resort |
650
|
| Coldwell Banker |
53
|
| Sun Forest Construction |
45
|
| Sunriver Preparatory |
40
|
| Sun River Realty |
32
|
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Property Tax Rate
2002/2003
$11.2945 per thousand
Elevation
4100’
Telecommunications
Infrastructure
|
Infrastructure
|
Type
|
Provider
|
Capacity
|
Speed
|
| Telecom System
Backbone |
Fiber(Via Bend) |
QWEST |
OC48 (=1,344
T-1 lines) |
2.488 Billion
bits/sec. |
| POP |
Digital |
QWEST |
| Installed Dark
Fiber |
Fiber Optic
Cable |
BPA |
Virtually
Unlimited |
Fastest Speeds
Available |
| Special
Services |
DSL |
Sunriver
Telecom |
| Cable
Modem |
Chambers
Cable |
| T-1
Lines |
Unicom,
Shared Communications, other CLECS & ISP’s |
|
64k-1.54mb |
| Dial
Up Internet |
Many
ISP’s |
|
28.8K |
| Fiber Rings
|
Local high
speed fiber network |
Chambers Cable |
Virtually
unlimited |
Fastest speeds
available |
|
Population
The Pacific Northwest’s greatest
destination resort, Sunriver has proven to be a popular residential
community as well – growing to a town of over 15,000 people during the
summer peak season. Non-residents who vacation here or have properties
for investment purposes own approximately 83 percent of the homes in
Sunriver. That equates to approximately 2000 permanent residents. Because
Sunriver lies in Deschutes County’s unincorporated area exact permanent
resident population figures are not available.
Development
Golf is a big part of development in
Sunriver. Sunriver Resort boasts three golf courses totaling 54 holes,
through varied and picturesque terrain. The crowning piece is the Bob Cupp/John
Fought-designed Crosswater Golf Course, touted by Golf Digest as one of
“America’s 100 Best Golf Courses”. Other outstanding courses include
Sunriver Meadows and Sunriver Woodlands.
The current residential property inventory
for the resort is at approximately 2800 homes and over 850 condominiums
within the development’s 3,300 acres.
Sunriver Resort is also a destination for
business groups, conferences, tradeshows and corporate retreats. Recently
the Great Hall - a truly great architectural testimony to Oregon’s wood
products heritage - underwent extensive remodeling.
The resort also has an executive airport
with a 5,200 ft. runway for residents on working vacations or business
retreats, or who live in Sunriver and commute to jobs in Seattle, Portland,
or San Francisco. Along with the airport, the community has Sunriver
Business Park, home to technology-based companies such as Mini-Mitter, a
manufacturer of electromedical apparatus and transmitters that serves the
medical industry. The privately owned park also hosts commercial,
retail and light industrial businesses as well as a public school and
library.
Livability
Livability is “job one” at Sunriver, so
extra effort has been made to keep the resort area safe with a country feel.
Hence, there are some things you won’t find in Sunriver. You won’t
find a great deal of overhead lighting at night, no backlit commercial
signage, and no speed limits over 30 mph. Homes in the development
have design and paint restrictions to keep a consistent look and feel with
the native environment and with each other. You will find an active patrol
by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and Sunriver
Police Department, all which keep property crime and accidents in the
development to a minimum.
Sunriver Resort played a key role in
construction of a highway that provides excellent access to Mt. Bachelor, one
of the best ski resorts in the Western US. Sunriver’s proximity to a
variety of outdoor recreation opportunities both within the resort as well
as in 1.6 million acres of surrounding, publicly-owned Forest Service area
makes fishing, canoeing, hiking, white water rafting, and a plethora of
other activities easy to fit all in a single weekend.
Did we mention that Sunriver is the Pacific
Northwest’s premier destination resort?
With an average purchase price of $ 252,000
for a home, Sunriver is Central Oregon’s most expensive place to live.
However, when compared with average home price in other mountain resort
communities such as Sun Valley, Idaho ($1,673,750) Jackson Hole, Wyoming
($815,000) Aspen/Vail, Colorado ($1,041,549) or Whistler, British Columbia,
Canada ($333,548) it stacks up as a bargain!
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