City of North Bend release – The city is acquiring the former gas station and adjacent lot at Highway 101 and California Avenue. The City of North Bend is set to close last Friday on the first of two parcels to be renovated into a new visitor information center, a long-standing vision of city leaders to upgrade downtown into a tourist-friendly area. The purchase, approved by the North Bend City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting, is to be paid for with transient lodging taxes, money collected when visitors book a stay at hotels and motels, bed and breakfast facilities, RV parks, or any other dwelling unit used for temporary stays in North Bend. The use of transient lodging taxes is restricted by Oregon Law, such as investing in related community-development efforts and promoting quality management and further growth in the tourism sector. The former service station, which dates back to the 1950s, will be renovated for the project and previously underwent environmental cleanup by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. City officials believe its makeover will help lead the way in further transformations, making the downtown area more appealing to residents and visitors. The facility will house the North Bend Oregon Visitor Information Center and Main Street Program. It will include a conference room and space that can be used for start-up businesses, providing retail space for companies just off the ground. “It is important that we understand our role on the southern Oregon coast as an economic engine,” Mayor Jessica Engelke said. “Tourism is not about going and visiting places; tourism is about economic development and job creation. When you look at it and approach it in that manner, you understand the benefit of investing in tourism and our central downtown business district.” The facility will replace the current visitor information center at Simpson Park, where tourists tend to stop, obtain tourism information, and then get back into their vehicles and drive past North Bend without stopping and taking advantage of our many shops and restaurants. “We want some of that commerce to stop and shop local,” Engelke said. “We want to encourage tourists to visit our great city and bring their tourism dollars while exploring the area’s unique history.”
